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Summary: A Stomach Turner as well as a Page Turner
Review: Nathaniel Philbrick has built a time ship with In The Heart of the Sea. Philbrick transports the reader into another time, and places the reader on the ship amidst the turmoil and struggle. This is a simply fantastic book. Philbrick explains the process of whale hunting without turning his work into an instruction manual. I am not a fan of fiction, and it is because of this that I feel that this book is much more appropriate for high school readers. Any instructor assigning Moby Dick to their students should read this book and reconsider. At times the acts of the crew may turn the readers stomach, but by that time the reader is too involved to put the book down. I didn't want the book to end. Immediately after finishing the book I reread certain chapters. I can not praise this book enough. A fantastic feather in your cap Mr. Philbrick!!!
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Summary: Once again, Nature trumps fiction
Review: In this meticulous recounting of the tragedy of the whaleship Essex, sunk by a sperm whale in the 1800's, the awesome power of nature once more strikes a dramatic pose as man struggles for survival against the elements. In careful perspective, Philbrick takes into account all of the available records, from the erudite second mate, Owen Chase, to the 14-year-old cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson. As well, Captain John Pollard was able to relate his own accounting of the tragedy that forever changed the lives of the few remaining crew. Taking a sperm whale is fraught with danger, but none of the crew of the Essex could have anticipated the attack on the ship itself. With only seconds to spare, the men gathered what they could from the rapidly sinking vessel, navigational instruments, some fresh water, a modest amount of provisions. Deployed in three boats, the first was manned by the Captain, the second by Owen Chase, the 1st mate, and the third by Mattew Joy, the 2nd mate. The boats attempted to keep within sight of each other, but were later separated by unavoidable circumstances. Strength and provisions were unequal from the start: the Captain's boat consisted of Nantucketeers, most bonded by blood; the second boat held off-islanders and one black seaman recruited at the last minute; the third boat held the majority of the black crewmen and a 2nd mate already showing signs of ill health. Desperate to steer a course toward land, serious mistakes were made, and the days passed under an unrelenting sun, as provisions grew scarce. The men were at all times obsessed, either by unquenchable thirst or ravaging hunger. As they began to perish, all realized that the next to die would become sustenance for the living. Cannibalism was not unheard of for seafaring men, and the will to live was preordained. Philbreck makes an interesting psychological and sociologial point when he notes that the first to die and be eaten were the black crew members, already weakened by their shipboard diet, which had far less protein than that of the officers. In addition, there was a familial bonding among the Nantucketeers, survival of the "fittest" never in question. This is a story to be experienced by each reader, as the strengths and weaknesses of the crew reflect the eternal struggle between life and death. It is amazing that any were found alive after this horrendous experience; those who did survive found their lives irrevocably changed. Man's significance is dwarfed against the epic power of natural forces.
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Summary: "And pray, sir, what in the world is equal to it?"
Review: This question was asked in Britain's parliament about the hugely successful and wealthly whaling industry on Nantucket Island. It could have been asked about the Sperm whale, or more immediately, about Nathaniel Philbrick's book itself. IN THE HEART OF THE SEA: The Tragedy of The Whaleship Essex is a well written tale of a shipwreck, all the more absorbing because it's no 'fish story' - every word is true. It is history and also travelogue; a drama of human survival; it tells of Quakers, Wampanoag Indians, English settlers and free blacks; we learn all about sailing on the high seas, the whaling industry, and what life was like on Nantucket. A visit to the whaling museum in nearby New Bedford shows how economically important the industry was to the area in the past. It was also culturally significant, providing the background for one of our greatest novels - Herman Melville's MOBY-DICK. The Seaman's Bethel mentioned in MOBY-DICK is still there, just across the street from the museum. The story of the Essex provided Melville with the idea for his main character - not Ahab, but the whale. Not only Melville. Philbrick uses two accounts by Essex survivors - first mate Owen Chase and cabin boy Thomas Nickerson - as sources. He weaves them together with his own writings on the sea and knowledge of Nantucket to provide us with a harrowing but immensely readable tale. Although the central tragedy in this book tempts us to make bon mots such as this being a book that 'you can sink your teeth into', this trivializes it. There are no Epicurean feasts here. The repast that the men sustained themselves on was something not normally considered palatable. After being shipwrecked, they survived by feeding on human flesh; they were forced to resort to cannibalism. Unlike Moby-Dick where the sinking of the ship was the conclusion of the story, here it only marks the beginning of the real tragedy. The Essex was rammed and sunk by a Sperm whale, going down in the South Pacific. Philbrick tells of how the 20 man crew of the Essex made it into three small whaleboats which they were able to rig with sail. The nearest land were the Marquesas Islands, about 1,200 miles due west, with the prevailing wind. Due East, against the wind and 2,000 miles away was South Amerca. The men decided to head East. That they did so is understandable only in the context of the times and the thinking of the men. Philbrick says plainly, that because of Xenophobic fears and belief in rumours, the officers of the Essex were convinced that the unknown island inhabitants of the Marquesas were cannibals. There was nothing to fear about South America. Heading toward mainland set them on a three month voyage that in a cruel irony of history would see the very thing that the men feared the most - cannibalism - becoming a reality, at their own hands. Philbrick's tale of survival at sea, the desperate situation these men found themselves in, and the final acts of self preservation that they were forced to resort to, is a pretty grim acount. Nevertheless it is a 'can't-put-down' powerful and poignant story and an example of why popular history is so...well, popular.
