In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
The appeal of Dava Sobel's Longitude was, in part, that it illuminated a little-known piece of history through a series of captivating incidents and engaging personalities. Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea is certainly cast from the same mold, examining the 19th-century Pacific whaling industry through the arc of the sinking of the whaleship Essex by a boisterous sperm whale. The story that inspired Herman Melville's classic Moby-Dick has a lot going for it--derring-do, cannibalism, rescue--and Philbrick proves an amiable and well-informed narrator, providing both context and detail. We learn about the importance and mechanics of blubber production--a vital source of oil--and we get the nuts and bolts of harpooning and life aboard whalers. We are spared neither the nitty-gritty of open boats nor the sucking of human bones dry.
By sticking to the tried and tested Longitude formula, Philbrick has missed a slight trick or two. The epicenter of the whaling industry was Nantucket, a small island off Cape Cod; most of the whales were in the Pacific, necessitating a huge journey around the southernmost tip of South America. We never learn why no one ever tried to create an alternative whaling capital somewhere nearer. Similarly, Philbrick tells us that the story of the Essex was well known to Americans for decades, but he never explores how such legends fade from our consciousness. Philbrick would no doubt reply that such questions were beyond his remit, and you can't exactly accuse him of skimping on his research. By any standard, 50 pages of footnotes impress, though he wears his learning lightly. He doesn't get bogged down in turgid detail, and his narrative rattles along at a nice pace. When the storyline is as good as this, you can't really ask for more. --John Crace, Amazon.co.uk
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819, the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with twenty crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than ninety days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, disease, and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival. Nathaniel Philbrick uses little-known documents-including a long-lost account written by the ship's cabin boy-and penetrating details about whaling and the Nantucket community to reveal the chilling events surrounding this epic maritime disaster. An intense and mesmerizing read, In the Heart of the Sea is a monumental work of history forever placing the Essex tragedy in the American historical canon.
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256 Reviews
| From: Amazon Posted: Dec 06, 2007 Type: User Review |
And we complain about being thirsty...
This book is a wonderfully written true tale of the disaster of the whaleship Essex. This crew of Nantucketers and off-islanders endured the most horrible adventure at sea. An enourmous Sperm Whale rams the boat and sends these men into a 90-day...
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 5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Dec 04, 2007 Type: User Review |
We all ride the ESSEX at one time in our life
WOW -- what a journey. This is much more than a true story of a nasty encounter with a mad whale. It is the story of life; the unexpected encounters, the nature of alternative responses, the internal dissentions, the struggle for power, and all...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Nov 28, 2007 Type: User Review |
Not to say this book wasn't interesting...
This book is no doubt an incredibly well researched account of the story behind the Essex. However, it was very dry and I couldn't connect with the people aboard the ship! This made it very hard for me to have any emotions at all while I was...
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 3.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Oct 23, 2007 Type: User Review |
Terrible Tragedy Wonderfully Told
Philbrick deserves the praise given to Into the Heart of the Sea. In giving a historic account of the true story that gave inspiration for Herman Melville's Moby Dick, Philbrick unveils the world of the Nantucket whaling industry and the fate of...
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 4.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Oct 21, 2007 Type: User Review |
A Good Read
I only started to read this book because someone gave me it to me and said it was good. I didn't even think it sounded like something I would enjoy. I was wrong! I was drawn into the story quickly. Historical fiction that is truly interesting and...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Oct 18, 2007 Type: User Review |
Sloppy, opinionated so called nonfiction almost thriller
I guess agreeing with the "big time" reviewers isn't something that I can do with this one. Winning the National Book Award is just ridiculous. Were there no other books entered in this category?
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3.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Oct 18, 2007 Type: User Review |
favorite this year!
A page turner, a captivating true story (the best kind, for me) of the whaleship Essex and the things men are capable of. I have told many people about this book and everyone else who has read it agrees with me!
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Sep 24, 2007 Type: User Review |
Fantastic
I am a big skeptic when I read these types of books. I always assume the author is filling in the substantial blanks in the story with his own interpretation & fluff. I did not feel that way with this authors version of the story.
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Aug 17, 2007 Type: User Review |
A Captivating Read.
Knowing that this was not a fictional story added an element of intensity as I read this book. Truthfully, this would have made for good fictional reading as well. I enjoyed the character development and the way in which the story was told. I...
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5.00/5 |
| From: Amazon Posted: Aug 13, 2007 Type: User Review |
one of the best maritime disaster books I've ever read
What a fantastic story told in a fascinating way. I've read many books about maritime disasters, and this one has gone to the top of the list. Nathaniel Philbrick is a great story-teller and meticulous researcher. I'm very, very impressed.
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5.00/5 |
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