This excellent book contains about the completest history of the sinking of the Essex by a whale in 1820, which provided Melville the idea for his climax in the novel. Not only does it contain all the information known on the Essex's crewmen, but it also contains, unabridged, Chase's Narrative, along with the accounts of the survivors and their rescuers, plus Melville's marginalia in his copy of Chase's Narrative. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the Essex, 19th century whalers, or Herman Melville.

I had the pleasure of having Ronald Tagney, the author, as my history professor before his retirement, and he gave his classes copies of this well written and interesting history of the county that we live in. Essex Co. MA Landmarks that I have never known about were all under my nose. It is an important historical and research guide for anyone interested in the early stages of the insurrection leading to the American Revolutionary War. A must read for all history buffs and scholars

Philbrick's book is "off the charts" excellent. Admittedly I was a bit skeptical when I started the book. How could it possibly compete with Owen Chase's incredible and brief "Narrative of the Wreck of the Whaleship Essex"? But it did and then some. It put some meat on the bones (pardon the pun) of the sinking of the whale ship Essex. It also provided a more holistic view of the voyage preceding the incident and its aftermath, the whaling industry and Nantucket itself. The Quaker influence on the Nanctucket whaling trade is an intriguing story in itself. This is a simply wonderful and well-written book. From the first chapter the reader gets the feeling of being swept up into a developing catastrophe. I only wish I still had this book yet to read. No wonder this story inspired one of the greatest American novels ever written; Moby Dick.

While the book pulls much of its primary source material from Chase's incredible account, it also gets primary source material from elsewhere. For example from Thomas Nickerson, the ship's cabin boy at the time, whose "meandering account" ended up being found in an attic in New York in 1960. This and other accounts (take a look at the bibliography) make this a completely well rounded view of the Essex's sinking and what it must have been like to live through the horrific days that followed.

You will not walk away from this book without asking yourself what you would have done under the same circumstances. I found that to be chilling. You'll know what I mean. Facing that fact makes the book both impossible to put down and difficult to get through at the same time. Perhaps it would be an illustrative business school case or leadership critique. Let me count the possibilities. But I digress.

Here you will learn about the voyage of the Whaleship Essex. You will hear about the whale and its attack. And finally, as a result of that whale, the sinking. What follows the sinking is for you to read in the quiet of night. It warrants no further comment except the likely outcome for you that you will not be able to put the book down. And you will not sleep.

I'm just back from a visit to a whaling ship in the early 1800s. IN THE HEART OF THE SEA was passed along to me by a reading friend at work. This would not have been a book I would have picked up without her strong recommendation. It is one of the best written books I've read in a long time, a scholarly compilation of information as well as a journal and a notebook left behind by survivors of the whaling ship The Essex which was attacked by a whale. This is the same story that Melville adapted MOBY DICK from. Melville, however, only had access to the journal of the First Mate, and since that time a notebook kept by the cabinboy has come to light. The author, Nathaniel Philbrick, takes those, and thoroughly researches not only the time and the industry, but the history of Nantucket, including the lives of the women (who basically ran things as whaling might require a voyage of 2-3 years) and the peace loving Quakers, who became a rather blood thirsty lot when chasing whales. The book also includes a wonderful collection of maps and photographs. [Only the BEST armchair books include maps and pictures!] The extreme arrogance of man, to cast out into huge oceans (and I mean plural, for the whalers went right around the Cape) to take on these giants of the sea. Imagine - no GPS, no radios, no tracking, no instant communications. To go after these huge sea creatures in small boats with harpoons - and once they lanced the whale it was a merry ride, like a runaway carriage. The author skillfully knits the story together with lot of scholarly research into the effects of starvation, the plundering of the whale (very much along the scale of the buffalo) and the effects on the people who live through this, the leadership or politics of the ships as well as the whaling island of Nantucket. Let me HIGHLY recommend, and ... interestingly enough the Spousal Unit LISTENED when I recommended that he should at least look at the pictures and diagrams ... and he just inquired if I "had trouble putting the book down" (and he is NOT a reader).

Nathaniel Philbrick's "In the Heart of the Sea" is an incredible work of non-fiction that reads like a novel. Several times throughout the book I found myself in stunned disbelief that these events really took place. The book is not just the result of a strange historical occurrence, but of a people apart from all others.

