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| Harpoon Venture (Wilder Places) | 
 enlarge | Author: Gavin Maxwell
Publisher: The Lyons Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $0.74
You Save: $14.21 (95%)
Buy New/Used from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  (3 reviews)
Sales Rank: 5626351
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 1558214364
Dewey Decimal Number: 639.2731092
EAN: 9781558214361
ASIN: 1558214364
Publication Date: July 1, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Harpoon Venture is the thrilling story of Gavin Maxwell's four years hunting the basking shark. When Maxwell, best known for Ring of Bright Water, acquired a small island off Scotland after World War Two, he decided to hunt the thirty-foot leviathan of the northern waters for commercial purposes. He confronts danger and difficulties of a magnitude to make this a tale of sea chase with very few peers among books of maritime adventure.
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| Customer Reviews:
 She feels it! July 29, 2005
This book is rough going. Maxwell is a talented writer, but the story tends to drag periodically throughout the work. However, this IS the story of a failed business enterprise, so one cannot expect an inspiring tale. It is filled with frustration, dashed hopes, and melancholy.
Despite this grim description, I do believe that this is worth your time if you are interested in the basking shark, or simply a story set a maritime setting. I have wanted to visit the Scottish Isles since reading this book. And Maxwell's descriptions of his companions make up for the generally somber tone.
This was a pleasure to read.
P.S. the title of this critique comes from the book.
 Nothing is ever lost June 29, 2000
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Maxwell's attempts to set up a Basking shark fishery based on what was then his island, Soay. The reader does not need to venture out into a small boat off the coast of Skye to get a feel for this experience. The writing lacks a little of the delicate wistfulness of the 'otter' books yet there is no doubting his style and beautifully descriptive prose. Being born into nobility was no guarantee of a successful life and it shows great tribute to the man that he was willing to get his hands dirty in this way. A lot of useful research on Basking sharks came from this venture and provides a rare window into an age that is past.
Moving story of fishing in the 1940's off the Scottish coast September 21, 1999
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Gavin Maxwell writes movingly of his attempt to start a shark-fishing business off the coast of Scotland in the post-war 1940's. He mixes great descriptions of people and place with the honest account of a failed business enterprise. Maxwell is excellent at making a good story from his life experiences. An interesting read even if you don't like shark-fishing!
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