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Product Description
Famed in story as "the great leviathans" sperm whales are truly creatures of extremes. Giants among all whales, they also have the largest brains of any creature on Earth. Males can reach a length of 62 feet and can weigh upwards of 50 tons. With this book, Hal Whitehead gives us a clearer picture of the ecology and social life of sperm whales than we have ever had before. Based on almost two decades of field research, Whitehead describes sperm whale biology, behaviour and habitat; how they organize their societies; and how their complex lifestyles may have evolved in this unique environment. Among the many fascinating topics he explores is the crucial role that culture plays in the life of the sperm whale, and he traces the consequences of this argument for both evolution and conservation. Finally, drawing on these findings, Whitehead builds a general model of how the ocean environment influences social behaviour and cultural evolution among mammals as well as other animals. The definitive portrait of a provocative creature "sperm whales" should interest animal behaviourists, conservationists, ecologists and evolutionary biologists as well as marine mammalogists.
About the Author
Hal Whitehead is the Killam Professor in the Department of Biology at Dalhousie University in Canada. He is the author of Voyage to the Whales and coeditor of Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales, the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.
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First Sentence
Nicholas Humphrey's essay "The social function of intellect," from which this quote is taken, sparked the "Machiavellian intelligence" hypothesis, which proposes that sophisticated animal intelligence evolved as selection favored those animals that effectively exploited social complexity (Byrne and Whiten 1988). Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Nicholas Humphrey's essay "The social function of intellect," from which this quote is taken, sparked the "Machiavellian intelligence" hypothesis, which proposes that sophisticated animal intelligence evolved as selection favored those animals that effectively exploited social complexity (Byrne and Whiten 1988). Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
First things first: "Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean" is a marvellously written in-depth account of every aspect of the sperm whale. I just loved the enthusiasm with which mr. Whitehead has written it. His professionalism is undoubted and his academic level is very high. But above all: he can write!
Some background info on myself: I am Dutch, English is not my mother tongue. I graduated from university, so I am quite capable of reading academic texts. I love reading English and have read quite a lot of books in that wonderful language. I have recently become more interested in marine life in general and marine mammals in specific.
What makes "Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean" such a good book? I am not a marine mammal specialist, but I still considered the book quite readable. I admit it was not an easy read. Especially chapter 6 "Sperm Whale Societies", which is about concentrations, groups and social units, I thought very difficult and rather dry. The high level of references sometimes disturb the fluidity of the text. The book was very interesting and packed with information. In a fascinating way mr. Whitehead took me into the depths of the oceans along with these amazing animals. His level of writing is very academic, but his enthusiasm about these animals is reflected by almost each and every sentence. I highly recommend this book to all marine mammal enthusiasts.
Some background info on myself: I am Dutch, English is not my mother tongue. I graduated from university, so I am quite capable of reading academic texts. I love reading English and have read quite a lot of books in that wonderful language. I have recently become more interested in marine life in general and marine mammals in specific.
What makes "Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean" such a good book? I am not a marine mammal specialist, but I still considered the book quite readable. I admit it was not an easy read. Especially chapter 6 "Sperm Whale Societies", which is about concentrations, groups and social units, I thought very difficult and rather dry. The high level of references sometimes disturb the fluidity of the text. The book was very interesting and packed with information. In a fascinating way mr. Whitehead took me into the depths of the oceans along with these amazing animals. His level of writing is very academic, but his enthusiasm about these animals is reflected by almost each and every sentence. I highly recommend this book to all marine mammal enthusiasts.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just briefly - this is a wonderful book, an inspired and inspiring scientific round-up of facts and argument surrounding the magnificent sperm whale.
And ah - what a magnificent beast! And what a shockingly shameful record of mindless destruction and havoc we humans have wrought on their populations. Sadly the madness continues with unswerving stupidity as the Japanese government finds new ways to disgrace itself. Whitehead covers the ground with delicate ease and useful detail. He maintains as level an academic position as his dignity (considerable) allows.