This book is fascinating not only because it was the first ship to attacked and sunk by whale, but because it is a tale of survival and the strength of the human spirit. Philbrick is lucky because he is able to draw upon several eye-witness accounts of survivors, unlike other recent sea-disaster books like "The Perfect Storm". Through these first hand accounts, the reader can more fully grasp the suffering these men endured. Not only that, but the author's description of the whaling industry and of life on Nantucket, transports the reader into a bygone era.

Surviving three months and 4,500 miles on the open ocean in small, 6-person whaleboats, the men of the Essex experienced something that very few have known, and probably no one will ever experience again. The book provides a unique insight into this ultimate trial, and any reader will find themselves gripped by the story, unable to put it down until the conclusion is known. In short, it is an unforgetable adventure and worthy of your time.

The young Cleopatra shows her intelligence at an early age in spite of growing up in the decadent court of her pitiful father Ptolemy. Her half-brother hates her out of jealousy for her Machiavellian skills (is that an anachronism?) and with the help of her lover Archimedes she raises an army to help her attain the throne she desires. However, Kleopatra's obvious intelligence and abilities fail to keep her from exile as the Romans rule the world, but she plans to conquer Julius Caesar (see the next volume).

This is an incredible fictional biography that contains a fantastic look at Ancient Egypt and Rome using historical tidbits to tell the story of Cleopatra, the early years. The novel turns a legend into a person while concentrating on the heroine's adventures, political machinations, and the classical Greek culture that she wants to emulate. Fans of Ancient historical tales and Cleopatra will want to read this book, the upcoming sequel (the Caesar-Anthony years of her life) and Colin Falconer's WHEN WE WERE GODS as a companion piece. Ms. Essex capitalizes the H in historical as she provides a rich textured, fast-paced tale that should lead to the latest Egyptology boom.

Harriet Klausner

At last, someone has dared to re-imagine Kleopatra as she must surely have been! From the first entrancing paragraph, I was captivated by Karen Essex' fictional history of the young Kleopatra and her coming of age. With a strong sense of place, fine grasp of history, meticulous attention to detail, and wealth of psychological understanding, Ms. Essex paints a vivid picture of the young Kleopatra and her inexorable rise to power.

Obviously not content to accept the... image created by Hollywood and the popular imagination, Essex re-claims and restores the heroine: an undeniably brilliant,accomplished, politically astute and multi-faceted individual who possessed all the qualities required for leadership in one of the great powers of the ancient world and had the cunning and tenacity actually to possess the throne.

Essex does more than guide the reader back in history to give plausible explanations of certain events, she enriches and educates through her deep understanding of the culture--the pageantry and poliltics, the maladies and morals that informed the young Kleopatra's life.

An intriguing read! The sort off book I could hardly put down and couldn't bear to finish....and can't wait to complete with next summer's Book Two.

Couldn't put this down. I hate to think how much research went into the writing of this book, but the good news is, the research doesn't "show" or get in the way of the story. Kleopatra is a fascinating character study of a very clever woman facing incredible odds. One of the few really gripping stories I've read in the past several years, I was hooked from the beginning. Karen Essex took me to a complex world that is not only totally real, but filled with fascinating people and events. I can't get the images of ancient Egypt out of my head, and when I wasn't reading, all I wanted to do was get back to the book.

Kleopatra is marvelous, a book I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone.

I am a white gay man who dates black men exclusively. This book is a beautiful insight to one of the most oppressed and misunderstood segements of American society. With the knowledge and insight I have gained from reading this book, I feel I am better able to please my men.

Brother to Brother is an outstanding collection of stories. Anyone (gay or not) can relate to the akwardness of a first kiss or frustration with the "single club scene". These are some of the themes in Brother to Brother. In San Francisco there is a theatre show called "Up Jumped Springtime" that puts some of the stories from this book on stage. Three fine actors do justice to every word. Neither the book nor the show are to be missed. Both are engageing, sexy and will have you in the floor laughing!

