Learn about orcas at BookPeople tonight
I didn't cry when I saw the 2013 documentary film "Blackfish." But my daughter did. And both of us were all too ready to believe that the sentiment that “captivity has been a catastrophe for most killer whales taken from the wild.”
That quote comes from the nonfiction book "Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us" (Overlook Press, 320 pages, $19.76). The book by Seattle-based writer David Neiwert, who will read from his book at 6:30 tonight at the Moscow, Idaho, bookstore BookPeople, has received a number of good reviews:
From Kirkus: "A wide-ranging, interesting book that should be required reading for school-aged environmentalists."
From the Seattle Times: "In answer to the book’s subtitle — what we might learn from orcas — killer whales model cooperation and working together without hostility and violence. We would also learn again how interconnected are the worlds of humans and animals, and of air, land and water."
From The Stranger: "Neiwert is an unpretentious and well-informed investigative journalist, and it's worth seeing him read in person, if only to see his full-color slides and hear his recordings of southern resident orca calls."
Moscow is a good 90 minutes from Spokane. But the Palouse is beautiful this time of year. And if you're in the mood for a good road trip, Neiwert's reading might be a good reason to head south.