“this was a book that was difficult to put down. Besides learning a great deal about the whaling era in American history..the actual drama of what happened to these men seems almost to unbelievable to have happened. Great Great book. ”
“"Like a giant bird of prey, the whaleship moved lazily up the western coast of South America, zigging and zagging across a living sea of oil." These are the opening words of In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. I knew about the tragic story of the Essex because I had read Moby Dick three times, and I was fascinated by the story of the whale that turned from prey to predator. Anyone who reads the book or watches the movie eventually learns about the Essex and the men who, stranded after their boat was sunk by a bull sperm whale, were reduced to cannibalism. The true story is lurid, but this book is not. It is a very readable, well-researched story of whaling as a business, of Nantucket society, and of the men who suffered so greatly. I was hooked from the first chapter. ”