This is an excellent book, little-known, which should have a resurgence now that a nonfiction treatment of the same events, Heart of the Sea, is a bestseller. Told as a reminiscence from the point of view of Captain Pollard, The Jonah Man is primarily a character study, but doesn't lack for gripping action. The slightly distanced tone doesn't describe the horrors of months in an open boat graphically, but the mood comes across effectively nonetheless. After surviving shipwreck and near starvation, Pollard's real ordeal comes when he must face his fellow Nantucketers. Though I was a little confused as to the exact nature of the epiphany he experiences in the end, I found the book to be an interesting study of individualism, guilt and redemption. Here and there character dialogue and thoughts seemed a little too psychoanalytic to be period, but it was a minor flaw.

The Jonah Man is up there in my top 5 books read over the last decade. On the surface it's a great story line that keeps you turning the pages; but it also is a brilliant study on guilt and the toll guilt can take on a life. I highly recommend it!

I have a couple of criticisms of this book, but let me say first that I really enjoyed it. I learned a lot about the early days of the U.S. Navy, the quasi-war with France, and the Barbary Wars. I would have also learned a good bit about the War of 1812, had I not already read a good history of that war. The book does a great job of bringing the captains of the Essex to life, which is very entertaining because they were all very colorful characters, especially David Porter. David Porter strikes me as the Dirty Harry of the early American Navy. He was a great fighter, but he was insubordinate at times and occasionally made rash, impulsive decisions. For example, while in port he had a British sailor who had been insulting them brought on board his ship and flogged (this was before the War of 1812). He also once sent Marines to Puerto Rico to force them to release a couple of his officers. They released the officers, but the incident almost caused a war with Spain. I do think, however, that the authors are too critical of Porter on two counts. First, they repeatedly assert that Porter should have burned all his prizes during his Pacific cruise, since most of them ended up back in British hands eventually. While it's true that this would have caused more damage to the British economy, the authors have failed to consider what effect the burning of the prizes would have had on the morale of Porter's crew. Crews at that time were largely motivated by the potential of earning prize money. The crew would have been furious with Porter if he had burned all the prizes and would have very likely mutinied. Secondly, the authors are critical of Porter's decision to go back to Valparaiso to pick a fight with HMS Phoebe. Taking on Phoebe was a bold move, that's for sure, but America's frigate captains were encouraged to be aggressive, and almost all of them were. At times this aggressiveness worked (the victories of the Constitution and United States) and sometimes it led to disaster (the defeat of the Chesapeake). In any case, Porter was a fighter, and was not content spend the entire war capturing British merchantmen practically without a shot. If Phoebe's captain (I forget his name) had not been such a scrub as to refuse Porter's offer of one-on-one combat, the Essex would have had a good chance to defeat Phoebe, which would have caused further deterioration in the British people's faith in their navy. I think the authors are a little to kind to Phoebe's captain. He turned down offers of a one-on-one battle with Essex, which he may well have won, and it was only his good luck that the Essex lost its maintopmast as it was escaping to sea. Had Essex not had that mishap it would have outrun Phoebe and been free to once again prey on British shipping. Okay, enough nitpicking. It is still a very enjoyable book.

> I enjoyed this book immensely. It's a great read for people who know
> little about U.S. history, as well as historians who are familiar with the
> epic of the U.S. Navy. It's wonderfully illustrated and also has a very
> good glossary. As for the writing, nothing dry about it -- the whaling
> raid by the Essex and its bloody fight against HMS Phoebe read like a novel
> or a movie script. I will be curious to see Director Peter Weir's movie
> (now in the making and due for release next year) called "Far Side of the
> World," which is the story of the USS Essex as told and fictionalized by
> author Patrick O'Brian (of Aubrey/Maturin fame). I strongly recommend it.

I was very impressed with this thorough yet well written history of the Navy. The USS Essex is a perfect vehicle for telling the story. I applaud Robotti and Vescovi on their accomplishments--fine research, even finer writing. Anyone with an interest in AMerica's fine history will appreciate this book

This book collects all the narratives by survivors of the sinking of the whaleship Essex. The Essex was the ship that was rammed and sunk by a whale, an incident that provided the inspiration for the climax of Melville's Moby-Dick. Most of the book is filled out with first mate Owen Chase's famous account, the bulk of which is narrarated in a diary format. It also includes shorter accounts by Captain Pollard and Thomas Chapple, who claimed to be the second mate, although Chase said that Matthew P. Joy was. Taken together, these stories provide a gripping account of survival and suffering, and towards the end of their ordeal these men even began to practice cannibalism. Pollard gives a very moving account of the casting of lots to decide who would be killed and eaten.

