The Whale Hunters

Regardless of what you think about the ancient tradition of hunting whales, you have to admit that it's an impressive feat worthy of a Hemingway novel. Of course, Papa never wrote about this act of man v. beast, but in a classic and superb Outside Magazine article Perfect Storm author Sebastian Junger tries to do it justice. (Hey, what's Junger up to these days, anyway? haven't heard from him in a while.)

He travels to Bequia, one of 32 islands that make up the southern Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where grizzled men pursue humpbacks as part of a centuries-old tradition. You will read the story of Ollivierre, who, unlike his kindred spirits in places like Greenland, Alaska, and Siberia, takes down whales the old fashioned way: using a sailboat and a hand-thrown harpoon.

Again, you may find the idea of killing harmless cetaceans repulsive and anachronistic (I do), but if you read this story, you will at the very least find a modicum of respect for Ollivierre, who heads out to sea to take on the earth's largest animal with nothing but guts and simple tools.

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