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255 reviews for:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, Seaworld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
Howard Chua-Eoan, John Hargrove
4.22 AVERAGE
255 reviews for:
Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, Seaworld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish
Howard Chua-Eoan, John Hargrove
4.22 AVERAGE
Such an interesting book with very valid and balanced points. The author was a senior trainer at Seaworld and is able to offer a very behind the scenes look at working with orcas. I’ve always been fascinated with orcas and saw them as a child at Marine World, but can also appreciate that the environment that is provided for them is not healthy. John Hargrove sees the value in teaching people about these amazing creatures and how smart and empathetic they are. After rising through the ranks of Sea World, John begins to realize the politics involved and how maybe the dangerous behaviors exhibited by orcas in captivity are because of us.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
“Captivity is always captivity, no matter how gentle the jailer.”
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I haven't seen Blackfish so I learned a lot in this book. I can't believe so much harm happened without anyone notice!
I haven't seen Blackfish so I learned a lot in this book. I can't believe so much harm happened without anyone notice!
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I read this book in 2018, on a flight to volunteer with animals in South Africa. It is one of the most impactful works of nonfiction I've ever read. It's also one of the only books to make me cry. I was sitting in a crowded plane holding back tears while I read about him comforting an orca who was being artificially inseminated much younger than she ever would have had a calf in the wild. I haven't touched it again since, because it made me feel so raw, but I still think about it regularly and how much it changed my perspective to wildlife captivity.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Eye-opening. Never thought that these things happen under the seemingly innocent large cooperations we trust so much in protecting animals. Makes me re-consider things I didn’t question before— are we really saving animals when we hold them for captivity?
I’ve loved orcas since Keiko appeared in a little fjord in Norway when I was little. I became obsessed with them. I even made little orcas made of lego because I couldn’t find any orca toys. It was something about those animals that spoke to me. They were so magical and mysterious. The kings of the ocean.
Years later, I discovered Blackfish, and then this book.
This book is so important. I want everybody to read it. It gives such an insight how the whales and trainers were treated by Seaworld. However, it’s not just about that. It’s about a man’s goodbye to someone he loves.
I cried multiple times during this book. The way Hargrove tells his story and the way he talks about the whales is so beautiful and heartbreaking.
Years later, I discovered Blackfish, and then this book.
This book is so important. I want everybody to read it. It gives such an insight how the whales and trainers were treated by Seaworld. However, it’s not just about that. It’s about a man’s goodbye to someone he loves.
I cried multiple times during this book. The way Hargrove tells his story and the way he talks about the whales is so beautiful and heartbreaking.