The Yankee Whaler (Dover Maritime)

When I got the Amazon notice about this 'new' book by Ashley, I was more than a little confused. I am almost six decades old and I was pretty sure that he had passed on before I was born. As it turns out I was correct, this is NOT a new book, rather a new printing of an old one. To me this was great news, Ashley was a very talented artist, writer and historian who lived in an age many of us can not even conceive of. The age of chasing whales under sail was all but past as Ashley grew up, many of the famous ships from the era were already in watery graves. Someone decided that one last venture in search of whales by tall ship might be worthwhile and we are very fortunate that when that ship sailed, Ashley was aboard to record the voyage. This is not a novel, not a romantic story of life at sea, it is a documentary, Ashley's attempt to combine his own experience and the countless hours he had spent researching to create a history of whaling in New England. For me it was time well spent, I've been told that I had a great ... grandfather who captained a whaler, perhaps it really is in my blood. I am not so sure that many among the generations younger than me, will feel that 'connection' and wade through the logs and lists that tell that history but if you read and enjoyed 'Moby Dick' and would like to learn more about that era, this is your book!

The book is more of a history than I expected, similar to "leviathan." The first two chapters contain a firsthand account of his whaling voyage but the rest is a history of whaling with a bit of the author's experience added where it is applicable.A fantastic read for anyone interested in finer details of whaling (a glossary of whaling terms even included) such as tools and procedures but not, however, the optimal read for someone seeking an adventurous whaling story.

Want to imagine yourself a sailor a hundred years ago? Whaling has pretty much died out, but for many years they provided fuel oils for American and European homes. The adventures of whaling are wonderfully described in this text. I own Clifford Ashley's Knots book https://www.amazon.com/Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford-W/dp/0385040253/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1514332724&sr=8-1&keywords=clifford+ashley and it is outstanding so I thought I read some of his other works. This is a very good book for the young seaman in all of us.I'm glad we don't hunt whales anymore but I would have liked to sail on whalers to experience the open seas then. This book helps you realize what this might have been like.

Clifford Ashley went to sea on a yankee whaler at a time when he felt that whaling would soon end as a viable business. He was right of course, his trip was one of the last and we are lucky today that someone had the foresight to preserve this information for the history books. The real business of whaling was for the oil taken from the whales blubber. The newly introduced practice of pumping petroleum oil from underground quickly made whaling a costly alternative instead of the prime source. This is the author's first hand account of whaling men and methods in the early 1900's. Fascinating stuff.

I am in the process of writing a novel involving a New England whaling Quaker. This book is an invaluable research tool. I think anyone with an active interest in whaling from sailing ships will cherish this book and keep it on the same shelf as the W.W. Norton unabridged version of "Moby Dick."

This book is filled with Artwork that was done by someone who was actualy there. The entire process from the hunt to delivering barrels of finished oil is covered. A lexicon of whaling terms is included. You can almost hear the timbers creaking as you go on a several year enterprise! I just wish all the paintigs where in color!

Good book. I find whaling interesting and this was a nice read.

Love this book!!

Ehemaliger Seemann, der das Walfanggeschäft noch erlebt hat. Mir gefiel seine um Objektivität bemühte Sichtweise. Das Buch ist in den zwanziger Jahren des 20. Jhds. geschrieben. Ein schöner Beweis für die Klarsicht: Er kennt Melville und Moby-Dick, Melville war aber zur Zeit der Niederschrift noch nicht wiederentdeckt, d. h. mehr oder weniger unbekannt. Autor schafft es trotzdem, in Melville einen Schriftsteller zu sehen, bei dem alles stimmt. Daß mit Moby-Dick das eigentliche Buch der Bücher vorliegt, konnte Autor weder wissen noch fiel es in seinen Beritt, solches zu erkennen. Ehrliches und schönes Buch.

OK, I had to edit my review after I had read a bit more. This is an excellent book. It is a real insight in to the whaling industry as it was in the early 19th century.I'm sure anyone who has enjoyed the recent movie about the Essex will enjoy this neat little book.