Dolphin Confidential

February 6, 2012
Contrary to this memoir’s scintillating title, Bearzi (founder of the Los Angeles Dolphin Project and coauthor of Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins) has little to confess beyond her “deep love and appreciation for wildlife.” She offers a compelling tale of her career, all written in arresting present tense, and her close observations of dolphin behavior within it reveal more about the security of an individual who followed her passion than deep insights into dolphin culture. Bearzi wants to inspire others to become involved with conservation, as “this intimate life with dolphins, whales, and other creatures has left a profound and beautiful impression.” In addition, she hopes to teach “lessons of humility” regarding “humanity’s conceit and insatiable greed.” Anecdotes of dolphins mourning, feeding, and behaving heroically remind the reader of the commonalities and differences in these sea creatures and ourselves, a comparison Bearzi knows all too well: “They don’t perform to our species standard, and one should value them for who they really are.” In this tale of intellectual pursuit and study, Bearzi asks the reader to do as she has done while also working for the animals’ protection: “The more I learn about my fellow animals, the more I feel the need to protect them in their natural state.”

April 1, 2012

Pairing vivid images of bottlenose dolphins swimming together and caring for one another with descriptions of the meticulous scientific work required to record their behavior, Bearzi (founder, Los Angeles Dolphin Project; coauthor, Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins) sheds light on the life of a field biologist. She avoids attributing human emotions to dolphins (their brains' responses cannot be documented in the wild) but conveys her love of the species and concern for their survival in ever more-polluted oceans. Like other firsthand narratives (Trevor Norton's Underwater To Get Out of the Rain and Julia Whitty's Deep Blue Home), this book provides a balanced account of the realities of scientific work, and it portrays Bearzi's own scientific journey from Padua to Los Angeles. A list of cetaceans cited, three pages of suggested readings, and numerous line drawings by the author enhance the text. VERDICT A beautifully written account of the author's scientific development, this book will appeal to high school and college students interested in pursuing marine biology as well as to the general public.--Judith B. Barnett, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib., Kingston

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