This 240-page book by Paul Watson was published in 2003 by Firefly Books, Inc., in the USA. Price on the cover is $16.95. The 17 chapters are arranged more or less chronologically, from 1950 through 1999, and a recent photograph of the author appears on the front cover. Watson is shown on the sea ice, holding a whitecoat seal pup in the usual pose of one who wishes to be photographed "saving" a seal.

One might ask who might want to buy this book. Surely, few will make the decision on the basis of an attractive cover, because it is not. Perhaps those who have followed Watson's long career of unending attempts at media hype, and his multiple arrests for criminal behavior on the high seas, will wish to read his own version of the escapades when he was involved with ineffective protest of the harp seal hunt. Newfoundlanders and Magdalen Islanders who have a sound memory of Watson's days in their area, would be advised to take the book in small doses at a time, to keep their blood pressure under control. Since this reviewer was not present at any of the adventures described, I can only say that the descriptions, while colorful, do not resemble any Newfoundlanders, government officials, or Magdalen Islanders whom I met during my own observations of the seal hunt on the spring ice.

Watson's "Seal Wars" may have been produced as a prelude to a film, long rumored to be in the making, that will undoubtedly portray him as a hero environmentalist. The fictions that have surfaced in this book can be expected to be embellished even more in any such production, including the tasteless accounts of his sexual exploits with a number of (unfortunately) named women.

Paul Watson's book will not appeal to those who deplore the social, economic and environmental impact caused by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the only organization that influenced the European market for seal products. Today, Watson still makes noise about the increased quota for harp seals. He must chafe at the reality of a vastly renewed market for pelts, oil, and meat. His own actions meant nothing in the long run, and today, the harp seal herd has grown from 1.8 million to over 5 million animals. They are hungry, they are hurting each other, and fish of many species are showing the effects of over-predation. Watson's Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a small time, ineffective outfit, whether its prey is sealers, whalers, fishermen, or scientists. His book reflects his ego and his insensitivity to the needs of people who wish to sustainably use their resources. He has justified his actions with claims of cruelty to seals, and the threat of extinction. Neither scenario has been found credible by anyone with even basic knowledge of the seal hunt or of seal population dynamics. Watson named his book "Seal Wars" - this writer's own 1985 choice for the title of a book that also describes the protests, the seals, and the sealers. Paul Watson's book will be judged by those who know the realities of seals and sealers, fisheries officers and protesters. Only they can fairly decide which version of the seal wars coincides with the truth.