Thanks to Rose City Reader for hosting this meme. To participate, share the first line or two of the book you are currently reading and, if you feel so moved, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line.
The title recalls a certain famous fictional white whale, or is that just me? This is a coffee-table style book, I expect (my copy is pre-publication), and filled with images. It begins:
The hunt is one of man’s most ancient endeavors. One can barely imagine an early time when man was free from the need to find nutritious food or eliminate a dangerous predator. It’s been posited that language itself grew out of the need for precise communication as men stalked and hunted prey.
No argument there, I don’t think. And I like that McGuane pulls language into his opening lines – this being a work of written artistry, after all. But The Hunted Whale promises to star the whale, as well as the hunt, so stay tuned.
These quotation comes from an uncorrected advance proof and is subject to change.
Filed under: book beginnings | Tagged: coffee table books, history, nature, nonfiction |
pagesofjulia 
The Hunted Whale has been an amazing journey through the times of American Whaling. Through his outstanding writing and photography the writer had me feeling like I too was on the the ship. Such an educational piece of work. I would highly recommend!