Thank you Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. I love animals and whales. Nick Pyenson has a beautiful writing style. The story had great writing, describing the whales so beautifully. I learned so much about the magnificent animals through this book. Highly recommend for anyone who loves whales and wants to learn more about them.

It was a lark that I chose to read this book. I like to intersperse nonfiction after every few novels, and although I have no great affinity for whales or the ocean (in fact, I'm a horrible swimmer), I thought "Why not? I love nature and I love sitting by the ocean and I know nothing about whales." I am so glad I did. I loved this book! It was incredibly informative and very well written. Organized logically, it presented scientific and historical data in an easy, breezy manner. I read the entire book in 4 days. I learned so much, I recommended it when I was only halfway done, and I was sorry when it was over. It is the perfect example of how scientists can and should present science and data in easily digestible, understandable, and, importantly, entertaining ways to a public audience. Kudos, Dr. Pyenson. This isn't an easy accomplishment and he nailed it. Highly recommended.

I've always had a fascination with whales, dolphins and other mammals that live in the sea. I think maybe it's because they are so like us, and yet so different at the same time. When I saw this book written by a Smithsonian paleontologist, I knew I had to read all about the past, present and future of whales. I'm glad I did -- this book is fascinating!

Nick Pyenson shares so many facts about whales...species that still swim in our oceans and ones that are long gone. He discusses the ancestors of the whales we know today, the life of whales now and what the future might be for some of the largest creatures on the planet. There is still so much about whales that we don't know because they spend most of their time in deep ocean where even modern humans have a hard time following. I found it fascinating that Pyenson shared the fact that some whales can live more than 200 years...so there are some still swimming that saw wooden ships with sails skimming across the ocean. It made me wonder with awe what experiences the oldest whale in the world might have had over its long life.

There is a lot of information and facts shared in this book, and at times Pyenson does get a bit academic. I read this book in small pieces, not in large chunks. The information is interesting and fascinating. But at times, the author let his ego show a bit. I don't fault highly educated people for this at all....they have a lot of knowledge and experiences that I don't. For me, small doses is best with information dense nonfiction like this book. Every night I would read a chapter or two while the HD television across the room showed an ocean documentary for ambiance. It just so happened that I was reading this book while Shark Week was on Discovery Channel....so it worked out perfectly. Sharks aren't whales of course...but the lovely ocean scenes made a perfect background for my enjoyment of this book.

Lovely book! A nice blend of Pyenson's personal experiences and facts, history and information about whales themselves. He presents the information in an interesting way. Pyenson actually gives tours at the Smithsonian. After reading his book, I imagine he is an awesome guide! Great read!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Penguin/Viking via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Writing about science in a manner that is entertaining and accessible while also conveying the desired information with clarity and concision – not an easy task by any means. Finding the proper balance of wonky jargon and narrative engagement requires a backwards-and-forwards depth of knowledge about the subject matter AND significant storytelling acumen. It’s a shot at harmony while dodging discord.

In short, there’s a real art to science writing.

Nick Pyenson’s new book “Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures” is a prime example of getting it right. Pyenson is unabashedly wonky for long stretches (though he does come by it honestly - he’s Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals at the Smithsonian and a noted paleobiologist), but he also allows his personal passion for the work shine through. True passion is infectious, and that’s what he brings to the table – the reader can’t help but be drawn along.

The book’s format is precisely what its subtitle tells you it is. “Spying on Whales” comes in three parts, each section an exploration of the past, present or future of the largest creatures on Earth.

In Part I, we get a good look at Pyenson’s work with fossils. We pay a visit to an unexpected treasure trove of ancient whale bones discovered in Chile and watch as he’s forced to rely on unconventional solutions to ensure the future educational possibilities of the site. We follow him deep into the nooks and crannies of the Smithsonian, learning about the multitude of whale artifacts therein. We even get a couple of deep dives (pun intended) into how whales have come to be and how they’ve impacted the ecosystems in which they exist over the millennia.

With Part II, Pyenson gives us a closer examination of whales as they are today. These whales are true giants of the seas; the biggest of them are arguably the largest creatures to ever exist on this planet. Seriously – the largest recorded blue whale is basically the same size as the largest of the dinosaurs. And so many others are also gigantic, so big as to beg questions with regards to the logistics of their existence. We also spend time with Pyenson at an Icelandic whaling operation where he and his team are able to explore whale biology in ways that hadn’t been done in years if at all.

As for Part III, we get a glimpse at some of Pyerson’s thoughts about the future of whales. With the changing nature of the climate, there are some ecological shifts that impact whale life (some positively, others negatively). The population devastation wrought by the relentless overkill of the whaling industry’s peak has some major consequences for species viability going forward as well. The seas were once teeming with whales, but mankind’s interference – filling the seas with noise and trash and carbon dioxide – may ensure that such a day never returns.

Full disclosure: were it not for my job, I might well never have picked up “Spying on Whales” in the first place. While I have my affection for science-oriented nonfiction, I can’t say that I’d ever given whales much thought. And there are plenty of other new books out there to review. Yet this is the one I started to read.

And I’m truly glad I did.

What “Spying on Whales” does so beautifully is convey the seemingly boundless passion of a scientist in a way that is true to his work without sacrificing accessibility. Despite the fact that Pyenson does get a little wonky at times, the book continues to engage. The specifics and minutiae being shared are a delight, but even if they’re a bit too much, their presence never impacts a more general understanding.

Anyone who has spent even a little time thinking about it is aware that whales are fascinating creatures, but what books like this one do is shine a light on that fascination. Pyenson loves them and loves learning about them … and wants the reader to love it too. Academic joy is weird and niche, but it’s also pure and entertaining as heck.

“Spying on Whales” is prime science writing, a distillation of a subject that is neither condescending nor exclusive. It’s a lovely piece of nonfiction, one that educates and entertains. Lovers of science – especially biology – will adore it, but even absent those interests, a reader possessed of simple natural curiosity might well find themselves diving deep.

What a fascinating read. It's rare I take time for non-fiction these days, but this was totally worth it.

Nick Pyenson, curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, writes a combination memoir and popular science book about his research and life's work. Pyenson has traveled far in his line of work, including to the Valley of the Whales in Egypt and a layered Chilean whale graveyard. He recounts the stories behind some of this work as well as the understanding of whale evolution. I was most fascinated with the idea of whales evolving from land mammals, something I vaguely knew but not in any kind of detail. The science can be a little dense at times, at least for those without any solid background or reference points (me, unfortunately) but there's a lot to learn from Pyenson's incredible work and research.