• The Last Whalers

  • The Life of an Endangered Tribe in a Land Left Behind
  • By: Doug Bock Clark
  • Narrated by: Jay Snyder
  • Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (3 ratings)

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The Last Whalers  By  cover art

The Last Whalers

By: Doug Bock Clark
Narrated by: Jay Snyder
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Publisher's summary

The epic story of the world's last subsistence whalers.

At a time when global change has eradicated thousands of unique cultures, The Last Whalers tells the stunning inside story of the Lamalerans, an ancient tribe of 1,500 hunter-gatherers who live on a volcanic island so remote it is known by other Indonesians as 'The Land Left Behind'. They have survived for centuries by taking whales with bamboo harpoons but now are being pushed toward collapse by the encroachment of the modern world.

Award-winning journalist Doug Bock Clark, who lived with the Lamalerans across three years, weaves together their stories with novelistic flair to usher us inside this hidden drama. Jon, an orphaned apprentice whaler, strives to earn his harpoon and feed his ailing grandparents. Ika, Jon's indomitable younger sister, struggles to forge a modern life in a tradition-bound culture and realise a star-crossed love. Ignatius, a legendary harpooner entering retirement, labours to hand down the Ways of the Ancestors to his son, Ben, who would rather become a DJ in the distant tourist mecca of Bali.

With brilliant, breathtaking prose and empathetic, fast-paced storytelling, Clark details how the fragile dreams of one of the world's dwindling indigenous peoples are colliding with the irresistible upheavals of our rapidly transforming world and delivers to us a group of families we will never forget.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Doug Bock Clark (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"I absolutely loved this magnificent book." (Sebastian Junger)

"A monumental achievement." (Mitchell Zuckoff)

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