Customer Reviews

Demon of the Waters: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Whaleship Globe

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3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Grab this book! You're in for a wild ride!

Demon of the Waters stands out from the rest of the books I've found in the whaling adventure genre. Gibson's research is unsurpassed. He provides such varied information on whaling to satisfy anyone's appetite for adventure and knowledge, providing background on how he came across the story of the Globe mutiny and what he discovered during the course of his quest to get to the root of the story as well as the history of whaleship making in Nantucket's heyday. Unlike many other books of this type, the author doesn't bog you down with chapter after chapter of excruciating biographical detail of every crew member aboard the ship. He skillfully chooses to include the relevant information that is pertinent to the story. The mutiny on the Globe is strikingly depicted; the story is unfathomable and never lacks for an unexpected twist. It will haunt you for many days after you finish the book!

I much appreciated the chapters on the nitty-gritty of whaling terms and slang, and what went on step-by-step in felling a whale. Gibson merges thorough research with an incredible tale to create a must-read for any fan of whaling and adventure.

Advice to future readers: notice that the middle section of the book contains illustrations and pictures. I discovered this a little late and would have liked to have noticed it earlier to aid my understanding. I wish Gibson would have referenced them in the text. Overall, an EXCELLENT whaling book. I HIGHLY recommend it. If you enjoy true tales of whaling adventure, I also recommend Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea, Neil Hanson's The Custom of the Sea, and Robert Blackwood Robertson's Of Whales and Men.

I highly recommend this book to all who like to read about toll ships and see adventures.
Painstakingly, masterfully written, book embraces detailed description of whaling ships and their role in making many Nantuckers rich, as well as many aspects of human life during the "golden" era of whaling for oil industry. But not only this.
We have many historical details about early Pacific navigations and about competition for dominance in this region between France, Britain and Americans.
We will learn with fascination how white sailors encountered first time and clashed with other cultures and tribes of Pacific islands; also, how the toll ships were build on Nantucket Island at the beginning of the 19th century and who was involved in those projects.
And of course the main theme - gruesome events on the deck of the "Globe" and on the Mili atoll (Marshall islands), where two cultures met suddenly by surprise and got stunned - beautifully woven into the whole text.
Masterpiece, Mr. Gibson, no doubt. It should be considered as continuation of "In the Heart of the Sea".

This is a story about mutiny, a lost journal, and whaling. It begins by telling the reader of the lost journal and how it fell into the hands of the author, who is a used book seller. He is a very knowledgeable bookseller. The reader is the beneficiary of his careful research. We are informed of early U.S. diplomatic relations, political intrigue (often found in the end-notes), and possible literary connections with a famous author. In particular, I found the information about how ships and crews hunted and harvested whales to be rich and insightful. This knowledge alone is worth buying the book.

Nevertheless, the reader is informed of the tight-knit whaling community of Nantucket and its global importance in the whaling industry. The business of whaling is lightly explored. Nantucket's people were recognized as experts and sought after around the world. The author tells briefly of other countries who lured away the little island's whaling experts because of their vast knowledge of whaling.

Then there is the story of the whaleship Globe. Unlike similar books, we are provided with the ship's history. We are taken on a particular voyage with a newly appointed captain and crew. It is this voyage which becomes notorious. The crew itself is mostly boys who are unltimately influenced (frightened?) by another older crew member with a subtle but forebodding history. The muntiny itself is descriptive and haunting--perhaps a vivid reminder of Hobbes' oft-used quote of life being "nasty, brutish, and short." What happens after the mutiny is as interesting as the events leading up to it.

We have a daring escape from the mutineers with only PART the young crew. Without a navigator, they somehow find their way to a continent almost half a world away. Reports of their adventure eventually find there way back to the U.S. We are reminded of how painfully slow news travelled in the 19th century, and how difficult it was to obtain accurate information.

What happened to those people left behind? That is the subject of the newly discovered journal. We are provided with the details by a young aspiring sailor/writer who was part of a rescue mission. It is fondly read and critiqued by our author. We are provided with the details of the fates of those left behind.

The author goes so far as to visit the island where the mutineers came ashore, and allows us to feel the sand under our own feet. After 175 years, he notes the changes in the landscape brought about by war and the passage of time.

