• Leviathan

  • The History of Whaling in America
  • By: Eric Jay Dolin
  • Narrated by: James Boles
  • Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (240 ratings)

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Leviathan  By  cover art

Leviathan

By: Eric Jay Dolin
Narrated by: James Boles
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Publisher's summary

This is the epic history of the "iron men in wooden boats" who built an industrial empire through the pursuit of whales.

"To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme," Herman Melville proclaimed, and this absorbing history demonstrates that few things can capture the sheer danger and desperation of men on the deep sea as dramatically as whaling.

Eric Jay Dolin begins his vivid narrative with Captain John Smith's botched whaling expedition to the New World in 1614. He then chronicles the rise of a burgeoning industry, from its brutal struggles during the Revolutionary period to its golden age in the mid-1800s, when a fleet of more than 700 ships hunted the seas and American whale oil lit the world, to its decline as the 20th century dawned. This sweeping social and economic history provides rich and often fantastic accounts of the men themselves, who mutinied, murdered, rioted, deserted, drank, scrimshawed, and recorded their experiences in journals and memoirs. Containing a wealth of naturalistic detail on whales, Leviathan is the most original and stirring history of American whaling in many decades.

©2007 Eric Jay Dolin (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"Engrossing....This account is at once grand and quirky, entertaining and informative." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Eric Jay Dolin's Leviathan is the best history of American whaling to come along in a generation." (Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex)

What listeners say about Leviathan

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

NOT JUST BLUBBER

In the beginning I thought it would be long and boring.Was I wrong. Suddenly there was a lively story. It is a history beautifully narrated in the language of the times. First it was interesting, then a fasinating chronology full of descriptive adventure. Whaling was such an important part of our heritage.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent Text, Horrendous Narration

This book is an amazing piece of work, Well researched, detailed and still incredibly entertaining even when detailing mundane actions and events. I can't think of any other book with so much information all brought together so well. I picked up the printed book so as to have a reference handy.

The naration was awful, If the text had not been so incredible I would have given up within 20 mins, "William Shakespeare's Henry IV" was being quoted and was read by the narator as "William Shakespeare's Henry Four"...I mean any 3rd Grader knows to add the "th" to a title...This and many other weird actions throughout the reading made me want to fling my MP3 player aganst a wall, He repeatedly dragged me out of the story.

This is the kind of audiobook that would win awards if given a competent Narator.

I would gladly give the book 100% but this is an audiobook website and the narration drags it down hard...

Please let a decent narrator try again, Ill buy it again with a good narrator

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Bad Narrator

The text is quite interesting. However the narrator is terrible.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not mesmerizing, but thorough…

…and certainly enjoyable. My 2nd Dolin (Black Flags, Blue Waters). The author is (thankfully) free from agenda and politically correct pandering- which raises the bar of his already remarkable scholarship - but he does not write withe the verve and eloquence of a Wil Durant or Shelby Foote…But in truth, how many historians do? If you are a fan of Moby Dick… Or just love a good sea story… Then you can’t go wrong with “Leviathan”. It’s not a page turner and the narrator mispronounces many common English words, but it’s well worth a credit.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

nothing fishy

Great book, easy listen. If you like history, New England, whales, or anyone from Nantucket; this is for you.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The story

A amazing story of America’s history and the very important role whaling played in it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book

Like Dolan’s other books this one covers the topic thoroughly from start to finish. The author finds a way of making a subject that is super detailed, entertaining the entire way through. 

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Better than expected

I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot about the history of whaling and it’s connections to the rest of Americas history. At first I thought the narrator was too dry but quickly changed my mind and ended up enjoying not only the information but the way it was delivered. I picked this book after a recent visit to Nantucket sparked my interest in whaling and was not disappointed. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of whaling.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

good read

a thorough and well written history of whaling. i appreciate the Colonial historical perspective of the United states

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A large and forgotten part of history

It's the story of the rise, golden age and eventual end of the industry from the earliest days of colonization to its end just after the first world War. One thing that is surprising by its absence is any mention of the environmental movement. Whaling in America had long ceased to exist by that time. Whaling was part of the revolution, war of 1812 and Civil War. I'd never heard of any of that.

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