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Summary: You CAN "take it with you"!
Review: How many books grip you so thoroughly that you won't even put it down to go to the toilet? This is one of those. You have to take it with you.The aspect that interested me most was that the generality of our ancestors lived everyday lives that were short and hard. Setting aside the shipwreck and the crisis struggle for survival, just being a whaler seaman was a mighty rough proposition. I think this is the point that the author wants to make in his Epilog, when in 1993 a sperm whale washed ashore at Nantucket. Some of the locals decided this would be a wonderful exhibit for the local museum, so they set in to render the corpse. They learned a great deal more than they wanted to, about a whaler's everyday work that was involved in harvesting their successes. The explanations of the surrounding economics were also very interesting, Nantucket prosperity and the causes of decline. Even better was the way that the local version of Quakerism shaped the whalers' attitudes toward nature, personal integrity, and leadership. No, you don't compare this to an 'adventure novel', not with 50 pages of notes and 10 pages of 'selected bibliography. Just when you start to feel a bit ill about the plot, the author takes you on a short tour of scientific information of one kind or another. Cleverly and carefully written HISTORY.
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Summary: Rammed by a whale
Review: I usually tend to make a difference between fiction and non-fiction literature. This book proves though that a combination of both has its advantages as well (if you don't believe me, look at "Moby Dick", which, by the way, has strong connections to the events described in "In the Heart of the Sea": "Moby Dick" is a novel containing information about the whaling business as well as a fictional story about the hunt for the White Whale; those 2 parts melt into each other and, after their unification, they appear as one of the most powerful novels of all time). Non-fiction parts (which aren't separated from those I count to fiction) bring facts about the whaleship Essex, its world, the huge Sperm Whale that sinks the ship, and the crew of 21 men who must travel around half of the Pacific Ocean in small whaling boats to reach the saving shore of South America. After storms, whale and shark attacks, horrible hunger and thirst, only 8 men return home alive. Then there is this other part I tend to call fiction. Even though N. Philbrick, the author of this work, used memoirs written by 2 of the survivors to understand the characters of the whalers, I am still not sure how much truth is in those passages because even Philbrick confessed that both narrators didn't want to express the truth, but had intentions either to show off with their courage or to justify their behavior during the last weeks of their odyssey when the few survivors turned to real cannibalism. This uncertainty rises the suspense because you wonder if it is really the truth you read or simple suppositions by the author. At the end, the question what kind of literature this book belongs to is not important although you ask yourself this question all the time. Important is what it wanted to express, namely a real human tragedy in addition with strong emotions and unusual behavior you'll be shocked of sometimes (a few times I doubted the reasons why the humankind calls itself "civilized" whereas all other lifeforms on Earth are underdeveloped). Apart from the human tragedy, it is a story about the continuing war fought by humanity against nature, and it reminded me it would be better for us to make peace as soon as possible; otherwise we are all doomed. So, if you are interested in adventure or survival stories and want to find out more about the sea and/or the whaling business, read this book! If you'd like to have an approach to "Moby Dick", this book is written for you! And last but not least, for people interested in human psychology under difficult conditions, "In the Heart of the Sea" is simply unavoidable.
Rating: 
Summary: Might Inspire You to Read (or Re-read) "Moby Dick"
Review: This book presents a human tragedy of lost lives, on the one hand, and a tale of indomitable spirit and courage on the other. Even so, Nathaniel Philbrick avoids the temptation to idolize the survivors. If anything, he underscores the role of simple luck in their good fortune, and even deals with how poorly some of them handled all the aftermath and the guilt associated with resorting to cannibalism. In this respect, it becomes easy for the reader to imagine himself or herself as one of the personna in this gripping tale. That is a real strength of this book; it explores human survival by keeping the narrative on a human level. This makes the story very accessible, and a quick read. Philbrick enhances the story with just enough background information on such topics as the subculture of Nantucket Island, 17th Century whaling practices, the gruesomeness of the hunt, navigational science, and the process of malnourishment and starvation. While I did not find this book as emotionally gripping as Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" or O'Nan's "The Circus Fire," I still found it a very worthwhile read. Philbrick's description of whaling, and how this incident inspired Melville to write "Moby Dick," has indeed piqued my curiosity about that great classic, which I have not read since high school. I strongly suspect that, after "In the Heart of the Sea," "Moby Dick" will be read with a whole new level of appreciation, as well as comprehension. "In the Heart of the Sea" is a great book about the fragility of human life, and the dangers of confronting nature with arrogance, and in that way, is a kindred spirit with Melville's classic. But even read alone, it's terrific.
