Customer Reviews

The Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex

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2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This story has to be one of the most astonishing tales of survival in recorded history. Before I say more, let me caution you that this story (and parts of this review) is not for those with weak stomachs.

After their ship is disabled by an attacking sperm whale, the survivors find themselves on three open boats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean over 2,000 miles from their targeted landfall in South America. With luck, they will make it in 30 days. They soon find themselves in a stall as the winds fail to cooperate, except to provide severe storms that threaten to capsize the boats.

Soon, all the food is encrusted with salt and everyone is suffering with severe dehydration. Then things start to get worse! I won't go further, but you have an amazing story of survival ahead of you.

Two of the few survivors of this terrible ordeal later committed their experiences to writing, which provide great resources for this well-researched book.

At another level, the book is also extremely interesting because these experiences were important influences on Herman Melville's writing of the American classic, Moby Dick. The book makes the connection, including how Melville came to learn the story.

At a third level, the book is a fascinating history of whaling around 1920. If you are like me, you will cringe when the whalers devastate island after island. But that's not the limit to their willingness to use nature to their own advantage.

The ultimate irony is that the survivors went the wrong way. Those from Nantucket did not know about Tahiti and Hawaii, and chose not to go in either of those directions -- either of which would have provided more rapid safety and comfort. The primary reason they chose not to go in these directions is because they feared running into cannibals. Soon the survivors were studying the remains of dead shipmates with hunger. And then it gets worse.

So, you have three different kinds of books to read here, anyone of which could be enormously enjoyable to you. Get ready for the trip of your life!

Baby beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale on the go.--Raffi

REVENGE OF THE WHALE: THE TRUE STORY OF THE WHALESHIP ESSEX is Nathaniel Philbrick's adaptation for young people of his National Book Award-winning bestseller, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA. While I have not read the adult version, I can tell you that this edition of the author's compelling account of the real-life catastrophe of 1820-21, in which a whale attacks a whaleship in the middle of the Pacific, was detailed and gory enough to keep me horrified for hours, to the extent that it caused me to forget all about my initial delight that at least one whale had apparently gotten even with humankind for what our forefathers had done for the sake of lamp oil and ambergris.

Your mama told you never
to eat your friends
with your fingers and
hands, but I say you
ought to eat what
you will - shove it
in your mouth any way
that you can. --Silver Spoon by Grace Slick

Utilizing primary source material, including two accounts written by survivors of the wreck about their nightmarish journey across thousands of miles of the Pacific from the middle of nowhere to their rescue off the coast of Chile, the author has crafted a first-rate adventure story that is also a tale of unbearable tragedy.

"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. For that was the Pacific Ocean in 1821, a vast field of warm-blooded oil deposits known as sperm whales."

From the early portions of this saga, which take place before an obstinate, eighty-five foot long sperm whale decides that enough is enough, we learn a vast array of information about the port of Nantucket and the whaleships. The author clearly describes and provides illustrations of the ship's layout, including the names of the masts and individual sails, the crews makeup, including their respective duties and the system of remuneration, their navigational tools, and the graphic details of converting those floating oil deposits into big bucks for the shipowners. I was amazed to discover that the wind patterns dictate that in order to sail from New England around the 'Horn to the Pacific, the whalers would nearly scrape the west coast of Africa! And the fact that ambergris--literally worth more than its weight in gold to perfume manufacturers--was generated as the result of whale constipation.

But it's also fascinating to learn at the end about the later lives of those eight men who somehow survived for three months on the ocean in the worst of circumstances--and how the son of one of those survivors grew up to become a whaler, lent a shipmate his father's account of the Essex disaster, and thus became indirectly responsible for that shipmate, Herman Melville, being inspired to write MOBY DICK...

Revenge of the Whale is about a whaleship journey, with the ship Essex. Captain George Pollard faces many mysterious, and fatal incidents with two different kinds of whales, and many different kinds of weather. This whaleship sailed out of Nantuckett, MA to find only one resource...oil. But they've come across more than just oil, but tragedy along with it.

My personal favorite part of the book is when the crew first sees land in months. I liked this part of the book becuase, it gave me a great essence of releif. I also liked this part of the book becuase, it showed that God gave the crew mercy, something they've always needed. The last reason I liked this book is becuase, I was thinking about what the job description to be a whaler if they told the applicant everything, " You may find yourself eating your best friend, starving to death, dieing of thirst, and drinking the blood of turtles.

I reccommend this book to only a mature audience becuase, little kids would certainly not appreciate this incredible historical story. There is also some confusing and misleading parts of this book that young people wouldnt care for or understand. This story may also bring fear to a small child of the ocean or whales. Once again, mature audiences only!

As a Children's Librarian I picked this book up in an effort to get 6-8th grade boys to read something other than Goosebumps. Having seen the movie Moby Dick, and reading that this book is the true story that inspired Melville to write that book, I have to admit I also wanted to read this book.

(At the time I was unaware of Philbrick's "In the Heart of the Sea" which was written with an older audience in mind)

The book is written with teens and young adults in mind. What impressed me with the book was the way Philbrick took the time to describe life aboard a whaler in a way that non-nautical types would understand.

