Nathaniel Philbrick's In The Heart of the sea Summary: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
Book Details
Author(s)shaf Publishers
Publishershaf publishers
ISBN / ASINB019BG8XXO
ISBN-13978B019BG8XX6
Sales Rank841,140
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
This nonfiction book depicts the mind-blowing Essex disaster: an event that directly inspired Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick. In 1819—at the height of Nantucket's booming whaling industry—the Essex sets off for a run-of-the-mill whaling trip. The ship is meant to spend two to three years at sea, collecting as much whale oil as possible before returning home to critical acclaim. Oh, how we wish it were that easy.
A few freak storms and one whale attack later, the Essex has sunk, leaving its surviving crewmembers to traverse thousands of miles of open ocean to the South American coast. That's more difficult than playing Dark Souls without cheat codes.
As the crewmembers struggle with this completely unforeseen situation—not to mention their increasingly raging appetites—we watch as formerly civilized men sink into cannibalism (oh dear), as they're forced to eat their companions just to survive. It's like the Donner Party meets Deep Blue Sea, with an extra helping of awesome.
Beyond depicting a thrilling tale, In the Heart of the Sea delves in-depth into the socio-political climate of the 1800s. Author Nathaniel Philbrick injects boatloads of insightful commentary on class, racial inequality, and the Industrial Revolution into the book without taking his focus off the intense action that is at its heart.
And hey, if it's good enough for Herman Melville, you can be darn tootin' that it's good enough for you.
A few freak storms and one whale attack later, the Essex has sunk, leaving its surviving crewmembers to traverse thousands of miles of open ocean to the South American coast. That's more difficult than playing Dark Souls without cheat codes.
As the crewmembers struggle with this completely unforeseen situation—not to mention their increasingly raging appetites—we watch as formerly civilized men sink into cannibalism (oh dear), as they're forced to eat their companions just to survive. It's like the Donner Party meets Deep Blue Sea, with an extra helping of awesome.
Beyond depicting a thrilling tale, In the Heart of the Sea delves in-depth into the socio-political climate of the 1800s. Author Nathaniel Philbrick injects boatloads of insightful commentary on class, racial inequality, and the Industrial Revolution into the book without taking his focus off the intense action that is at its heart.
And hey, if it's good enough for Herman Melville, you can be darn tootin' that it's good enough for you.