Narratives of three crew members of the Whale-Ship Essex, which in 1819 was stove by a whale and sunk.

Owen Chase and the rest of the survivors of the Whale Ship Essex prove that the colonists of America were some of the bravest participants in the history of the world.

This book was originally reccommended to me as a companion to Herman Melville's "Moby Dick", and I wasn't expecting to be so horified and captivated.

Owen Chase lends a very personal component to this book. It must have been difficult for a man of his stature to recount, in detail this bizarre ship wreck and the even more extraodinary aftermath.

It could have been great, but the middle just dragged and dragged with the same conversations over and over and the same spooky happenings over and over. I think she just wanted to pad the book. If 100 pages were cut, it probably would have been great. But, it was too slow as is.

After the other books by Ms Erskine, I did not think her writing could get any better but she has proven us wrong I thoroughly enjoyed House of Echoes from beginning to end. The story of Joss who inherits Belheddon Hall from a mother she never knew. All that Joss knows about the house is that two young brothers died there many years ago, but local townspeople whisper darkly of a curse on both the house and Joss's family. Joss and her husband and small son Tom move in, thinking the house is an end to all their troubles, but little do they know they are just about to begin, Joss start's to hear the laughter of two small boys and her son Tom start's too go into hysterics at the sight of a tin man. Intrigued from beginning to end this is a book that can be read again and again!

I didn't think any book by Ms. Erskine could come close to "Lady of Hay", but this one did.
I was on the edge of my seat and truly could not put this one down.
If you like Ms. Erskines books, you will love this one!

Moby Dick is so dry for young readers with all the details of life on a whaler, this book is much more the adventure, the what happens when the whale decides that he's had enough. How men endure when they run out of food, then water, then people start to die. It's a fairly fast read and Owen gives a fairly good account of the problems and the horror of the men as they watch the whale ram their ship.

Just imagine the unthinkable:- a whale, that most placid animal, suddenly turns on its tormentors with malice apparent in its intent and within a few minutes, reduces the ship, not the boat that harpooned it, to a sinking wreck, a thousand miles from any land. The subsequent journey to safety of the eight survivors is recounted by the first mate in graphic detail and with great literary skill; you have to admire the fortitude displayed by Mr. Chase in keeping an accurate log, even in the extremes of privation and heat exhaustion, as well as the psychological assault of that ultimate horror (at that time) of cannibalism. Put in their position, would I do the same - absolutely! It speaks volumes that very little was said about the Essex party, whereas the Donner party were unjustly vilified for doing exactly the same thing to preserve the remaining members of their company. I can do no better justice to this book than to quote Gary Kinder:- "...settle back into that overstuffed leather chair and let the most amazing story in the annals of the sea transport you to a different time, a different breed, an experience few could believe...".

"The Wreck of the Whaleship Essex" is much more than just the inspiration for Herman Melville's "Moby Dick." It stands alone as a remarkable account of survival in a hostile environment. It's probably difficult for modern readers to truly grasp the impact First Mate Owen Chase felt when his ship the Essex sank in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, leaving 20 men to fend for themselves in three frail whaling boats. In 1820, the loss of the ship meant that Chase and his men were truly on their own. His account and shock reflect the enormity of what losing a ship meant to these men. The ship was their world and without it, they faced an ardorous journey. Chase also accurately captures the shock of seeing a whale attack his ship twice. An experienced whaler, Chase watched dumbfounded as a creature he always thought to be gentle and placid appear to deliberately sink the Essex.

Chase has managed to balance these feelings of anguish and fear with determination to survive. His story also vividly recounts a bygone time when Nantucket whalers seemed to own the seas, and industry at home depended on the oil these men brought back. We seem to forget that whaling and its fruits were an essential part of early American commerace and life. This book puts Chase's account of his survival clearly in context with its times. Highly recommended.