BOOK OF THE MONTH: Singing Whales and Flying Squid

Singing Whales and Flying Squid: The Discovery of Marine Life by Richard Ellis (Lyons Press, 2006)

In some ways, this book feels more like two short books with some overlap. The first book is a history of marine exploration, with emphasis on marine biology. The second focuses more on how fragile and endangered marine life is. Both halves are good, but in a work of 288 pages (with some of that given over to illustrations and references), they leave the reader wanting more of both subjects.

What is here is first-rate. Ellis is a good writer, able to explain fairly technical concepts in friendly language, and very knowledgeable of his subjects. His excellent drawings and paintings bring his subjects to life. Even the reader well-versed in marine literature will learn something: one eye-opener, for example, is how the old stories of swordfish attacking whales turned out to be true, although the reasons for such pointless (or pointed, from the whale's point of view) attacks are still a complete mystery. Ellis does not focus just on the charismatic animals: he gives the clearest explanation of the bottom of the ocean food web that I have read in a popular book.

Not surprisingly, there are sections in here on Ellis' favorite creatures, the giant squid and the cetaceans. I had hoped for a bit more on the beaked whales, particularly the Species A and Species B mysteries. (I hope Richard will do another new book entirely about what's recently been learned, and being learned, about whales and dolphins.) The first underwater video of the giant squid, which was released only after the text was written, changed some of our assumptions about this animal, and Ellis deals with this in a note added at the front of the book.

Of interest to cryptozoologists, Ellis notes that the bizarre seven-meter "elbow squid" has not been formally described, despite several videos, because there is no holotype in hand. Ellis opts not to visit the subject of "sea serpents," which he has done in other books, and tosses off cryptozoology with a single (and misstated) aside. In a note on negative evidence, he says cryptozoologists point out that "because no one has ever seen a sasquatch doesn't mean there aren't any." The actual problem is quite different: many people believe they have seen sasquatches. The sentence would have been accurate if written "because no one has brought in hard evidence of sasquatch..."

Overall, this is a very valuable book, something which will draw more people in to the splendor of the oceans while painlessly introducing the science. I think it's clear that is precisely Ellis' purpose, and he accomplishes it in exemplary fashion.