Review: In the Heart of the Sea

Last week I finished In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick. It's the true story of a Nantucket whaling ship that gets rammed by an enraged sperm whale and the crew is forced to abandon ship in the middle of the Pacific. The 20-man crew piles into three small boats and begins an arduous trip against strong headwinds in the hopes of hitting South America. After months at sea on a diet of less than 500 calories a day, the men resort to cannibalism. At last, they're plucked from the ocean by a passing ship, but it's no pretty sight. Their battered boats are filled with human bones and the men are delirious, nearly insane. (All of this is on the book's dust jacket so it's not spoilers, I swear!)

"Aye I want its spermy goodness for myself!"

Philbrick pieced the story together using number of sources, including two first-hand accounts and information from the Nantucket history museums. Overall, it doesn't quite live up to the true life survival books of writers like Jon Krakauer (Into the Wild, Into Thin Air) or Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm). Although it's incredibly well researched and thorough, it reads more like a history book than a piece of journalism. 

"Did I do that?" - this whale, impersonating Steve Urkel

Still, the story was riveting and I buzzed through it in no time at all. I love stories like this because not only are they exciting, but they also trick you into learning. A friend of mine made the comparison to Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The history of the city and the World's Fair is interesting but if it weren't for those grisly murders, I wouldn't have made it through the entire book. 

Many survival books are good at tricking you into learning because to understand the severity of the situation, it's important you understand the context. I learned a ton about whales, whaling, weather patterns, starvation, and race relations in 19th century Quaker communities. None of which I would say I was interested in before this but really enjoyed. My brain feels like it's been doing bench press all day.

"Shoot her! Shoot her!"

The sinking of the Essex -and the subsequent cannibalism- was a story widely known in its time, in the same way in which we think about the Titanic disaster. Herman Melville based his epic Moby Dick off this true story. Melville, a whaleman himself, read the widely circulated report of First Mate Thomas Chase and then later interviewed Captain George Pollard, Jr. The descriptions of the whale attack in the novel are strikingly similar to the accounts of the men aboard the Essex. 

"Wait! My softball trophy's in there!'

Should you read this book? Yes! No matter if like fiction or non-fiction, you'll find the story thrilling and fast-paced. It's not a labor to get through either. It could be a beach read or the thing you settle down to read on a Saturday morning.

If you don't get around to reading this book, let me leave you with this piece of advice: never attempt to kill an animal that 13x larger than you with a tiny spear.