War of the Whales: A True Story

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Winner of the 2015 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award: Horwitzs dogged reportingcombined with crisp, cinematic writing, produces a powerful narrative. He has written a book that is instructive and passionate and deserving a wide audience (PEN Award Citation).

Six years in the making, War of the Whales is the gripping detective tale (Publishers Weekly) of a crusading attorney, Joel Reynolds, who stumbles on one of the US Navys best-kept secrets: a submarine detection system that floods entire ocean basins with high-intensity soundand drives whales onto beaches. As Joel Reynolds launches a legal fight to expose and challenge the Navy program, marine biologist Ken Balcomb witnesses a mysterious mass stranding of whales near his research station in the Bahamas. Investigating this calamity, Balcomb is forced to choose between his conscience and an oath of secrecy he swore to the Navy in his youth.

War of the Whales reads like the best investigative journalism, with cinematic scenes of strandings and dramatic David-and-Goliath courtroom dramas as activists diligently hold the Navy accountable (The Huffington Post). When Balcomb and Reynolds team up to expose the truth behind an epidemic of mass strandings, the stage is set for an epic battle that pits admirals against activists, rogue submarines against weaponized dolphins, and national security against the need to safeguard the ocean environment. Strong and valuable (The Washington Post), brilliantly told (Bob Woodward), author Joshua Horwitz combines the best of legal drama, natural history, and military intrigue to raise serious questions about the unchecked use of secrecy by the military to advance its institutional power (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

