From the true story that inspired Moby Dick

I heard about this book this morning, gotta get a copy!

In the Heart of the Sea

The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

(Penguin, ISBN: 0-14-100182-8)

The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819, the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with twenty crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than ninety days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, disease, and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival. Nathaniel Philbrick uses little–known documents-including a long–lost account written by the ship’s cabin boy-and penetrating details about whaling and the Nantucket community to reveal the chilling events surrounding this epic maritime disaster. An intense and mesmerizing read, In the Heart of the Sea is a monumental work of history forever placing the Essex tragedy in the American historical canon.


And the movie adaption directed by Ron Howard

I read it a few years back, and quite liked it.
I especially liked the history of the whaling port part of it.

Cannibalism too..

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-true-life-horror-that-inspired-moby-dick-17576/?no-ist

Thanks, I'll put this on my list.

When they finally made it to South America, they ran into a man named Herman Millville.  In Moby Dick, the first mate was named Starbuck after the cabin boy on the Essex. 

Nathaniel Philbrick also wrote an interesting account of the U.S. expedition in the Pacific from 1838 thru 1842 titled Sea of Glory.

you may want to read S.O.S edited by Sara Nickles. It is a compilation of great stories of the Oceans mysteries, Storms, Shipwrecks and Sea Creatures. One of the stories is a portion of In the Heart of the Sea and says it is the inspiration for Melville's Moby Dick. It has some  Edgar Allen Poe , Ernest Hemingway , H.G. Wells , Sabastian Junger and ever Stephen King among many others. It is one of my favorite quick reads and it has weathered many camping trips. There is one ghost story titled "and never come up" that will haunt your psyche! find it!!! Chronicle books

Lately, I've been listening to books on tape by Penguin audio, checked out from the local library. My buddy Lopezcador and myself listened to Crescent Dawn an "Oregon" adventure by Clive Cussler, on the way up to Albion and Van Damme this summer.

Books featuring Dirk Pitt and Curt Austin of (National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA) are also absolutely riveting!

see; http://clive-cussler-books.com/

I Zod Out

Finished "In the Heart of the Sea" last week. Very interesting story and history. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

I also read "The Last Stand" by the same author. I didn't realize there were so many blunders leading up to Custer's demise.

Just finished reading "The Revenant". Brutal story and an amazing recovery.

Al

Cannibalism too..

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-true-life-horror-that-inspired-moby-dick-17576/?no-ist

Spoiler alert!

Haven't read it yet (on my list), but the movie was great.

Finished "In the Heart of the Sea" last week. Very interesting story and history. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

I also read "The Last Stand" by the same author. I didn't realize there were so many blunders leading up to Custer's demise.

Just finished reading "The Revenant". Brutal story and an amazing recovery.

Al

Thx Al will check these out