Big Miracle

I had really wanted to see Big Miracle in theaters but never got the chance. When I went to the library to see if I could put the DVD on hold, they didn't have it yet so I borrowed the book instead. Big Miracle by Tom Rose tells the true story of three stranded whales in Barrow, Alaska in October of 1988.  I was too young to know that this event happened and when the movie trailers came out, I was very interested.

The book shares the details of everyone that was involved in the whale rescue. From Greenpeace, the U.S. Navy and oil producers to (my favorite) Minnesotans who manufactured de-icers. I was amazed at the number of poeple involved and the amount of money spent on this rescue. The author also highlights the drama of what he calls the media-created-nonevent. If the cameras didn't capture it and televise it, the rescue probably would not have happened! But every TV network and even a few foreign media crews were in Barrow watching and televising the whole thing. That just boggles my mind.

Reading this book made me realize that I'm not (yes, I'm admitting this in public) very environmentally friendly. I honestly don't think whales are people. Do I want to protect them and keep them around -- yes. Do I think we need to spend six million dollars to save three of them? Probably not.

This book also had at least a dozen gramatical errors, which drove me nuts. I don't claim to know everything about English at all -- but even I can write complete sentences! In my opinion, since there is now a movie on the subject, there isn't really a reason to read this book. The story itself was interesting but I wasn't a fan of the way it was written and I didn't think it needed to be as long as it was.

I had really wanted to see Big Miracle in theaters but never got the chance. When I went to the library to see if I could put the DVD on hold, they didn't have it yet so I borrowed the book instead. Big Miracle by Tom Rose tells the true story of three stranded whales in Barrow, Alaska in October of 1988.  I was too young to know that this event happened and when the movie trailers came out, I was very interested.

The book shares the details of everyone that was involved in the whale rescue. From Greenpeace, the U.S. Navy and oil producers to (my favorite) Minnesotans who manufactured de-icers. I was amazed at the number of poeple involved and the amount of money spent on this rescue. The author also highlights the drama of what he calls the media-created-nonevent. If the cameras didn't capture it and televise it, the rescue probably would not have happened! But every TV network and even a few foreign media crews were in Barrow watching and televising the whole thing. That just boggles my mind.

Reading this book made me realize that I'm not (yes, I'm admitting this in public) very environmentally friendly. I honestly don't think whales are people. Do I want to protect them and keep them around -- yes. Do I think we need to spend six million dollars to save three of them? Probably not.

This book also had at least a dozen gramatical errors, which drove me nuts. I don't claim to know everything about English at all -- but even I can write complete sentences! In my opinion, since there is now a movie on the subject, there isn't really a reason to read this book. The story itself was interesting but I wasn't a fan of the way it was written and I didn't think it needed to be as long as it was.