In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

Reading Level: Adult Non-Fiction
Submitted by Gerti

I read this book because the story behind the Essex tragedy is what inspired author Herman Melville to write the classic "Moby Dick," read grudgingly by every American high school student.  I have also read that book, and despite the larger themes and leitmotif's-whatever-this is a far better and more interesting account of the matter.

Author Nataniel Philbrick comes from a family of intellectuals who have been inspired by tales of watery daring-do for several generations now.  But given that fine nautical pedigree, Philbrick scores in this book for me by having access to two accounts of the Essex tragedy-the original account published in the 1820's by First Mate Owen Chase, which inspired Melville, but also a newly found recounting by the cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson, which adds much to the story.

The basics-the Nantucket based whaleship Essex was sunk by an enormous sperm whale which rammed into it twice.  That incident alone made it fairly unique among whalers of that time, who weren't used to prey fighting back.  But what adds pathos to the account is that after the ship was sunk, the survivors made every wrong decision they could have made: heading off in the wrong direction, going east toward South America against prevailing winds instead of west, toward Tahiti; not lashing the 3 lifeboats together and hence wasting time looking for other survivors and backtracking to find them; not taking all the food available from the wreck (tortoises from the Galapagos Islands) when they had the chance, and therefore having to resort to cannibalism to get meat to survive.

Beyond the story, though, the author has researched several subjects which add to the depth of the reader's understanding.  He has access to modern medical information about the nature of starvation, and therefore is able to draw some conclusions about what the crewman actually went through during their long weeks at sea.  He looks at whether racism played a role in the survivors (many of them Quakers) cannibalizing black crew members, who died first.  He understands the strong bond between the crewman who came from off-island versus those who hailed from Nantucket, and explains why that group had the highest number of survivors.  Best of all Philbrick doesn't really pass judgement as much as he brilliantly profiles those sad fellows who were forced to live through more than average people have to, in terms of physical endurance, moral compunction and psychological stresses, and draws clearly understandable portraits that a modern audience of non-seafarers can grasp.

Finally, he looks at the survivors, and how they carried on after going through so much.  Were they able to summon the strength to succeed?  You'll have to read to find out, but oh gentle reader!  It's such a worthwhile journey! I loved this book!