By Larry Claflin Jr.
Staff writer
May 22, 2008 12:04 am Author Eric Jay Dolin will make the trek from his home in Marblehead to the Salem Athenžum tonight to give a lecture and slide presentation based on his latest novel, "Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America" (W.W. Norton, $27.95). According to Dolin, the one-hour presentation will be a visual journey through the entire history of American whaling, followed by a question-and-answer session. "Leviathan," Dolin's ninth book, was selected as one of the best nonfiction books of 2007 by the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe and the Providence Journal. Also, Dolin was recently awarded the 23rd annual L. Byrne Waterman Award by the New Bedford Whaling Museum for outstanding contributions to whaling research and history, for the publication of "Leviathan." Tonight's event is sponsored jointly by the Salem Athenžum and the Salem Marine Society. The lecture will follow whaling's American story, from John Smith's arrival in New England in the 1600s to the ignominious end of the Wanderer, New Bedford's last whaling ship that wrecked in the shallows off Cuttyhunk Island in 1924. Dolin said the "fast-paced" presentation will feature dozens of slides from the pages of "Leviathan," images he culled from the collections of the New Bedford and Nantucket whaling museums as well as the Peabody Essex Museum. He said he expects that even experts in whaling lore may learn something at the talk. "I think that almost everyone in the audience will learn a number of things about whaling that they didn't know before," said Dolin. Although San Francisco and Hawaii, for instance, were whaling centers, Dolin referred to the phenomenon as "very much a New England story." "New England was where most of the action was, most of history," he said. "And Massachusetts was the epicenter of whaling in United States for almost the entire history of that industry." Until "Leviathan" was published in 2007, Dolin was employed as a government fisheries analyst in Gloucester. Now he writes full time and is working on his latest project, a book about the history of the fur trade in the U.S.
If you go What: Slideshow and lecture by Eric Jay Dolin on his book, "Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America" When: Thursday at 7 p.m. Where: The Salem Athenžum, 337 Essex St., Salem Cost: $10, $5 for members of the Athenžum and the Salem Marine Society Info: Call 978-744-2540 or visit www.salemathenaeum.net.
—
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.