This book is a true story, non-fiction, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. The setting takes place in the early 1800's, and the plot deals with the whale ship Essex. This ship was attacked and sunk by a huge sperm whale, and the story became the motivation for the climax of Moby Dick. The story began in Nantucket and followed the crew as they made their way up the Pacific coast of South America. The ship had problems with weather right away, and the whale sank the Essex about halfway through the book. The second half of the book recounted how some of the crew were able to survive three months on the open sea. The description got a little graphic at some points.
The book is written as a documentary, so it won't appeal to everyone. I found the concept of men being attacked by a whale, in the middle of the ocean, and somehow still surviving very interesting. The topic of the book should attract many readers, although the format may turn some people off.
I thought it was an all-together good book. It gets off to a slow start but gets better as the book goes on.
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