One of my most prized possessions is a personal letter from the late, great Jacques Yves Cousteau which is framed and hangs on the wall of my study. This is the man who brought the undersea world into the living rooms of so many people all over the world. Those television programmes first began in the 1950's and yet, even today, people talk about them as though they went out only yesterday.
Not only did this man pioneer the invention and development of the Aqualung, he also pioneered the development of underwater photography. It was to be expected, therefore, that any book bearing his name would be the most complete and thorough account of the subject and that the photography would simply be the best. It is.
Jacques Cousteau's Whales is a large coffee table book containing 280 pages of sheer value for money. The content includes Whaling in all it's bloody detail, a description of each species, their plight today, their migratory, mating and eating habits and much, much more besides. There are historic references throughout the book where appropriate. Numerous ancient and historic pictures and photographs appear alongside modern photography which detail every aspect of the Whale. As with all good photographs, many of the images speak volumes; Across pages 10 and 11, for example is a photograph of a few Seagulls above a sea turned bright red by Whaling.
For many people, this will be the only book on the subject of Whales the will require and they will not be disappointed.
NM