Reviews

A gripping, brilliantly told tale of the secret and deadly struggle between American national security and the kings of the oceans. At once thrilling and heartbreaking, this is a landmark book of deep, original reporting which could alter forever how we view our role as stewards of the seas. -- Bob Woodward, author of The Price of Politics
As War of the Whalesmakes convincingly clear, the connection between naval sonar and deadly mass strandings of whales is scientifically undeniablea strong and valuable narrative. * Washington Post, 50 Notable Books 2014 *
Intimate and urgent storytelling....Horwitz's years of research and observation lend genuine drama to this save-the-whales tale. The author paints rich portraits of his subjects, much fuller than the rote physical descriptions and caricatures that might pass for characterization in a breezier work of nonfiction. * Chicago Tribune *
A fascinating read and incredibly informative. This is a powerful book and will be of great interest to anyone concerned with marine mammal protection, the uneasy balance between the competing desires for national security and environmental protection, or the messy politics of scientific inquiry. -- HOWARD ERNST, Professor of Political Science at the United States Naval Academy * Navy Proceedings Magzine *
Horwitz delivers a powerful, engrossing narrative that raises serious questions about the unchecked use of secrecy by the military to advance its institutional power. -- Kirkus starred review * Best Nonfiction Books of 2014 *
In this gripping detective tale,science writer Horwitz recreates a day-by-day account of the quest to find thereasons for the mass strandings; the Navys resistance and cover-up of theiruse of sonar in the area; and the drawn out struggles between Balcomb, Joel Reynolds, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Navy. . . . Riveting. -- Publishers Weekly
In a riveting and groundbreaking new book, War of the Whales, Joshua Horwitz, chronicles the true story of the 20-year battle led by scientists and environmental activists against military sonar. It reads like the best investigative journalism, with cinematic scenes of strandings and dramatic David-and-Goliath courtroom dramas as activists diligently hold the Navy accountable. A page-turning detective story, War of the Whales... chillingly tracks the US Navys culture of secrecy as it collides with environmental groups and grassroots demand for transparency. -- Brenda Peterson * Huffington Post *
For those looking for the perfect non-fiction beach read, you couldnt do better than War of the Whales: A True Story, Joshua Horwitzs recounting of an attorney and marine biologist who take on the Navy and the fatal harm they are causing the oceans mammals. * CBS Watch! Magazine *
Engaging War of the Whales reads like a novel, but the story it tells is truea fascinating personal tale. * Animal Welfare Institute Quarterly *
From severed whale heads to top-secret Naval warfare ops, from the blue waters of the Bahamas to the inner corridors of the Pentagon, War of the Whales is a true-life detective story, military drama and legal procedural of the first order. Joshua Horwitz channels John Grisham and Jacques Cousteau in a way that will leave the reader inspired, outraged and deeply satisfied. -- David Helvarg, Founding Director of Blue Frontier Campaign
Highly detailedSuits, appeals and maneuvering all the way to the Supreme Court expose a fascinating but sometimes demoralizing conflict, since the book depicts yet another example of the executive branch of government operating as though it were above the law. That Horwitz persevered and made this important battle public is admirable. * Seattle Times *
Intriguingoffers excellent capsule descriptions of various scientific specialties, and scientists. * San Francisco Chronicle *
"As riveting and as involved as a good novel with a lengthy cast of characters. * The Journal of Supreme Court History *
Horwitz skillfully builds the narrative around the lives of Balcomb and Joel Reynoldswisely relat[ing] the messiness of their lives as well as their professional accomplishments. Just as wisely, Horwitz does not reduce the Navy characters to villainy.War of the Whales offers a vivid portrait of unexpected intersections between humans and marine mammals. I, for one, will never again think about whales and marine mammal researchers and Navy maneuvers in the ways I did before reading Horwitzs book. * Minneapolis Star-Tribune *
Highly detailedSuits, appeals and maneuvering all the way to the Supreme Court expose a fascinating but sometimes demoralizing conflict, since the book depicts yet another example of the executive branch of government operating as though it were above the law. That Horwitz persevered and made this important battle public is admirable. * Seattle Times *
[A] compelling account of what happens when animal and human interests collideand a sobering look at the suffering caused by increasingly noisy oceans. * All Animals (Humane Society Magazine) *
War of the Whales takes us deep inside the soundscape of our acoustically complex seas, where whales have evolved to communicate, navigate and hunt with sound. It's the true story of the underwater collision between life in the ocean and an acoustic storm of military sonar -- and of citizen activists holding accountable the world's most powerful Navy. For anyone who wants to save marine life from drowning in man-made noise, this is a must-read book. -- Jean-Michel Cousteau, Ocean Futures Society
Seneca said it best: 'He who is brave is free.' War of the Whales tells the astounding true story of how brave men and women, free from fear, spoke truth to the most powerful military on earth to save the most majestic creatures in the oceans. -- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Founder and President of the Waterkeeper Alliance
War of the Whales is the surprising and untold story of how two individuals united in a desperate fight to protect dolphins and whales from the deadly acoustic assault of navy sonar. Deeply researched, and brimming with colorful and interesting detail, Joshua Horwitz's gripping book reads like a thriller but, in the tradition of the best non-fiction writing, brings to light the secret history of military sonar and its devastating connection to traumatized whales and dolphins stranding and dying on beaches around the world. -- Tim Zimmerman, Co-Writer of "Blackfish", author of "The Killer In The Pool"
A gripping, true-life tale War of the Whales blends together the spirit of both a suspense thriller of a Grisham novel (except that it's not fiction) and the political intrigue of an All The President's Men. * Journal of the San Juan Islands *
The story is so artfully constructed that you are drawn in and forget that you are not reading a novel. [A] story that is fascinating even if you have no interest in whales or navy sonar. [H]is masterfully crafted book is guaranteed to bring the issues to a larger audience. * Seattle Post-Intelligencer *
Author Joshua Horwitz structures this account like an eco-legal thriller, layering his research so that film of a Navy ship seen in the water near the site of the beachings hangs there like damning evidence. As humans encroach ever further into wild spaces, the impact on the creatures living there must be minimized or mitigated. War of the Whales tells one story among many of its type, but it speaks to the need for improved stewardship with urgency. * Bookpage.com *
Suspenseful and moving and fascinating in equal measureStranding investigations are about cause and effect. But in showing us, based on the best available evidence, what the Navys sonar transit might have been like for the whales that suffered through it, the book reminds us of the dignity of the individual animal. -- Michael Jasney * Switchboard (Natural Resources Defense Council Staff Blog) *
A true story brilliantly toldThe book is compelling, its comprehensive, its ground-breaking and its infuriating. -- Joel Reynolds * Switchboard (Natural Resources Defense Council Staff Blog) *
AmazingForget toting the latest spy novel or horror story to the beach this summer; take War of the Whales instead. You don't need to be an eco-warrior to learn from this real-life thriller. * The Washingtonian *
A page-turning rideHorwitz tells a taut, energetic story that feels immediate, even though the events are nearly a decade old. War of the Whales is a reminder and a warning that our technological, industrial, and military prowess produces unintended consequences for other species with which we share this fragile planet. * Santa Barbara Independent *
The gripping tale of two mens crusade to protect the earths oceans and the majestic creatures that call it home will appeal to the activist hidden within every readerThe story is as intriguing as it is informative as Horowitz weaves together legal drama, natural history and military intrigue. * PruTexas.com *
A game changing book that unveils, layer by layer, the blood-stained legacy of Navy sonar on whales and dolphins. * The Dodo.com *
War of the Whales has all the elements of a good beach-read thriller: compelling characters, a tight mystery, even a cute animal: in this case, beaked whales. However, Horwitz is talking real lifeIf you are looking for [an] edutaining beach reading this summer, War of the Whales would be a good choice. * Fiction Reboot *
The opening scenario of this fascinating story is shocking and heartbreakingwell-researched and passionate. * Lansing City Pulse *
Immersive reading. * LibraryJournal.com, Wyatts World *
Its that time of year when bookstores everywhere showcase summer reading options. But take a pass on the books touted as easy reading and pick up War of the Whales by Joshua Horwitz instead. * OceanWil

Author Bio

Joshua Horwitz is the cofounder and publisher of Living Planet Books in Washington, DC, which specializes in books by thought leaders in science, medicine, and psychology.