Spying on Whales

By Nick Pyenson,

Book cover of Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth's Most Awesome Creatures

Book description

"A palaeontological howdunnit...[Spying on Whales] captures the excitement of...seeking answers to deep questions in cetacean science." -Nature

Called "the best of science writing" (Edward O. Wilson) and named a best book by Popular Science, a dive into the secret lives of whales, from their four-legged past to their perilous present.…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Spying on Whales as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Everyone loves whales, right? But almost no one knows anything about them (I didn't). As a paleobiologist, Pyenson gives us a compelling view of their world, dating back over ten million years. Using vivid detail and rich narrative prose he shows us just how essential they are to marine ecology, and how our fate is inextricably linked to theirs. I've rarely read a book that so transformed my view of the world. 

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