Eye of the Whale Review

Eye of the Whale: Epic Passage from Baja to Siberia Dick Russell. Simon & Schuster, New York, 2001

The whale is Eschrichtius robustus, the gray whale of the Eastern Pacific, which makes “a twice-annual migration that must be regarded as one of the most spectacular achievements on the planet.” Swimming close to the shore, some 26,000 grays travel from breeding areas in the central Baja California region of Mexico to Arctic feeding grounds near the Bering Strait and back–a minimum of 5,000 miles each way. Environmental journalist Russell writes sensitively about the past, present and uncertain future of these remarkable animals.