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Cover of A Whale for the Killing by Farley Mowat

A Whale for the Killing

Farley Mowat

  • 232 pages · about 4 hours
  • First published 1972
  • 24 editions
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1 About this book

In the 1960s, Farley Mowat was living in the tiny fishing community of Burgeo on the southwest coast of Newfoundland. When an 80-ton fin whale became trapped in a nearby saltwater lagoon, Mowat rejoiced: here was the first chance to study at close range one of the most magnificent animals in creation. Some local villagers thought otherwise, blasting the whale with rifle fire and hacking open her back with a motorboat propeller.

Mowat appealed desperately to the authorities, but it was too late-ravaged by an infection resulting from her massive wounds, the whale died. A plea for the end of commercial hunting of the whale, this moving account blends all the tension of the life-and-death struggle for one animal's survival with the drama of man's wanton destruction of life-bearing creatures and the environment itself.--WorldCat.

  • Biography
  • Adventure
  • Wildlife conservation
  • Christian
  • Whales
  • Animals
  • Abuse
  • Tales

2 About Farley Mowat

1921–2014

Farley McGill Mowat (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Canadian north, such as People of the Deer (1952) and Never Cry Wolf (1963). The latter, an account of his experiences with wolves in the Arctic, was made into a film of the same name released in 1983.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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