#02 – In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

It has been a long while, but life has started to come back to where we like it.  As a result, my reading picked up (a work trip with a couple long flights did not hurt either).

This is the true story of an unbelievable ordeal that befell a group of Nantucket whalers in 1819-20.  Rammed by a sperm whale more than 2000 miles off the coast of South American, these whalers endured over 90 days at sea in 25 foot rowboats.  The book reads well and in a way that is not purely historical, but almost like a novel.  There are a surprising number of facts that exist about the experience.  I also read The Perfect Storm a while back and, while good, it was mostly conjecture on what may have happened on their voyage.  I cannot imagine how anyone survived 96 days at sea with virtually no food or water.  The story does take a very dark turn towards the end of their time.

If you are into ships, harrowing ordeals, whales, the sea, starvation, and/or good historical drama…then this book is good for you.  I do like 4 of those things, so it worked for me.

I give it 3 stars.