
The Breath of a Whale
The Science and Spirit of Pacific Ocean Giants
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Narrated by:
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Karen White
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By:
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Leigh Calvez
About this listen
From the author of The Hidden Lives of Owls, an exploration of the elusive lives of whales in the Pacific Ocean, home to orcas, humpbacks, sperm, blue, and gray whales.
Leigh Calvez has spent a dozen years researching, observing, and probing the lives of the giants of the deep. Here, she relates the stories of nature's most remarkable creatures, including the familial orcas in the waters of Washington State and British Columbia; the migratory humpbacks; and the ancient, deep-diving blue whales, the largest animals on the planet. The lives of these whales are conveyed through the work of dedicated researchers who have spent decades tracking them along their secretive routes that extend for thousands of miles, gleaning their habits and sounds and distinguishing peculiarities. The author invites the listener onto a small research catamaran maneuvering among 100-foot-long blue whales off the coast of California; or to join the task of monitoring patterns of humpback whale movements at the ocean surface: tail throw, flipper slap, fluke up, or blow. To experience whales is breathtaking. To understand their lives deepens our connection with the natural world.
©2019 Leigh Calvez (P)2019 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Humankind's relationship with the wolf is the sum of a spectrum of responses ranging from fear to admiration and affection. Lopez's classic, careful study has won praise from a wide range of reviewers and improved the way books on wild animals are written. Of Wolves and Men explores the uneasy interaction between wolves and civilization over the centuries, and the wolf's prominence in our thoughts about wild creatures.
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To Better Know Wolves
- By REV on 08-20-22
By: Barry Lopez
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The Invention of Nature
- Alexander von Humboldt's New World
- By: Andrea Wulf
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was an intrepid explorer and the most famous scientist of his age. His restless life was packed with adventure and discovery, whether climbing the highest volcanoes in the world or racing through anthrax-infested Siberia. He came up with a radical vision of nature, that it was a complex and interconnected global force and did not exist for man's use alone. Ironically, his ideas have become so accepted and widespread that he has been nearly forgotten.
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Poignant origin story
- By Jeremy Fairbanks on 03-03-16
By: Andrea Wulf
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The Mushroom at the End of the World
- On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins
- By: Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Matsutake is the most valuable mushroom in the world - and a weed that grows in human-disturbed forests across the northern hemisphere. Through its ability to nurture trees, matsutake helps forests to grow in daunting places. It is also an edible delicacy in Japan, where it sometimes commands astronomical prices. In all its contradictions, matsutake offers insights into areas far beyond just mushrooms and addresses a crucial question: what manages to live in the ruins we have made?
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An interesting book full of great ideas but lacking clarity.
- By Amazon Customer on 06-29-21
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The Insect Crisis
- The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World
- By: Oliver Milman
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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From ants scurrying under leaf litter to bees able to fly higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, insects are everywhere. Three out of every four of our planet's known animal species are insects. In The Insect Crisis, Oliver Milman dives into the torrent of recent evidence that suggests this kaleidoscopic group of creatures is suffering the greatest existential crisis in its remarkable 400-million-year history.
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Great information
- By Nadya S. on 06-25-23
By: Oliver Milman
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Cannibalism
- By: Bill Schutt
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Eating one's own kind is a completely natural behavior in thousands of species, including humans. Throughout history we have engaged in cannibalism for reasons related to famine, burial rites, and medicine. Cannibalism has also been used as a form of terrorism and as the ultimate expression of filial piety. With unexpected wit and a wealth of knowledge, Bill Schutt takes us on a tour of the field, exploring exciting new avenues of research and investigating questions like why so many fish eat their offspring and some amphibians consume their mothers' skin.
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Ruined it at the end
- By Kimberly Ames on 12-07-17
By: Bill Schutt
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The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks
- Tales of Important Geological Puzzles and the People Who Solved Them
- By: Donald R. Prothero
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks tells the fascinating stories behind the discoveries that shook the foundations of geology. In 25 chapters, Donald R. Prothero recounts the scientific detective work that shaped our understanding of geology, from the unearthing of exemplary specimens to tectonic shifts in how we view the inner workings of our planet.
