Historian Daniel Francis reviews Mark Leiren-Young's
The Killer Whale Who Changed the World, which explores the unintended consequences of the 1964 accidental live capture of "Moby Doll":
Moby Doll’s time in captivity was brief but it was a transformative event in the history of the BC coast. It marked the beginning of a remarkable change in public perception and scientific understanding. This is the real subject of Leiren-Young’s book and the reason why he argues that Moby Doll “changed the world.” Able to get close to an orca for the first time, people began to recognize that it was a peaceable, intelligent animal, not a fearsome monster.
The review appears in
The Ormsby Review, a new initiative in British Columbia historical journalism named in honour of the mother of British Columbia history, the late Margaret Ormsby.
