A difficult book for an animal lover, but very well done . You connect with the members of the hunter group through universals like parent child relationships and struggles with identity. Meanwhile, the things that make them wholly unique are being chipped away by the homogenizing forces of the internet ,television, pop-music etc. an interesting if sobering read ( )

Audiobook. ( )

On a remote island, in Indonesia, live a tribe of hunter-gatherers, called the Lamalerans. They are the last of the subsistence whalers, still hunting with wood harpoons and handmade boats.
The author spent several years, with these fascinating people. He focuses on a pair of young men and their families, as the men master the challenging art of whaling. Despite some dry passages, it is a fine adventure story, looking at a dying culture, dealing with a rapidly transforming world. ( )

One family, one heart, one action, one goal. Lamaleran saying

Lembata, in Southeast Asia, is home to the Lamalerans who arrived there 500 years ago. They settled on the beach under a cliff, surviving by fishing for sperm whale and Manta ray and flying fish. Those who are successful in the hunt share with aging family members and community members. They are one of the few hunter-gatherer societies left in the world. But industrialized society is crowding in on them. Their children are enticed to the cities for education and jobs. Some remain for the air conditioning and running water. Outboard motors and smaller boats are replacing the handcrafted boats propelled by oar and the young carry cell phones.

In the middle of the typhoon is life--Lamaleran song

The songs were more than music—they were prayers. from The Last Whalers

Over three years, Clark spent a year living with the Lamalerans, participating as a community member, even eating manta ray brains.

The whalers risk their lives to kill the whales by jumping off their boats and using their body weight to drive long-handled spears deep into the animals. The ropes attached to the spears can entangle a man. The whales fight back, overturning the boats. It is all quite horrendous and brutal. But without the whale meat, the people starve. The dried meat get them through the hunger months. They trade the dried meat for rice and vegetables with the people at the top of the hill who are farmers.

The Last Whalers is marvelous because readers come to know these people intimately. A young man dreams of becoming a harpooner, the most honored position in their society, yet also dreams of life in the city. A young woman receives an education but committed to care for her elders must return to the village. The elders must preserve the old ways and knowledge while accepting that change is inevitable. To leave the village is to also leave the unity of one family, one heart, one action, one goal. It is hard to walk away from the strength of community to live in isolation with only yourself to depend upon.

Clark respects their traditions and way of life, noting that we should honor all cultures and be able to take the best each has to offer, learning from each other, cultural diversity perhaps essential to the survival of humanity.

The Lamalerans’ experience, then, speaks not just to the danger faced by earth’s remaining indigenous peoples but to the greater cultural extinction humanity is suffering. from The Last Whalers

Preserving the old ways and values in a changing world--it is what we all are dealing with, the universal challenge.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. ( )

Unfortunately, this was just far too much mundane detail than I cared to read. It is all detail, with no plot or distinctive characters. The Outside magazine article is enough for me. Moreover, I don't agree at all with the author's editorial stance on the Lamalerans and the importance of their whaling culture, and his arguments were so unpersuasive as to turn me off. It is an interesting cultural portrait still—occasionally, very interesting—and I appreciate the work that went into it; but I can't recommend this for a casual reader. ( )