But let's not allow the worse to sully the best.....get this cracking book and revel in its treasure-trove of info' on sperm whales, dynamic divers of the deep ocean, loving family socialites, and deployers of the most formidable acoustic abilities on the planet.
Interesting observation: Given how they allocate their time, are sperm whales better regarded as deep-water animals who visit the surface (as, of course, obligate air-breathers) or is it the other way round?!
And ah - what a magnificent beast! And what a shockingly shameful record of mindless destruction and havoc we humans have wrought on their populations. Sadly the madness continues with unswerving stupidity as the Japanese government finds new ways to disgrace itself. Whitehead covers the ground with delicate ease and useful detail. He maintains as level an academic position as his dignity (considerable) allows.
But let's not allow the worse to sully the best.....get this cracking book and revel in its treasure-trove of info' on sperm whales, dynamic divers of the deep ocean, loving family socialites, and deployers of the most formidable acoustic abilities on the planet.
Interesting observation: Given how they allocate their time, are sperm whales better regarded as deep-water animals who visit the surface (as, of course, obligate air-breathers) or is it the other way round?!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
He can write!
29 Feb 2008
Format:Paperback
First things first: "Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean" is a marvellously written in-depth account of every aspect of the sperm whale. I just loved the enthusiasm with which mr. Whitehead has written it. His professionalism is undoubted and his academic level is very high. But above all: he can write!
Some background info on myself: I am Dutch, English is not my mother tongue. I graduated from university, so I am quite capable of reading academic texts. I love reading English and have read quite a lot of books in that wonderful language. I have recently become more interested in marine life in general and marine mammals in specific.
What makes "Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean" such a good book? I am not a marine mammal specialist, but I still considered the book quite readable. I admit it was not an easy read. Especially chapter 6 "Sperm Whale Societies", which is about concentrations, groups and social units, I thought very difficult and rather dry. The high level of references sometimes disturb the fluidity of the text. The book was very interesting and packed with information. In a fascinating way mr. Whitehead took me into the depths of the oceans along with these amazing animals. His level of writing is very academic, but his enthusiasm about these animals is reflected by almost each and every sentence. I highly recommend this book to all marine mammal enthusiasts.
Some background info on myself: I am Dutch, English is not my mother tongue. I graduated from university, so I am quite capable of reading academic texts. I love reading English and have read quite a lot of books in that wonderful language. I have recently become more interested in marine life in general and marine mammals in specific.
What makes "Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean" such a good book? I am not a marine mammal specialist, but I still considered the book quite readable. I admit it was not an easy read. Especially chapter 6 "Sperm Whale Societies", which is about concentrations, groups and social units, I thought very difficult and rather dry. The high level of references sometimes disturb the fluidity of the text. The book was very interesting and packed with information. In a fascinating way mr. Whitehead took me into the depths of the oceans along with these amazing animals. His level of writing is very academic, but his enthusiasm about these animals is reflected by almost each and every sentence. I highly recommend this book to all marine mammal enthusiasts.
" Serm Whales: Social Evolution In The Ocean "
2 Jan 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A fine book by one of the elders , of Sperm Whale research . Along with Richard Ellis's " The Great Sperm Whale " , we have caught up with serious and popular , knowledge of this my favorite creature . Now I wish a film could be made , as was done to introduce Bart in the film " Bears ". A read that you will enjoy and making lying in bed before sleep that much more filled with wonder . For what are they doing with their huge brains and massive selves ? Thank you to the authors . ,,,,,Lee H .
0 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A little too dry
21 Dec 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As a great whalefan I bought this book with great expectations. But I was soon disappointed. The author deals with the subject in a very un-entertaining way. He comes up with a lot of diagrams, showing what whale said what sound at what island in 1987 and 1989. In another diagram we can see how long the sounds are at this and that islands waters in this or that year.
Unless you are a professor this is not fun at all. The only exiting chapter was the one, that about how spermwhales defend themselves against agressors.
Unless you are a professor this is not fun at all. The only exiting chapter was the one, that about how spermwhales defend themselves against agressors.
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