On this date in 1820, an event occurred that would inspire the greatest novel in American literary history. The Essex, a whaling ship out of Nantucket, was in the waters near South America when a massive sperm whale rammed the boat and sank her. Though 20 crew members made it to lifeboats, after 83 days on the open ocean, only five were rescued. The sailors famously had to resort to cannibalism to survive, and their harrowing encounter with the sperm whale became the basis for Herman Melville's masterpiece, Moby Dick.
Tackle the novel over the holidays, or you can read Nathaniel Philbrick's equally impressive In the Heart of the Sea. The film version is actually pretty decent, but the written account is amazing. These books are great reminders of what brave (and crazy) men did to help grow the American economy in previous centuries. Their stories should not be forgotten.
Tackle the novel over the holidays, or you can read Nathaniel Philbrick's equally impressive In the Heart of the Sea. The film version is actually pretty decent, but the written account is amazing. These books are great reminders of what brave (and crazy) men did to help grow the American economy in previous centuries. Their stories should not be forgotten.