Orca: Visions of the Killer Whale

From its haunting cover to the playful shot on its last page, this book is filled with enchanting photographs and artistic renderings of orcas by assorted contributors. It also contains detailed prose by Knudtson (Wisdom of Elders: Honoring Sacred Visions of Nature) about the history and evolution, habits and habitats, language and communication of the enormous animal. Although the author admits that ""a human being can never fully grasp the interior reality of another life form,"" he notes that ""few subjects present a greater challenge than does Orcinus Orca, the killer whale."" Quotations from writers such as Cormac McCarthy and D.H. Lawrence encourage readers to reflect upon the power and beauty of orcas. A foreword by David Suzuki reminds readers, without being remotely preachy, to consider the plight of orcas kept in captivity. And there's even a little sex-the author describes the ""prolonged, sensual, courtship-like interactions between resident orcas,"" while explaining that no one has ever captured images of these private creatures actually mating in the wild.