If you have no knowledge of whaling in the early 1800s, I'd suggest picking up this book rather than tackling Philbrick's "In the Heart of the Sea" If you've already read "In The Heart of the Sea" thsi book will be a disappointment.

From the beginning, of the book you get the feeling that things are not going to go well. What will amaze people unfamiliar with the story is just how bad things get!

In all, however the story becomes one of sacrifice, survival and faith in not only others but of God. The book is a welcome collection for any middle school's historical fiction collection and quick read for any adult interested 19th century high seas adventure.

If you are an adult who is already familiar with the whale ship Essex or have read other books in this genre then go straight for In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex and skip this book. You'll be disappointed.

A monster of a whale is bent on the destruction of your boat. What do you do? This is the decision the crew of the whale ship Essex has to make. Told through the journals and accounts of two surviving crew members the true tale of Moby Dick is detailed and interesting.

Will the crew survive? Will they be able to eat fish and birds or will they have to resort to eating each other? Will they ever find their way back to civilization? Will they be able to conquer their hunger and thirst and ration their supplies or will they give in to temptation and finish off all of them?

Join Nathaniel Philbrick in this tale of survival and woe in the descriptive story of the Essex's crew's endurance and anguish.

Author's Note: Although this review makes the book sound exciting and suspenseful, it focuses on the finer points. Most of the book is descriptions of everyday life and has no suspense or excitement whatsoever. While this book is very informative if you have any need to learn about whaling, it is somewhat boring and I would not recommend it to anyone. If you are looking for suspense or excitement I suggest you read The Alex Rider Adventures by Anthony Horowitz or The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Thank you for reading this review, I hope that it was helpful.

My husband, daughter and grandson ALL read this book and

said it was inspiring, page turner and good history.

yvonne barrett

Revenge of the Whale is a survival suspense novel. Anyone who enjoys classic survival fiction like My Side of the Mountain and suspense novels like the Harry Potter books will enjoy Revenge of the Whale. It is hard to put down because the person who wrote it did such a good job ending chapters with cliffhangers. One such example is the last sentence of Chapter 3: "Nickerson's judgment: `This should not have been.'"

This book is about 14-year-old Thomas Nickerson, the cabinboy of the whaleship Essex. He and the 20 other men aboard the Essex deal with bad luck, broken and battered whaleboats, and one very angry sperm whale. The story starts with the sailors going aboard the Essex and sailing from Nantucket. They suffer a knockdown early in their voyage, a sign of the many trials they will soon face. Who will survive? Will young Thomas Nickerson live to tell the tale? Find out when you read Revenge of the Whale!

The main characters in the book Revenge of the Whale by by Nathaniel Philbrick are Owen Chase, Thomas Nickerson, and Captain Pollard. On a normal whale hunting trip aboard the Essex a ship doomed from the start set out. A little while after rounding Cape Horn the Essex was hit by a whale. The crew had to get on the whale boats and leave to have a chance of resuced.

I thought that this book was pretty good, because it was very interesting around the middle and a little before the middle. Though i didn't think the first half was very good, beacuse it described to much, I liked the secound half much better, because it didn't explain stuff you didnt need to know or already knew. Also though is that the secound half repeated that the people on the boasts were sick, tired, and hungry.

I thought the authors style was good, but sometimes was a little reptetive and sometimes explained to much. My favorite part of the book was when the whalle rammed the boat, beauce it showed the whale had intelligence to attack back when its pod was being attacked, unliked thinked by the whalers. Also when the crew is on the boasts they face many hardships like food running out and watter too. Overall i think the book was pretty good.

Nathaniel Philbrick wrote an exceptional book titled, "In the Heart of the Sea - The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex". Is is full of vivid accounts of the plight of the whaleship Essex - from its departure from the wharves of Nantucket to its eventual ramming and sinking by an irate sperm whale in the middle of the Pacific to the rescue of a few lucky souls 94 days later. It won a National Book Award for the author and deservedly so.

Now we are to read "Revenge of the Whale" by the same author. Well, this is only a poorly abridged version of "In the Heart of the Sea". It has all the facts with none of the details and side stories of the original. Why this book exists is beyond me. I know! Lets delete a few pages - Phil can decide what to take out - and re-release this baby under a new title and make some more money!

Advice - take a little more time and purchase the original - forget that you ever saw this title.

In Revenge of the whales the whales ship Essex leaves port from Nantucket. The ship is hunting sperm whale for its oil. The whale ship does not spot a whale for some time when it does finally kill one the oil is collected. They continue around Cape Horn into the pacific where they a lot more sperm whales. One day while out at sea a whale is spotted near the side of the sperm whale rams the side and breaks the hull. The Essex turns over and is capsized. The men are now in the small whale boats which are row boats they adapted to be able to sail. The hang near the capsized salvaging parts. One day the oil starts to leak and come on board there ships the oil is very smelly and silk. So they set out for South America. They stay as a group. When they start to run out of food and the men start dieing the black men are eaten first. Then the off lenders are eaten and finally they must eat each other. The men reach a deserted island where the find fresh water and find tropical birds. They drink the blood to make the thirst go away. After stocking up three men stay because they can not stand to sail. The three ships become separated Chase's the first mate; Pollard the captain and, the off landlers in a storm. Chase is left with two men in his boat. Pollard must execute his own Cousin for food. This book was very good I would recommend to any one.