Impeccably researched and beautifully told, the book delivers the ultimate portrait of man against nature, drawing on a remarkable range of archival and modern sources, including a long-lost account by the ship's cabin boy. At once a literary companion and a page-turner that speaks to the same issues of class, race, and man's relationship to nature that permeate the works of Melville, In the Heart of the Sea will endure as a vital work of American history. .
Rating: - Believe all the Good Reviews.
You are going to like this book. Philbrick has taken a fascinating event in nautical history, the ramming of a whaling ship by an enraged sperm whale (the real life inspiration for Melville's Moby Dick), and written a gripping, informative book about whaling, Nantucket, prejudice, desperation, courage, weakness, redemption, survival and shame. For those of you thinking this is nothing more than exerpts of a diary of men in tiny whale boats, guess again. .
Not content with merely telling the story of the wreck and the struggles for survival by the crew, Philbrick gives us a glimpse of Nantucket in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, provides some useful information about the island's religious customs (the Quaker Society of Friends dominated life on the Island), and describes what life was like for a sailor on a boat such as the Essex. We know from reading this book where they slept on board, what they ate, how they were disciplined, how they killed and processed whales, and how much money the captain and crew stood to make from a typical voyage. We also learn how whalers from Nantucket were seen as superior to those from the mainland such as Bedford or Boston, and how African American sailors were frequently afforded the short end of the stick when it came to shares of the profits, accomodations, etc. .
Ultimately, though, this is a story about the wreck and about survival, with some fascinating subplots.
