Book description
In October 1988 an Inuit hunter saw three grey whales trapped in the
frozen Arctic ocean near Barrow, an isolated Alaskan outpost. They were
working together to keep their blow hole open, the two adolescents
caring for the weaker baby. It was a poignant sight. Filmed by a local
television reporter, this tiny regional news story snowballed into a
global media frenzy.
In this gripping, insightful book Tom Rose describes how journalists
poured into Barrow, all woefully ill equipped for the sub-zero
temperatures, warming up on bootleg alcohol. As the locals cheerfully
found ways to profit from the visitors, Greenpeace activist Cindy Lowry
battled to mount an extraordinary rescue operation that would unite
conservationists and oil companies, the Inuit and the military,
President Reagan and the Kremlin.
'At times a marvellously funny story . . . Beneath the heartwarming
aspect of the rescue are darker tales of human greed, and about the
power television has acquired to set the agenda of the news'
Washington Post
'Few novels could match the characters, plot and dramatic tension'
Chicago Tribune
Tom Rose, who covered the story of the whales in 1988, went on to
become publisher and CEO of the Jerusalem Post.
Today he is a talk show host and lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.
