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Candi's Reviews > In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
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This was a fascinating and very readable true account of the whaleship Essex and its crew which left Nantucket in 1820 only to meet with disaster fifteen months later in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. I have been interested in learning more about this tragedy for some time, but honestly didn't expect to become so absorbed in this book! Having very little knowledge of the whaling industry and maritime travel in general, I was nevertheless easily able to follow the story thanks to the talent of Nathaniel Philbrick. Providing the reader with a wealth of information, Philbrick fills in gaps of knowledge in a way that is compelling rather than mundane. The background of the Nantucketers and Quakerism, the historical details of the whaling ships, the hierarchy of the ship's crewmen, the particulars of sailing, the effects of starvation and dehydration, and even superstition are brought to light as a result of the author's extensive research.
The relationships between the captain, the first mate and the rest of the crew and the characteristics of these whalers seem to reflect an intriguing culture of its own in the world of whaling. I was amazed by some of the poor decisions made by this crew throughout their journey, even prior to their ship being rammed by the massive sperm whale. The level of violence involved in actually killing and processing a whale was astounding considering the extremely pious nature of these men; but as Philbrick notes: "Nantucketers saw no contradiction between their livelihood and their religion. God Himself had granted them dominion over the fishes and the sea." At the same time, this spiritual devotion must also have given these men strength during their days at sea while they struggled to survive thousands of miles from the shores they sought for their salvation. The human survival element of this book makes it a page-turner and is quite gripping and at times even terrifying and disturbing.
This is indeed a well-written and brilliantly researched book which I recommend to anyone interested in tales of survival. After learning that this true story of the Essex and the monstrous whale that caused her demise are the inspirations behind Herman Melville's writing, I have now renewed my desire to re-read that once-formidable book Moby Dick!
4 stars
The relationships between the captain, the first mate and the rest of the crew and the characteristics of these whalers seem to reflect an intriguing culture of its own in the world of whaling. I was amazed by some of the poor decisions made by this crew throughout their journey, even prior to their ship being rammed by the massive sperm whale. The level of violence involved in actually killing and processing a whale was astounding considering the extremely pious nature of these men; but as Philbrick notes: "Nantucketers saw no contradiction between their livelihood and their religion. God Himself had granted them dominion over the fishes and the sea." At the same time, this spiritual devotion must also have given these men strength during their days at sea while they struggled to survive thousands of miles from the shores they sought for their salvation. The human survival element of this book makes it a page-turner and is quite gripping and at times even terrifying and disturbing.
This is indeed a well-written and brilliantly researched book which I recommend to anyone interested in tales of survival. After learning that this true story of the Essex and the monstrous whale that caused her demise are the inspirations behind Herman Melville's writing, I have now renewed my desire to re-read that once-formidable book Moby Dick!
4 stars
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Reading Progress
October 5, 2014
– Shelved as:
to-read
October 5, 2014
– Shelved
January 1, 2015
– Shelved as:
non-fiction
July 2, 2015
– Shelved as:
adventurers-explorers
November 19, 2015
–
Started Reading
November 26, 2015
–
Finished Reading
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rated it 4 stars
Dec 06, 2015 02:55PM
This is an amazing review! I need to read this.
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Just starting this - great review!
I'm just beginning it too....."liked" your review, but will save to read later. :-)
I can't wait to get to this one too! Thx Candi!
Thank you for the comments, ladies! Hoping to see the movie when it comes out, but I will go into it with an open mind knowing that it will most likely not be true to the actual story - regardless it looks very entertaining!
Great review! The movie looks great too!
How did you get your review to come up like that? It's neat. And I'm technically challenged.
Jen wrote: "How did you get your review to come up like that? It's neat. And I'm technically challenged."Jen, I'm not sure I know what you mean, lol! To me, the review looks the same as all my other ones and not any different from my friends' reviews! What do you see on your end?
Candi wrote: "Jen wrote: "How did you get your review to come up like that? It's neat. And I'm technically challenged."Jen, I'm not sure I know what you mean, lol! To me, the review looks the same as all my ot..."
You can put it as Candi's Review whereas mine comes up ...... 99980894 or something like that.
Candi, this is how my review reads:/review/show...
whereas yours reads
Candi's Review
just wondering what the trick is to remove the long wordiness and replace with my name.
Oh, I see what you mean now, Jen! - the appearance of my link to my review. So, in the comment box that you are posting in, first you click on "(some html is ok)" and highlight the second point down for links - highlighting everything as you normally would for a link, then copying and pasting into the comment box. But, in order to get the text you want, you have to replace the words my link text with something like Jen's Review (or whatever text you like). Then you replace the actual link as you always do. Does that make sense or am I speaking gibberish?!! lol, not very good at explaining tech stuff!
Candi wrote: "Oh, I see what you mean now, Jen! - the appearance of my link to my review. So, in the comment box that you are posting in, first you click on "(some html is ok)" and highlight the second point dow..."No, you are probably speaking fine - I'm just comprehending it in jibberish! LOL. I'll fiddle around with it and see if I can get it next time. Thanks though :))
I enjoy reading your reviews when I have time, Candi, and this book sounds interesting! :)
Thanks so much, Eileen! It was very interesting; glad I squeezed it in!
Sabah wrote: "This is one of your finest reviews, Candi! Simply put, outstanding. You have brought alive to mind my read of Moby Dick and I feel as though, having added this book, your wonderful, compelling ana..."
Thanks very much, dear Sabah!! I hope you read it- it really is quite fascinating. I am disappointed that it seems I missed seeing the movie on the big screen in my area. It won't quite be the same, but I will have to rent it when available!
Great review. I have just seen the film on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, and even under less than ideal conditions it had me on the edge of the seat. It is, being a Ron Howard film, beautifully made, and produced with integrity - not easy to make a film about a human endeavour now roundly disapproved. Your excellent review suggests that the film does the book credit and that the book is indeed quite splendid. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a favourite of mine and the story of the Essex will complete the picture. Thanks again.
Ian wrote: "Great review. I have just seen the film on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, and even under less than ideal conditions it had me on the edge of the seat. It is, being a Ron Howard film, beau..."Thank you, Ian. I had desperately wanted to watch the film after reading the book but have yet to see it. I am glad to hear that it was wonderfully done - I really need to get this one back on my radar. I hope that you find time to read the book and I would be interested to hear your thoughts if you do!
Candi wrote: "Ian wrote: "Great review. I have just seen the film on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, and even under less than ideal conditions it had me on the edge of the seat. It is, being a Ron Howar..."Films of books are often mixed blessings, even the Harry Potters, which I think are good adaptations, but the films incur the displeasure of some fans in my household who say: 'That's not in the book!' I'm OK with interpretation for the screen. The story of the Essex is now elevated on my list.
Quite a compelling review, Candi! I love these sea disaster books and am looking forward to this one.
Christine wrote: "Quite a compelling review, Candi! I love these sea disaster books and am looking forward to this one."Thank you, Christine! It's been quite some time since I read this one, but it was an impressive - and exciting - reading experience. Hope you like it!
I've only read one Philbrick but I loved it. This one will be next -- a topic even closer to my heart.
Left Coast Justin wrote: "I've only read one Philbrick but I loved it. This one will be next -- a topic even closer to my heart."Justin, I'm probably overdue for another Philbrick book. Since reading this one, I've read Mayflower, which was super informative but sagged a bit for me. I hope you enjoy your whaling adventure when you get to it :)
