In Pursuit of Giants: One Man's Global Search for the Last of the Great Fish

By Elaine Pagels

Book Overview

A veteran recreational fisherman embarks on an eye-opening adventure to track the few remaining big game fish. In Pursuit of Giants is an account of the high adventure of offshore sportfishing and a clarion call to preserve the last of the world's great fish. The story follows Rigney's global pilgrimage to encounter surviving populations of giant marlin, swordfish, and bluefin tuna hundreds of miles offshore New Zealand and Nova Scotia; in the sportfishing mecca of Cabo San Lucas; off Japan, South Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef; and in the Mediterranean. Rigney goes deep into the spiritual experience of the offshore world and introduces us to swordfish harpooners, sportfish captains, marine biologists, fish- farming pioneers, and Greenpeace activists. Rigney explores the crisis in fisheries management and considers what the loss of healthy, vibrant oceans means to us-to our health, our children's future, and our ability to experience the divine in nature. In Pursuit of Giants combines the romance of a great sport narrative with the passionate advocacy of the best environmental writing. It recalls the spiritual power of Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard and will win comparisons to Mark Kurlansky's Cod .

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670023353
• ISBN13: 9780670023356
• Release Date: June 2012
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.3" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Quick read. Interesting content.

What I appreciate about this book is that Pagels focused on the late 1st century through 5th century to illustrate how The Book of Revelation had been interpreted by early church fathers in the midst of extreme changes. Pagels also avoids the trap that many fall into by projecting cynical motivations on these individuals. She presents the information with an objective prose that allows the reader to project their own bias. Only in the Conclusion does Pagels express a personal perspective, which I found helpful and hopeful. This is NOT exegetical work on Revelation. It is an historical approach that reinforces why The Book of Revelation was, is, and will be a continued source of inspiration and interpretation for Christians.