Russell Fielding is Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies in the HTC Honors College at Coastal Carolina University. A Fulbright scholar, he has been awarded fellowships from the Nansen Fund, the Faroese Research Council, the University of Montana Global Leadership Initiative, and the American Geographical Society and has been interviewed by National Geographic, PBS, and 18 Degrees North. He served as a consultant on two documentary films, The Archipelago, by Benjamin Huguet, and Faroe Islands: Message from the Sea, by PBS Frontline/World. Since 2005 Fielding has been studying artisanal whaling traditions throughout the Atlantic, with field sites in the Faroe Islands, Newfoundland, and St. Vincent.
The Wake of the Whale would be fascinating just for its rich
ethnographic account of the history and present state of whaling in
St. Vincent and the Faroe Islands. Yet, gradually, it also turns
the mirror back on its readers, urging us to rethink our own
attitudes to whaling.
*Times Higher Education*
Russell Fielding’s multilayered assessment of artisanal whaling
traditions unfolds as a riveting narrative. Readers entranced by
the oceanic tales of writers such as Melville and Conrad will
likewise find in The Wake of the Whale many colorful, firsthand
accounts of seagoing experience to stir the imagination. Fielding’s
book is not only provocative, discerning, and solidly researched,
but a real page-turner.
*John Gatta, literary critic and author of Making Nature
Sacred*
A wonderful storyteller, Fielding guides us with sensitivity and
insight through the cultural, scientific, and ethical complexities
of humanity’s long relationship with whales. In doing so, he
illuminates the heart of our relationships with other animal
species, both domestic and wild.
*David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen*
Russell Fielding compares whaling in two different communities and
locations through a historical and sociocultural lens. He both
respects the whalers, offering readers insight into the tradition,
and honors environmental organizations protecting whales. A
well-documented, well-written, and balanced book.
*Jóan Pauli Joensen, University of the Faroe Islands*
The Wake of the Whale is a truly magnificent piece of work, an epic
tale of two worlds connected by North Atlantic currents and the
creatures that navigate them. Artisanal whaling, an ancient
communal practice, faces multiple threats in the Caribbean and
North Atlantic territories, the largest of which may be the
pollution of the ocean and its deleterious effects on biodiversity
and health.
*Priya Kissoon, University of the West Indies*
The Wake of the Whale provides detailed historical, sociocultural,
geographic, and political insight on a practice that is considered
by many to be taboo. Readers, whether for or against whaling, will
be challenged on many of the issues that underpin their positions.
Some may even defect to the other side.
*Janice Cumberbatch, University of the West Indies*
An enjoyable read…The Wake of the Whale provokes numerous critical
thoughts regarding the morality of different practices in
post-domestic societies.
*Conservation and Society*
A rare mix of scientific and social insight, The Wake of the Whale
raises compelling questions about the place of cultural traditions
in the contemporary world and the sacrifices we must make for
sustainability.
*Caribbean Compass*
A thought-provoking page-turner…Contributes to the literature of
contemporary global cultural geography and environmental history by
weaving together the landscapes of two geographically distant
places and peoples.
*AAG Review of Books*
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