Hardy Jones
CreateSpace
May 2011 / 145677533
Biography/Memoir
Amazon
Reviewed
by Leslie Halpern
The Voice of the Dolphins follows
three-decades in the life of Hardy Jones, executive director of
BlueVoice.org, as he follows his passionate pursuit of filming,
studying, and ultimately saving dolphins. He began his true-life
adventure in 1957 when as a 16-year-old boy he had a close encounter
with a dolphin while vacationing with his family at the Miami Seaquarium
in Florida. Years later, when he began his professional career as
a filmmaker and broadcast journalist, he directed his attention
to ocean life.
What began as general exploration, however, became
increasingly personal as Jones and his crew grew to know and interact
with particular dolphins over the years. He actually named some
of them, and reunited with these dolphins during repeat visits to
the areas. After he witnessed Japanese hunts in which dolphins were
routinely slaughtered while capturing tuna, his films became more
than mere educational movies about the potential for inter-species
communication and interaction; he also wanted a call to action in
order to end these cruel rituals. In recent years, the focus of
his research shifted again as dolphins (and other sea creatures)
became ill and died from toxins in the water. Eventually, Jones
also developed a form of blood cancer related to exposure to toxic
chemicals. Thus his campaign to clean up the oceans became intensely
personal.
In this well-written memoir enhanced with several
illustrations and photographs, Jones explains complicated scientific
elements without overloading readers with more jargon than necessary.
The book becomes an interesting mix of science, personal memoir,
and cautionary tale as he describes (through his own health crisis)
how the threat to marine life becomes a threat to all.
Even without knowing anything about filmmaking,
ocean life, pollutants, or medicine, most people will be able to
relate to this adventure and sympathize with all those involved,
as even the fisherman who slaughter the dolphins share their side
of the story. The author, a recipient of numerous professional awards
including a lifetime achievement award from the International Wildlife
Film Festival, comes across as sincere, though perhaps overly sentimental
at times. Nonetheless, Jones shares an important story everyone
should read.
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