BLOOD AND GUTS

Confrontations between Japanese whalers and Sea Shepherd activists make for exciting news reports during the Australian summer. But the sensational headlines and dramatic footage – eco warriors pitted against the might of the Japanese state – fail to scratch the surface of the complex forces that drive each side's actions.

Sam Vincent provides an objective eyewitness account of the whale wars. What motivates Sea Shepherd to spend vast sums of money and risk the lives of its activists to pursue a relatively low-impact hunt in some of the most isolated and perilous waters on Earth? Why does a rich nation like Japan doggedly continue a practice it only started to feed its starving population in the wake of World War II?

Sam Vincent is a freelance travel writer and investigative journalist. He is a regular contributor to the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age and has a degree in international relations from the Australian National University. When not travelling, he works as a researcher and editor at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.