Behind the Dolphin Smile: The Fight to Save Dolphins Continues

After the Academy Award®–winning film The Cove inspired a new movement in the fight to save dolphins, activist Richard O’Barry returns with a new edition of Behind the Dolphin Smile.

SAN RAFAEL, CA, February 8, 2012 — In March 2010, The Cove went on to win the Oscar® for Best Documentary. The film showcased long-time activist Richard O’Barry’s work to free dolphins from captivity and slaughter in an isolated cove on the coast of Japan, and inspired a new generation to continue the fight against dolphin captivity.

In Behind the Dolphin Smile, Richard O’Barry shares his experience with dolphins and other sea mammals in this captivating autobiographical look back at his years as a dolphin trainer for aquatic theme parks, movies, and television. It chronicles what led O’Barry to change his perspective on the treatment of dolphins and begin a campaign against dolphin captivity that has spanned decades.

O’Barry’s first arrest in the 1970s for trying to free a caged dolphin in the Bahamas eventually led to his starring role in the 2010 Academy Award®–winning documentary The Cove, which exposed to the world Japan’s horrific annual dolphin slaughter. Included in this new edition is a preface on O’Barry’s role in this riveting documentary, which has garnered more awards than any other in its genre, as well as information on his campaigns to stop the slaughter of dolphins. O’Barry’s new edition of Behind the Dolphin Smile serves as a platform to inform new generations on the international plight of dolphins and inspire those willing to join the cause. 

Share and rejoice in O’Barry’s adventures, from Flipper to The Cove, and discover how the one-time pride of the billion-dollar captivity industry became the tireless dolphin advocate we know and love today.

"Though Behind the Dolphin Smile succeeds on many levels—as a biography, an adventure tale, a dolphin primer, a wonderful, page-turning narrative—at heart it is something more than all of them. This, it seems to me, is a love story."

                                                                                         -Susan Casey

Richard O’Barry is the founder of Dolphin Project, Inc. and director of Earth Island Institute’s Save Japan Dolphins campaign. He is a world-renowned advocate for dolphin freedom. He starred in the Academy Award®–winning documentary, The Cove, and in his son Lincoln O’Barry’s television series, Blood Dolphin$, on Animal Planet and Planet Green. He lives in South Miami, Florida.

Keith Coulbourn is a mystery writer and former newspaper journalist. He lives in Miami, Florida.

Susan Casey is the author of the New York Times best sellers The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean and The Devil’s Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America’s Great White Sharks. She lives in New York City and Maui.

About Dolphin Project, Inc.

Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project is a campaign under the International Marine Mammal Project at the non-profit Earth Island Institute. The Dolphin Project aims to stop dolphin slaughter and exploitation around the world. This work has been chronicled in films such as A Fall From Freedom, the Oscar®-winning documentary The Cove, and in the Animal Planet and Planet Green mini-series Blood Dolphin$.

Campaigns for dolphin protection are currently underway in a variety of locations around the globe, including the Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Egypt, and Singapore.

A portion of the proceeds from the sales of this book will go to Richard O’Barry’s Dolphin Project of the non-profit Earth Island Institute, www.dolphinproject.org.

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Praise for Behind the Dolphin Smile:

“The force in raising awareness of the plight of dolphins.”

                                                                                                            -Huffington Post

“The ultimate dolphin freedom fighter.”

                                                                                                            -O Magazine, which

                                                                                                            Included Richard O’Barry on

                                                                                                            Its 2010 O Power List.

 “An engaging memoir… a refreshing down-to-earth look at men [and] dolphins.”

                                                                                                            -Kirkus

“This book succeeds in expressing O’Barry’s deep bond with dolphins and his commitment to their rights.”

                                                                                                            -School Library Journal

“A love story between man and dolphin.”

                                                                                                            -Miami News

“To call this book riveting would be an understatement; it is absolutely fascinating.”

                                                                                                            -Australia Times

For review copies, interview requests, or speaking engagements contact:

Carlie DeMelo
Tel: 415-526-1372

Email: c.demelo@insighteditions.com

INSIGHT EDITIONS is an illustrated book publisher focused on creating superlative books on photography, music, and popular culture. Lavishly produced and visually stimulating, every volume from Insight is dedicated to the skillful interplay of word and image. The books produced are unique works that combine the highest quality print production values with the time-honored traditions of publishing and rich subject matter. Elegant and informative, books from Insight showcase the best of art and photography in exquisite presentations of the bookmaker's craft.

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