Richard J. King (2)

Full disclosure, this was written by a professor I had at the Williams-Mystic program (F02), which was probably the semester of school that most influenced my worldview and values around environmentalism, sustainability, and human impact. Not to mention, going to sea just fundamentally changed the way I think about the shape of the earth and how humans use it. Rich was a really enthusiastic, supportive, knowledgeable part of that, and I'm happy to be able to revisit WM academically, in however a bite-sized, passive capacity.

This is also just a really interesting take on [b:Moby-Dick or, the Whale|153747|Moby-Dick or, the Whale|Herman Melville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327940656l/153747._SY75_.jpg|2409320], a book I was assigned three different times in school and never quite managed to generate my own love for. However, thanks to WM and others (I also later sailed on the Seamans), I have a deep appreciation and love for reading scholarly, interdisciplinary writing on maritime themes. This one is particularly appealing because a natural history interpretation of Moby Dick inevitably winds up at the state of the oceans today (which is to say, dire). On the surface, it might seem like a stretch to read Moby Dick and conclude that fossil fuels and plastics are destroying everything, but it's all connected. It's the natural progression from where Melville was, and hopefully his readers will be moved towards change either by Moby or by books like this one.… (altro)