The incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship Essex, the inspiration for Melville's great classic, Moby Dick. In 1820, the Essex set sail from Nantucket on a routine voyage for whales. Fifteen months later, in the farthest reaches of the South Pacific, it was rammed and sunk by an eighty-ton bull sperm whale. Its twenty-man crew, fearing cannibals on the islands to the west, made for the 3,000-mile-distant coast of South America in three tiny boats.
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The incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship Essex, the inspiration for Melville's great classic, Moby Dick. In 1820, the Essex set sail from Nantucket on a routine voyage for whales. Fifteen months later, in the farthest reaches of the South Pacific, it was rammed and sunk by an eighty-ton bull sperm whale. Its twenty-man crew, fearing cannibals on the islands to the west, made for the 3,000-mile-distant coast of South America in three tiny boats.
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Very Good. Very Good condition. audioCD. Case Very Good. 8 disc set. Unabridged edition. Quality guaranteed! In original artwork/packaging unless otherwise noted.
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Great book men of steel on wooden ships warm the cockles of my heart.
gardener
Sep 21, 2014
Whaling
This is a very interesting story about the whaling industry and the tragedy of the whaling ship, The Essex. It was the inspiration for Melville's Moby Dick. The author carefully researched the events of The Essex and other whaling stories, as well.
Jay O
Mar 26, 2012
Chilling Tale
This book makes you so very glad to be alive today. The gritty details of such an incredible story are captivatiing. Philbrick has a great way of using details of a subject you may not have any background in without losing you along the way.
exmasher
Oct 12, 2007
Remember The Essex
A compassionate retelling of a maritime disaster we should not forget. Many books and articles have been published about the Essex but questions have remained about what really happened out there. In addition to the normal sources, Mr. Philbrick applies his Sherlock Holmes like analysis to a long lost, eyewitness account to shed much more light on several of those questions. Along the way he makes you feel like poor Captain Pollard and crew were your neighbors rather than men who lived and died almost 200 years ago. Reads like an episode of Cold Case Files, only with more depth than any television program could ever manage.
pamela1717
Jul 9, 2007
I can't believe this story hasn't been made into a movie! There are many reasons I read a book, two are: to be entertained or to learn something. This book does both of those. The story is almost unfathomable (the event of the whale ramming the ship inspired Moby Dick) but oddly enough I think I enjoyed learning about the whaling industry more. I have a history degree but I still find many non-fiction books too dry for my taste. This book is not one of them. If you're looking for a book as an entry into the non-fiction zone this one might be a good pick. I would also recommend Seabiscuit and Manhunt as good picks as well if you aren't experienced with non-fiction.
