Gray Whales, Wandering Giants

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

A high-energy, fact-filled text together with many outstanding color
photos place this work firmly in the irresistible category.

Busch, who has five previous nature books to his credit, writes with
passion, enthusiastically conveying the excitement and wonder he feels
for gray whales. His fast-paced style makes scientific detail
interesting reading. The text gives a comprehensive portrait of the
giant mammal—physiology, appearance, habitat, behaviors, reproduction,
food, migration, communications, and much more.

The book’s nearly 100 illustrations include archival photos, prints
and sketches, photos of Native art honoring whales, and maps. The color
photos—the work of several photographers including the
author—feature incredible underwater shots and close-ups. (The lack of
information on the photographers somewhat diminishes the integrity of
the work’s editorial philosophy; the photos comprise more than half
the value of the work and Busch needs to do more to share the credit.)

Although now extinct in the Atlantic, the gray whale migrates along the
West Coast, from Alaska to Baja, California, giving numerous
opportunities for human–whale contact. Historically the relationship
has been that of hunter and hunted. In the more conservation-minded
1990s this has changed to observer and observed—we’re observing the
whales, and quite possibly the whales are observing us. The book details
the evolution of the human–whale relationship, not sparing the details
of the whale hunt.

This very enjoyable book will appeal to naturalists, conservationists,
photographers, historians, and ecologists.