Book Review: In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

Date: December 26, 2007
Author: Nathaniel Philbrick
Title: In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
Rating: 6/10

I bought it at: Kramerbooks as an impulse buy. I already read Mayflower by the same author.
Where I read it: Metro, my twin's house over vacation.
This book made me feel: Curious about the lifestyle of people totally devoted to the whaling industry. I wonder if books were written about the social networking of the women while men were away for years at a time.
Why I like it: The romanticism of Nantucket
Why I didn't like it: It's a good read for a college student to write a report. Something about Philbrick's writings aren't as "gorgeous" as Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time. I read that book first, and I compare other non-fictions to that book.
The plot in five words: Nantucket/whaling/survival/ocean/dying

This book made me think of: Nathaniel Philbrick's other novel I read, Mayflower.
Memorable Character: Owen Chase
Memorable quote: This isn't a book of quotes, really. That's not the style of Philbrick's writing. It's not quotable because it reads like a thriller, and has an historian's dedication to facts, analysis, and conclusion. I can't find fault with the writing, but the writing doesn't inspire me to write.
Person I met while reading this book: People at the Silver Spring Knitters group that I didn't meet previously.

Something memorable that happened in my life in the time it took to read the book: I consolidated my credit cards into an 8-year loan. Pretty anxious time, and yet I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
If I could recommend this book to one person, it would be to: My brother-in-law who is a reservist in the navy.
How this book changed my life: I really want to visit Nantucket. I never even thought of visiting Nantucket.
Will I read it again: Not likely

Notes: It was an engrossing, fast, thrilling read. I can see how fiction was based on the story as in the case of Moby-Dick. I would recommend it to many people interested in American History, or history of industry/towns devoted to a particular entity, i.e., whaling. That is the most stimulating discussion within the book, it's not the tragedy of the men, but rather how a town is created/destroyed/created again based on the whims of industry. It's prevelant throughout history and the world I'm sure, but not so often expressed as a warning or a consequence of history. There is also discussion of the levels of power within an industry, the clannishness within that industry, and how that affects those that do not belong within that clan. For instance, the majority of the first people to die were those that were not fat, and they were not fat because they were not fed well, and they were not fed well because they were black, and in this era/town they were socially on a lower rung than native-born nantucketeers. Because they were ones of the first to die they were ones of the first eaten.