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More about scientists than science
- By Aunt Vee on 06-14-20
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The Sleeping World: Singing with a Humpback Whale
- By: Mumble Media, Audible Sleep
- Narrated by: Cynthia Kimola
- Length: 54 mins
- Original Recording
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Humpback whales are among the most intelligent animals on Earth. Some scientists believe they might even surpass humans in self-awareness, empathy, and communication skills. In this episode, we swim with a whale as he teams up with other humpbacks to use bubbles to catch fish, rescues a sea lion, and puts his own spin on melodies sung by whales across the Pacific Ocean. This is the world in its natural state, defined by seasons, routines, and cycles. By the time this whale is ready to close one eye and go to sleep, you will be too.
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Awesome
- By Zach on 03-27-25
By: Mumble Media, and others
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The Disappearing Spoon
- And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Reporter Sam Kean reveals the periodic table as it’s never been seen before. Not only is it one of man's crowning scientific achievements, it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.
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Great Book, Great Narration, But...
- By Henny Button on 09-18-10
By: Sam Kean
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Underland
- A Deep Time Journey
- By: Robert Macfarlane
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Hailed as "the great nature writer of this generation" (Wall Street Journal), Robert Macfarlane is the celebrated author of books about the intersections of the human and the natural realms. In Underland, he delivers his masterpiece: an epic exploration of the Earth's underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory, and the land itself.
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Wonderful book, disappointing narrator
- By Clare Woods on 07-05-19
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Gathering Moss
- A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses
- By: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites listeners to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses.
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Soul Stirring
- By KatieBourgeois on 02-23-19
What listeners say about The Breath of a Whale
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-28-21
Insightful!
Informative, interesting and touching. I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about whales, their habits, how they are studied, and their plight. Well-written.
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- LS
- 03-11-23
please learn Hawaiian words if using in audio format
I generally enjoyed this story but was very frustrated with the narrator and their pronunciation of Hawaiian words. Really would recommend doing reach and learning to say words correctly before completing a full audiobook production
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- Lyra
- 06-10-24
Horrible narrator ruins an amazing book.
The book itself is outstanding. Unfortunately the robotic narrator destroys most of the enjoyment of listening. I couldn’t finish the audio book so ordered myself a copy of the book and will read it myself.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-26-19
Amazing journey into the whale world
This book has been totally inspiring to me. It gives plenty of info about whale habits, social behavior and the more you read the more you get affectionate and respectful towards these animals. And I think that this is the author’s goal indeed.
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6 people found this helpful
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- john
- 04-27-23
Narration
I agree with most of the other reviews. The narration was a bit robotic and detracted from the beauty of the story. It is more an emotional look at whales rather than a scientific look.
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- Patricia Crook
- 02-27-22
The Breath of a Whale
Loved it, very informative. I learned a lot about whales and other sea life that I did not know.
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- Deeedah
- 02-13-24
Wonderful
I loved everything about the story and loved the narrator, she made me feel like I was there with them.
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- Stephanie H
- 08-09-22
Wonderful book
The book is wonderful and insightful.
Unfortunately, the narration is robotic and not a great fit for the story.
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2 people found this helpful
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- M
- 03-11-23
Great tour of a few key cetaceans
I enjoyed listening to this book. Narration is a little bit robotic, but very clear. I see other reviews complaining that Hawaiian words were mispronounced, and that's disappointing, but it didn't change my experience.
The story meanders and does not follow a clear outline. The book as a whole feels more like a collection of essays than one single story. The author speaks of her own health challenges as a point to connect emotionally with whales but i don't feel like she told a complete story and every return to the theme of her leaving science or her health issues felt odd to me. I wish she had explored it more explicitly and tied it directly to the themes of the book. It's not that i didn't want to hear her story, but I felt confused about why she was telling us her story.
The science reporting consists more of showing us the day to day of what it's like to be on a research vessel tagging whales than teaching us what scientists know about whales. I would have enjoyed hearing more about experiments, shifting paradigms in marine mammalogy, and anatomical studies conducted on stranded individuals.
There is a strong emotional angle on conservation. I agree with the author's conviction that we need to do everything possible to respect and protect these fellow beings, and it makes me emotional as well, but I suspect some readers may be put off by the author's language around aspects of her interpretation of whale emotions and her own cosmology. That being said, the stories are heartfelt and I was moved to tears more than once.
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- Sophie Krupp
- 04-06-20
I couldn't handle the narration
I was really excited about this book but the reader sounded very robotic and I couldn't continue. I hope they re-do this one. I would love to listen. I have never had this problem with an audio book before.
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6 people found this helpful