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Moby-Duck
The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them
Book Summary
A Whiting Writers Award-winning journalist recounts his investigation at the side of unexpected companions into the mysterious loss of thousands of bath toys in the ocean, a whimsical journey that pulled him into the worlds of shipping conglomerates, Arctic researchers, maverick sailors and Chinese toy-factory workers.
Genres:
This book is about:
- Hohn, Donovan,
- Plastic toys,
- Marine debris,
- Ocean currents,
- Anecdotes
NPR stories about Moby-Duck
Best Books Of 2011
What Sticks: Five 2011 Books That Stay With You
Melville's influence has run deep this year, providing, among other things, the central motif for Moby-Duck, Donovan Hohn's quest narrative about 28,880 bath toys lost at sea in 1992. What begins as a seemingly whimsical search for rubber duckies spilled overboard in hurricane-force winds in the North Pacific becomes a primer in oceanography, a whale of an adventure tale and an eye-opening inquiry into the disturbing, growing environmental effects of plastic pollution and climate... more
—Heller McAlpin
Author Interviews
'Moby-Duck': When 28,800 Bath Toys Are Lost At Sea
March 29, 2011 In 1992, a cargo ship container tumbled into the North Pacific, dumping 28,800 toys into the ocean. What happened to those toys led writer Donovan Hohn on a worldwide journey filled with beachcombers, oceanographers, ship captains and environmentalists.
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