Title: In The Heart of The Sea
Author: Nathaniel Philbrick
I have always been terrified of the ocean, and reading In the Heart of the Sea only intensified my fear. The ocean with its vast openness and unexplored territory is truly a scary place to be in. This book really intrigued me after I remember watching glimpses of the movie online and I decided to pick it up at Bangalore's favorite book store: Blossoms. The book is written beautifully, presenting the incidents and facts in a very descriptive manner, that enables me to picture a lot of incidents.
The introductory chapters focus on Nantucket Island, its culture, and how the whaling industry thrived over there for a large period of time. The author describes the dangerous and brutal nature of whaling, in which crews would spend years at sea hunting whales for their valuable oil, often facing extreme weather and dangerous encounters with the massive creatures.
The middle part of the book primarily focuses on how an 80-100 foot sperm whale sunk the entire ship, and the adversity faced by the crew members. The author, Nathaniel Philbrick, does an excellent job of bringing the harrowing tale to life. He vividly describes the crew's struggles and the gruesome realities of their situation, including resorting to cannibalism to stay alive. I was transported to the year 1820, in one of those boats, feeling like I was part of the crew and feeling the thirst and adversity. The crew eventually turned to cannibalism, eating the flesh of their fellow crew members to stay alive.
The last few chapters focus on how life went about for the crew members who survived and also provide historical context and discuss the impact that the Essex incident had on the whaling industry and American culture. 40-50 years later, the island wasn't known for its whaling industry anymore, and how the majority of the town folk left the island. Today, Nantucket Island is a popular tourist destination with a rich cultural heritage rooted in the whaling industry that once dominated the island.
Overall, In the Heart of the Sea is a gripping and haunting account of human endurance and the power of the natural world. It is a must-read for anyone interested in history, adventure, or simply a good story
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