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Summary: Hard to Put This Book Down
Review: This was a great book to read. I had a hard time putting this book down. The men of the Essex went through pure hell to survive and should have their story told. Mr Philbrick presented their tale very well. By the end of the book, I could really feel for the tribulation that these men endured. On my next trip to Nantucket, I'll be sure to vist the sites on the island Mr. Philbrick mentioned in his book. I highly recomend this book to all.
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Summary: A story of human experience in it's natural context
Review: Nathaniel Philbrick's rendition of the story of the Essex provides a searing insight into the human experience within it's natural context. Leadership is inexorably interwoven with survival. While acknowledging Shackleton's accomplishments in providing exemplary leadership in the most challenging of situations, Philbrick points out that the leaders of the Essex, in similar dire straits, were not there out of a conscious decision to seek fame or glory, but working men, out to make a living. His correlation of this reality with that of the whale, a mammal with a larger brain, causes one to pause and contemplate. Perhaps the only fitting tribute to the men of the Essex and their families.
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Summary: In the Heart of the Sea
Review: This is one of the best books Ive ever read. Simply amazing....the will, determination, and strength of these men is something we can all learn from. It isnt one of those books I would usually read, but Im glad this one caught my eye. To miss it would be to be missing one of the best stories ever written.
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Summary: Believe all the Good Reviews
Review: 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. You will cringe as you read about Capt. Pollard and his crisis as he must make difficult choices which jeapordize the life of his own relative, Owen Coffin, who he had promised to protect. Philbrick explores the ironic fear of cannabalism that drove the Essex sailors to avoid relatively close South Pacific islands after the wreck, in favor of a very risky and lengthy trip to South America. He tells us of the difficulties in steering a whale boat, and describes the trade winds which drove the men away from their target. All in all this is a gripping read. It is written with compassion and with attention to detail; the author has done his research, as 50 pages of Notes would indicate. I was particularly impressed with the passages of the book relating to the aftermath of the Essex disaster, as he followed the careers of the survivors, and pointed out that at least one crew member even sailed with Captain Pollard again. He borrowed from the journals of two survivors, the first mate and a cabin boy, whose accounts of the disaster sometimes digress. He also drew interesting parallels with the open boat plight of Capt. Bligh, of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. After reading the book, I was so enthralled I read the 50 pages of notes to avoid putting it down. Pick up this book if you are at all interested in sailing, whaling, nautical history, or true-life survival stories under the harshest of conditions. You will not be disappointed.
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Summary: Profound
Review: This is an amazing book. Initially, it comes across as sort of a spin-off on books like "Into Thin Air" and "The Perfect Storm" -- both of which Mr. Philbrick has acknowledged as inspirations -- but I actually think "Into the Heart . . ." surpasses both, particularly in the depth of feeling this book inspires. All the elements of a great adventure story are here: life on the high seas, tragedy at sea, cannibalism, rescue after months at sea in small whaling boats, and so on. But the author trascends the obvious, and renders the participants in this tragedy as fully believable, three-dimensional human beings even though the incidents described in thebook took place almost 200 years ago. A very, very well-written and very moving book.
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Summary: A Perfect Wreck
Review: In The Heart of The Sea is more than just the tale of a chilling tragedy, perseverance, and suffering. Like The Hungry Ocean, the Linda Greenlaw book on sword fishing, Heart of the Sea gives you a fair understanding of the traveling Nantucket factories that were the whale ships of the early 19th century. Philbrick reconstructs Quaker Nantucket society, whaling operations, and American's knowledge of their world, creating a context for the decisions and actions the men in the whaleship took. While we may be horrified at the lengths the crew went to for survival, it does force the question upon the reader. It's amazing what people can survive. After 93 days asea after the wreck, these men (some of them, anyway, or all of them in a way) went home, plumped up a bit, and went right back out to sea again. For those squeamish about familial cannibalism, whale slaughter, and mindless cruelty to tortoises, this is one to avoid.
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Summary: Gripping story about unsympathetic characters
Review: This was one of those books that I just couldn't put down. I had to keep reading and reading until the entire story was done. I had to find out what happened to these people as they drifted across the Pacific. What made the tale interesting was how thoroughly human and fallible the characters were. You watch them first commit atrocities of their own (torching one of the Galapagos islands), and you come to understand some of the brutality and savagery that pervaded life in a 19th century whaling ship. So by the time the whale attacks you're kind of rooting for the whale. Then they're adrift in the boats, and they manage to make every bad decision possible. They decide to sail thousands of miles to the coast of South America because they think the natives on the nearby islands are cannibalistic savages (their biggest mistake); and they eat the meat they have instead of using it as bait to catch fish. Watching them drift into their doom, and realizing that it was partly of their own making, somehow makes the story all the more gripping, because it makes you want to somehow reach back in time and yell at them, "Don't do that, you idiot! Don't you realize what's going to happen if you do that!" All in all a great book. I highly recommend it.
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