Another unexpected gem in this book is the suggestion of the influence this book had on Herman Melville. The author posits just enough to make you think he relied on much more than the story of the Essex.

An enjoyable read.

I enjoyed this book. The author gives the reader a taste of what life was like on a whaling ship and why someone might think that a mutiny would be a good idea. This book is a good mix of adventure, character study, and history.

I read a glowing review of this on Salon. Later, looking at the Amazon website, I read a less flattering editorial review. I'm not sure either reviewer actually read the book. The story that it is ostensibly about is that of the mutiny on the whaleship Globe. The author of the mutiny was a sort of 'romantic' sociopath type (they're never particularly romantic when you know enough about them) whose plan was to go ashore and make himself king of some savage tribes. This story was scandalous in America when it happened; sort of the O.J. Simpson trial of the 1820s. There are easily a half dozen or so books on the topic.

This one is by a rare book dealer who found a new manuscript relating to the mutiny; quite a lot of the book is dealing with his discovery of the new manuscript, and checking out various supporting pieces of evidence. It was the author's "find of a lifetime." He also had a fascinating interview with a tribesman of the island where the mutineer hoped to make himself king. This interview was appropos of nothing, really, but it made me happy to be an American (which is probably why it was included). Anyway, this book was quite fluffy; serves me right for buying something because Salon magazine said so. The magazine was never for mighty intellects, but post IPO, it has become pretty horrid. This book probably had the material for a couple of amusing magazine articles, but it wasn't worth the $25.

When I saw the nice cover on this book and read the exciting title, I looked forward to digging into it. Well, I hate to give such a negative review, but as I read this book, I began realizing what a waste it was. I kept reading, though, hoping against hope that it would improve. The author spends an inordinate amount of space just describing his "amazing" experience of discovering an account of the mutiny on a whaleship. I'm afraid that's the high point of the book. The actual information regarding the mutiny is boring and paper thin in content. I could hardly believe a reputable publisher would waste the paper and promotional dollars to distribute it. If you want a great whaleship story, read a book like Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea.

I hate to write a negative review of this book, because the author clearly cares about the story and probably could stand to earn a few dollars. But the fact is: Demon of the Waters is neither educating nor engrossing. On the one hand, all it does, ultimately, is summarize very breezily the primary sources. On the other, the mutiny and aftermath were, at best, anticlimactic.

What the book is about is, at heart, the author--who, apparently, is some kind of book dealer--and how he happened upon a journal of hearsay about the mutiny.

If you just want the basic facts about the Globe mutiny, you can probably find them on Wikipedia. If you want something more in-depth, I'm guessing you'd be better off consulting the primary materials yourself (although apparently they don't cover the whole tale), instead of this boring, frustrating tome.

Interesting story.

However....

The book has too much info for someone like me. I have listened to other whaling books.

And all dealt with the whaling aspect as part of the story (giving info hear, and there, as necessary).

This book, gives background on so many different things it's distracting. You get a history and

technique of historical book collecting, as well as some life history of some of the people who

like to do it. You get stories of the Ship "Globe", but also of several others (like the Dolphin,

which sailed out to find the Globe), starting at their Design, and finance, and then

construction. You get the life of every main character, from boyhood (if info exists). And

the way culture went about picking up girls on Nantucket. Plus the politics of ships sailing in

the Pacific. Politics of the Oil (whale oil) industry, and the influence they had on the courts at the time. history of the Natives, and their culture. How natives adjusted to modern life in 1970s. And a history

of WW2 on the island chain mentioned in the story, Mealy Mealy. Also the second half of the book

is like getting a second book. It starts with the history of the captain and crew of the ship set out

to find the Globe's crew on one of the islands. This has more detail then the Globe Mutiny.

Of the 8+ hours of the book, 45 minutes are spent on the Globe from Parting to being found. The

rest is Bla Bla Bla info about the above things.

I was hoping for a focused view of the days around the Mutiny.

Better books:

All brave Sailors. Long book. Think of it in thirds. 1st 3rd is background.2nd 3rd is event. 3rd 3rd is afterward.

Heart of the Sea. Very good. about 2/3rds of the book deal with the events in question. Lots of anecdotal info about starving, shipwrecks, whaling etc. Get this one.

Close to shore. good book. lots of info on sharks, and life at the time.

In Harms Way. Very good. Less about sharks then I thought it would be about.