In The Real Story of the Whaler: Whaling, Past and Present author A. Hyatt Verill traces the history of whaling from its earliest beginnings to its golden age in the 1840s and 1850s. We learn the fate of high-profile whaling boats, the backstory of the personnel aboard these ships, how a whale was caught and processed, how leisure time was passed, whaling chants, the art of scrimshaw, the various tragedies that erupted, the many victorious battles with the leviathans, as well as the critical role the whaling industry played in the shaping of America.