AMONG WHALES by Roger Payne (Delta:...

AMONG WHALES by Roger Payne (Delta: $13.95, 431 pp.). Cetologist Roger Payne examines the shifting relationship between humans and whales, illustrating his points with studies conducted on the Patagonian coast. Noting that whales appear as large to humans as humans do to squirrels, he argues that cetaceans, “demonstrate to us that our ancient and ignorant belief in the inherent supremacy of our species over all others is utterly wrong. They (whales) put the appalling consequences of that view on public display in an overwhelmingly unforgettable way--and thus refute it forever.”

Although he occasionally gets carried away with his complaints about “speciesism,” Payne presents astonishing facts about whales with unusual grace.