Rainbow Warriors
Following the lives of the three ships with the name Rainbow Warrior, this book, written by a long-serving Greenpeace activist, tells the inside stories of life on board and recounts some of the ships' most exciting adventures and actions.
It is at once a narrative of real life on board, a history of some of the most famous vessels in the world and also a history of Greenpeace itself which goes beyond the oceans and touches on many aspects of the organization's work. In the end though it aims to bring out the personal stories and first hand accounts of the ships' adventures – tales from the high seas, full of action and daring but also of humanity and great compassion.
Starting with the early life of Greenpeace and the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior I by the French secret service through to the imprisonment of the Arctic 30 by the Russians, the stories are brought to life with photos from the Greenpeace archives, maps and nautical charts. The most symbolic items belonging to the ship's historical inventory are be also included.
Maite Mompo has been a Greenpeace activist for over 10 years. With the sea in her blood she started on a small training boat, the Zorba, and then moved on to crew for the Artic Sunrise, Esperanza and Rainbow Warrior. Spending half her year at sea, she has sailed from pole to pole, taken part in numerous actions and has put herself 'between the harpoon and the whale'.
1 In the beginning
Stories from the past
Birth of a myth
A book called Warriors of the Rainbow
The return of a warrior
2 The nuclear madness
Intro
The dawn of two suns
Moruroa
3 Between the harpoon and the whale
Humans and wales
Whales and the Rainbow Warrior
Between the harpoon and the whale (Antarctica (2006)
4 Poison and hope
Introducing Crizel
Toxic Free Asia Tour
Crizel's Story (Philippines, 2000)
Hope
5 In defense of forests
Intro
Save or delete?
Paradise on earth
6 Expect the unexpected
Intro
Of stowaways and castaways
Emergencies on board
Humanitarian missions
7 Prestige
Intro
The great escape (Rainbow Warrior I, 1980)
Rise to glory (Sirus, 1982)
The oil-tanker disaster (Rainbow Warrior II, 2002)
An assault (Esperanza, 2004)
The winds that blow these days (Rainbow Warrior II and Arctic Sunrise)
8 War and walls
Intro
Action against the Iraq War (Spain, 2003)
The voyage of wars and walls (Eastern Mediterranean, Autumn 2006)
9 The planet we live in
Humanity's biggest challenge (Earth, 21st century)
In the land of the long white cloud (New Zealand/Aoteara, 2008)
Sails to be free (Netherlands, 2008)
The Copenhagen experience (Denmark, 2009-2010)
Humanity's fingers (Israel, 2010)
The Arctic 30 (Russia, 2013)
10 Pirates!
About piracy
Ship pirates
Fish pirates
11 The circle of life
The last voyage (2011)
Of Rainbows and Warriors
This is a fine contribution to ecological history and an urgent call to action.
Rainbow Warriors is not just about Greenpeace ships, campaigns and actions but also about people, about what is happening in the world and what we do to try and solve environmental problems.
A labor of love and dedication - bringing alive the story of a great ship and those who sailed in her.
Greenpeace activist Maite Mompó's book Rainbow Warriors tells of the terror, bravery and compassion involved in her work and offers some eye-opening facts and figures. Maite also explains the humanitarian and environmental reasoning behind each Greenpeace campaign in this captivating read.
