While this book is full of extremely interesting information regarding the captive display industry, I also found it to contain pages upon pages of useless information. I do not believe that I needed to know the exact date Dr. Naomi Rose got married. I also didn't need to know that her husband is seven years younger than her. It seemed that the author was offering more information regarding his experts in order to make them appear "real". He succeeded to a certain extent, but also included stories and information that were not in any way pertinent.

That being said, I found most of it to be a very engaging read and the information on cetaceans is extremely interesting and well presented. This is a great followup to watching "Blackfish" and I would recommend it.

I would also recommend looking into The Orca Project as they provide digital copies of much of the paperwork referenced in the book (Necropsy reports, animal files, as well as documents pertaining to the Dawn Brancheau investigation).

This book has certainly left me with a poor taste in my mouth regarding the captive display industry. I have never visiedt a SeaWorld park, and I am now positive that I never will.

On a side note: It was mentioned three times in this book that deceased Orca were shipped off to be rendered for pet food. I know that this is not the main focus of the book and many may not have found it odd at all, but I nearly lost my lunch at the idea that my cats may have at some point ingested one of the many "Shamus". I have avoided foods with byproducts for quite a while, and knew that the meat used was questionable, I was not aware just how questionable.