Customer Reviews

Black Hands, White Sails (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books)

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This book is a must read for black historians, civil war historians, and whale experts, which I am. I was completely unaware of the presence and dynamics of the life of black whalers. The serious risks of whaling far outweighed the risks of abduction by slave patrollers or even a life burdened by segregation and discrimination. I was particularily interested in the use and abuse of whale ships in the Civil war. A stone fleet of 15 whaling ships from the North were loaded with stones and sunk in Charleston harbor in an attempt to block the harbor in 1861. The attempt failed because the waters were too deep. Sountherners then became hell bent on destroying whale boats. The Confederate steamer Alabama sunk over 70 whale boats during the war. The Shenandoah sunk 34 more after the war. Black heroes and self made men are hailed, as well as those who were cannibalized by hungry crew in desparate times. I couldn't put this book down.

This book is indeed a must read and should be made a prerequisite for all that read Moby Dick. I found this book to be a riveting account of whaling and the importance that people of color visited upon this industry. I was very much overcome with emotions with every turn of the page as I learned how many of my ancestors came to live in New Bedford, MA and what they must have endured.

This book makes a great starting-off point for your child to research black entrepreneurs and black enterprises in colonial America through Civil War times. The community of black whalers that developed in New England is closely examined and held up for admiration.

Joining the crew of a whaling ship, with extended voyages at sea and Northern home ports, was a risk worth taking for fugitive slaves and unemployable black freedmen. The men gained prestige and confidence as they worked side-by-side with white sailors and whalers from many nations. A man was judged by his work, and many black whalers gained skills for success aboard whalers. Of course, the work was dangerous, dirty, and ill-paying; the book explores that, too.

As a collection of anecdotes and seagoing trivia, this book is a winner. It seems like a collection of short essays on various nautical topics. As a history of blacks in the New England whaling communities, the book is disorganized almost to the point of unreadability. Frequently, a term is used without explanation, only to be defined and communicated much later in the book. Those errors can be shaped up in later editions -- there were many instances, but two that really stood out were "grog" and "greasy luck."

The best section of the book recounts the whaleship "Essex" disaster. The writing in that section is clear, quick, and entertaining.

The writers' assumption that the reader is unfamiliar with modern English idioms and their nautical origins seems mistaken. A reader old enough to manage the choppy style of the book will be able to handle idiomatic expressions (possibly better than the authors, if their etymology of "ringleader" is an example).

We set the standards for our children; if we accept inferior writing and give it high honors within the black community, how can we then expect more from our children than mediocrity and underachievement?

The book includes two sections of photographs and illustrations -- very helpful and interesting visuals. Those sections improve the book quite a bit. If your travel takes you to the whaling ports of colonial New England, this will be a good book to read before you go.

I don't think the real point of Black Hands, White Sails was to teach you about whalers. It was more or less another book about the struggle of blacks in America. There's only so much a person can read about whaling. I learned a lot while reading this book, and it had a lot of information in it. I reccommed for those insterested in the struggle of blacks or fans of whales. If you don't like either of these, try going to the library and reading a little first.