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Summary: From Hell's Heart......
Review: The tragic story of the Whaler "Essex" supposedly inspired Mellville to Pen "Moby Dick", though I'd suspect that the tales of the crew of Essex only rose above a well founded lore of a precarious trade. In "Heart", we are told not only of the Essex, but also of the contemporary whaling industry. Centered in Northeast America, about as far from the whaling waters of the Pacific as you can get, the Whalers would sail around Tiera Del Fuego in South America in search of their prey. But author Philbrick also shows us the people, the staunchly pious Quakers who financed the trade and, holding with their abolitionist views, crewed their ships with emancipated slaves. The insecurities of the pious would be a great explanation for why whalers ported so far from their hunting grounds, although the lack of any comparable industrial base in contemporary California (and the inability to transfer there) would be a more practical explanation. Philbrick doesn't really explore that issue. Instead, he shows us the crew of the Essex on the hunt and then, in a sudden reversal, tossed to the sea when a rogue sperm whale rams their ship and sinks it. Not quite the prey, the Essex's crew are now helpless in the middle of an ocean from which they plundered. The sea knows no heroes, but it recognizes acts of cruelty, and even the crews' morality of equality (which will play a role when the nation goes to war against itself 40 years down the line) seems to go down with the ship when the specter of cannibalism arises. Incredibly, this tale - whose ending is ofcourse a foregone conclusion - is an incredible page turner.
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Summary: Amazing true adventure
Review: This is a great adventure story of survival on the high seas. This is a great read for anyone who loves a true adventure story. I liked this story as much as "Endurance" which was the Antarctic survival story of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
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Summary: Simply Magnificent!
Review: This book is nothing short of phenomenal. The first 50 pages is good, but then this thing takes off like a harpoon shot from a cannon! I could not put it down. Not only is this excruciatingly real tale of suffering and survival rivetting in all its no-holds-barred accounts, but I found the history and information about whaling and Nantucket to be very interesting. Philbrick did a marvelous job of weaving so many accounts of this tragedy into a single, seamless, powerful narrative. Not since John Krackauer's "Into The Wild" have I been so moved by a book.
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Summary: Excellent!
Review: Excellent read. It's exciting, detailed and quick. The author pulls you into the story immediately, describing how two men were found scooping marrow out of the bones of their shipmates upon their rescue. Very interesting socioeconomic info on early Nantucket, too. I love human survival stories (Everest, Fastnet race, etc.), and this was just fantastic. Enjoy!
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Summary: Wonderful Book!
Review: I thought this book was absolutely fabulous. Mr. Philbrick's writing makes what happened on the Essex come to life. His graphic description of how a whale is killed made me a little squeamish, but it also helped me understand what whaling was all about. It wasn't just the horrors that the crew of the Essex went through that kept my attention, but the whole culture that surrounded the lives of a whaling community. This book has whetted my appetite to learn more!
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Summary: Survival at Sea
Review: The setting is a whale ship on a whale hunting trip. The story is an adventure that beats any reality-based media production. This is about unscheduled human trials from start to finish. It grips you as you identify with the untold sufferings of starvation and thirst. Hope is always present within some and lacking in others as the disintegration of values begins in the struggle for life. The brutality of circumstances that fell upon the crew is no less than that bestowed upon one of the most magnificent animals on earth.
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Summary: Thar She Blows! One of the Greatest Survival Sagas!
Review: What does it mean to be indomitable? This book displays that wonderful human quality in a remarkably effective way. The next time you consider giving up, just imagine yourself on the trackless sea in a small boat from the Essex. This story has to be one of the most astonishing survival tales in recorded history. Before I say more, let me caution you that this story (and parts of this review) is not for those with weak stomachs. After their ship is disabled by an attacking sperm whale, the survivors find themselves on three open boats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean over 2,000 miles from their targeted landfall in South America. With luck, they will make it in 30 days. They soon find themselves in a stall as the winds fail to cooperate, except to provide severe storms that threaten to capsize the boats. Soon, all the food is encrusted with salt and everyone is suffering with severe dehydration. Then things start to get worse! I won't go further, but you have an amazing story of survival ahead of you. Two of the few survivors of this terrible ordeal later committed their experiences to writing, which provide great resources for this well-researched book. At another level, the book is also extremely interesting because these experiences were important influences on Herman Melville's writing of the American classic, Moby Dick. The book makes that connection for you, including how Melville came to learn the story. At a third level, the book is a fascinating history of whaling around 1920. If you are like me, you will cringe when the whalers devastate island after island . . . as well as the whale population. But that's not the limit to their willingness to use nature to their own advantage. The ultimate irony is that the survivors went the wrong way. Those from Nantucket did not know about Tahiti and Hawaii, and chose not to go in either of those directions -- either of which would have provided more rapid safety and comfort. The primary reason they chose not to go in these directions is because they feared running into cannibals. Soon the survivors were studying the remains of dead shipmates with hunger. And then it gets worse. So, you have three different kinds of books to read here, anyone of which could be enormously enjoyable to you. Get ready for the trip of your life! Land ho!
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