The Last Whalers by Doug Bock Clark
'Remarkable... a rich, novelistic account based on diligent reporting ... An empathetic, even intimate account, but not a dewy-eyed one ... Wonderful' Daily Telegraph 'I absolutely loved this magnificent book' Sebastian Junger 'A monumental achievement' Mitchell Zuckoff '[An] immersive, densely reported and altogether remarkable first book ... The Last Whalers has the texture and colouring of a first-rate novel' New York Times 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 realize a star-crossed love. Ignatius, a legendary harpooner entering retirement, labors 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.
I absolutely loved this magnificent book * Sebastian Junger *
Should serve as a tribute to this tribe, and all the others, foundering in or riding out the 'typhoon of life' * Spectator *
A monumental achievement * Mitchell Zuckoff *
[An] immersive, densely reported and altogether remarkable first book.. The Last Whalers has the texture and colouring of a first-rate novel * New York Times *
Should serve as a tribute to this tribe, and all the others, foundering in or riding out the 'typhoon of life' * Spectator *
A monumental achievement * Mitchell Zuckoff *
[An] immersive, densely reported and altogether remarkable first book.. The Last Whalers has the texture and colouring of a first-rate novel * New York Times *
Doug Bock Clark is a writer whose articles have appeared or are forthcoming in the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, National Geographic, GQ, Wired, Rolling Stone, The New Republic, and elsewhere. He won the 2017 Reporting Award, was a finalist for the 2016 Mirror Award, and has been awarded two Fulbright Fellowships, a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, and an 11th Hour Food and Farming Fellowship. Clark has been interviewed about his work on CNN, BBC, NPR, and ABC's 20/20. He is a Visiting Scholar at New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781529374155 |
| ISBN 10 | 1529374154 |
| Title | The Last Whalers |
| Author | Doug Bock Clark |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | John Murray Press |
| Year published | 2020-02-20 |
| Number of pages | 368 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |