Leviathan or The Whale

www.iwcoffice.org

Picture Credits

    8, Katherine Moore; 10, Jonny Hannah;
40, 178
, Berkshire Atheneum;
47, 161
, Rockwell Kent/R.R. Donnelly & Sons/The Plattsburgh College Foundation;
58-9, 147, 232, 233, 284, 285, 287
, Arthur Credland/Hull Maritime Museum; 64, Max Goonetillake;
83, 87 a & b, 95, 246, 312
, Natural History Museum, London; 217, Michael Long;
100, 107, 110, 206, 248
, New Bedford Whaling Museum; 114, Nantucket Historical Association; 175, Library of Congress, Washington; 188, Bodleian Library, Oxford; 196, Dan Towler;
241, 242-3
, David Connell/ Burton Constable Foundation; 251, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; 271, Mark Wallinger/Anthony Reynolds; 387, Antonio Domingos Avila; 394, Martin Rosenbaum.
    All other images from the author’s collection.

Acknowledgements

    On my third or fourth visit to Provincetown, John Waters accused me of spending more time with whales than with humans; it was perhaps as a form of therapy that he suggested I should write this book. But the roots of my fascination with whales lie with my sister Katherine and her childhood enthusiasm, one which our sister, Christina, shared. Their own children, Oliver, Harriet, Jacob and Lydia, continue that interest – particularly my youngest nephews, Max and Cyrus, both of whom have taught me about whales, despite neither having reached eight years of age. I would like to thank my older brothers, too, Lawrence and Stephen and their families, for their support. As ever, my friend Mark Ashurst has been the ultimate adjudicator of what I do; without him, my book would have been beached long ago.
    Leviathan
owes its deepest debt to Adam Low and Martin Rosenbaum, director and producer/cameraman respectively of the BBC
Arena
film,
The Hunt for Moby-Dick
. From freezing New England shoots, warmed by nips from Martin’s bottle of whisky, to Adam’s fearless attempts to direct me and the whales on the high seas despite his propensity to sea-sickness, our adventures together have shaped this book. Adam also read the manuscript and made vital comments. Our guiding light has been
Arena’s
series editor, Anthony Wall; we owe much to his faith and inspiration.
    Back at home, Michael Bracewell, Linder Sterling, Neil Tennant, Clare Goddard and Hugo Vickers provided creative encouragement and helpful observations. Liz Jobey published an extract from the book in
Granta
99; and Kieran Phelan and the Arts Council made possible a late trip to Provincetown. There, Dennis Minsky has been my guide to the world of whale-watching, to the animals’ behaviour, and their beauty.
    At Fourth Estate, my editor, Mitzi Angel, was true to her name; Nicholas Pearson and Mark Richards provided essential moral and practical support. I would also like to thank Robin Harvie in the publicity department, and Terence Caven, Rachel Smyth and Leo Nickolla for making the book look beautiful. My ever-stalwart agent, Gillon Aitken, steered
Leviathan
to its destination.
    Many other people – scientists, curators, writers, historians, librarians, naturalists and artists – have made the journey constantly exciting. Like the whales, they have led me around the world, and are listed here in geographical order.
    Provincetown: Charles ‘Stormy’ Mayo, Jooke Robbins, Scott Landry, Amy Costa, Marc Costa, David Osterberg, Joanne Jarzobski, Nathalie Jacquet, Meribeth Ratzel, Theresa Barbo, Chip Lund, Mary Moore, Ruth Leeney, Beth Swineford, Adam Leiterman, Karen Rankin-Baransky, Karen Stamieskin, Sarah Adams-Fortune, Tanya Gabettie and all the scientists and naturalists and staff at the Center for Coastal Studies; Joe Basine, Mar Delumba and Eric Joranson on the
Portuguese Princess;
the naturalists, captains and crew of the Dolphin Fleet, including Todd Motta, Carol Carlsen, Irene Bragg and John Conlon; the late Frank Schaefer and Mary Martin Schaefer of the legendary White Horse Inn; Mary Oliver for the loan of her field-glasses and dawn discussions on the beach; the late Molly Malone Cook; Pat de Groot for her art and her elegant hospitality; Dan Towler for the postcards; the gentlemen of the Beachcombers Club; Tim Woodman, for his inspiring ‘Moby-Dick’ paintings; Helen Miranda Wilson, Albert Merola, James Balla, Jackson Lambert, Josiah Mayo, Jody Melander, Jo Hay, Margery Greenspan, Conny Hatch, Sally Brophy, Pauline Fisher, and Debbie Minsky for their friendship.
    New Bedford: Stuart M. Franks, Mary K. Bercaw Edwards and Arthur Motta for their observations on