By Basil Lubbock
From Baird Maritime:
Whaling, particularly arctic whaling, was a big industry from Elizabethan times until the first World War. While fading, it continued until the 1970s before it was largely killed off by a combination of poor profits and public disapproval.
The best years for the industry coincided generally with most of the nineteenth century. In those days it had something of the aura of the current offshore oil and gas industry. It was a high-risk business that could be very lucrative.
In those days whaling was carried out using long ranging mother or factory ships on board which the whales were processed and their products stored. They carried aboard a number of multi-oared whaleboats from which the whales were harpooned.
It was a cold and dangerous business where man and beast were reasonably evenly matched. With the introduction of steam whalers in the 1880s, everything changed. They were too efficient and stocks were rapidly hunted to uneconomic levels.
In his normal, fascinating way, the author describes this important but malodorous industry very well.
Available as one of a set of 15 Lubbock books being offered at a very attractive price.
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