Within the context of the human, social, cultural, and political developments that have shaped the lives of whales and dolphins, this resource explores how the fate of these creatures has become intertwined with human history. The story begins more than 1,000 years ago when hunters first took up harpoons and went to sea in search of the rich rewards of meat, oil, and whalebone, and it continues on a course through the whaling boom of the 18th and 19th centuries to the current row over Japanese whaling. The tragic implications of commercial fishing and noise pollution and the controversial keeping of dolphins and whales in captivity are detailed.