Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins

Journalist and author Casey, who has written previous books on marine topics (Devil's Teeth), explores evidence of a unique bond between humans and dolphins throughout history. The art and legends of ancient civilizations, such as the Minoans and Greeks as well as native American peoples, depict dolphins helping humans. Prior to the 2004 Indonesian tsunami a pod of dolphins prevented a group of sightseeing boats from heading to shore and ushered them back to safety. Swimmers and surfers in Hawaii and California have reported that dolphins saved them from shark attacks. Casey admires the animals' x-ray vision, echolocation skills, high-frequency communication, sociability, and swimming speed and laments that they have been harmed by marine pollution and overfishing, which reduces their food supply. The author made contact with marine mammal conservation groups and traveled to parks in Hawaii, the Dominican Republic, Japan, and Canada in which dolphins are kept in captivity under harmful conditions. A list of scientific and environmental groups and their websites are included. Photos not seen.