Sounding by Hank Searls

SOUNDING takes us into the extraordinary mind and emotions of the magnificent sperm whale, an aging bull roaming the waters of the Atlantic. Troubled and separated from his herd, the whale wants to fulfill his one obsessive desire -- to communicate with the human race and learn why they can be both vicious hunters and frolicking playmates.

Far away, on a doomed Russian nuclear submarine, Lieutenant Peter Rostov, the sonar officer and a classical musician, is spending what he's sure are his last days listening to the beautiful "sounding" of the whale.

This book is extremely insightful and touching. The whale is recalling his life and the lives of other whales through mental pictures and sounds. He thinks about his kind and their experiences with whalers, other species like dolphin, sharks, etc. and deals with how terribly dangerous humans can be. In a cool twist we also get the thoughts of a soldier on a Russian sub that is trapped.

This book is amazing.