The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale Free

Home , Nathaniel Philbrick, Thomas Nickerson

FREE THE LOSS OF THE SHIP ESSEX SUNK BY A WHALE PDF

Inthe Nantucket whaleship Essex was rammed by an angry sperm whale thousands of miles from home in the South Pacific. The Essex sank, leaving The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale crew members drifting in three small open boats for ninety days. Through drastic measures, eight men survived to reveal this astonishing tale. But ina new account of the disaster was discovered, penned late in life by Thomas Nickerson, who had been the fifteen-year-old cabin boy of the ship. The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale discovery has vastly expanded and clarified the history of an event as grandiose in its time as the Titanic. This edition presents Nickerson's never-before-published chronicle alongside Chase's version. Also included are the most important other contemporary accounts of the incident, Melville's notes in his copy of the Chase narrative, and journal entries by Emerson and Thoreau. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1, titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. This is the same book that was originally published in as Narratives of the Wreck of The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale Whale-Ship Essex. It's fantastic. I'm immediately recommended it to my husband as a quick and engrossing Philbrick, a champion sailboat racer, has also written extensively about sailing, including The Passionate Sailor and the forthcoming Second Wind: A Sunfish Sailor's Odyssey. He was editor in chief of the classic Yaahting: A Parody In his role as director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies, Philbrick, who is also a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association, gives frequent talks about Nantucket and sailing. He lives on Natucket with his wife and two children. Thomas NickersonOwen Chase. The gripping first-hand narrative of the whaling ship disaster that inspired Melville's Moby-Dick and informed Nathaniel Philbrick's monumental history, In the Heart of the Sea Inthe Nantucket whaleship Essex was rammed by an angry sperm whale thousands of miles from home in the South Pacific. Nathaniel Philbrick, is a leading authority on the history of Nantucket Island. His latest book is Sea of Gloryabout the epic U. Exploring Expedition of — He has written an introduction to a new edition of Joseph Hart 's Miriam Coffin, or The Whale Fishermana Nantucket novel first published in that Melville relied upon for information about the island when writing Moby Dick. Nathaniel PhilbrickThomas Philbrick. Essex (whaleship) - Wikipedia

The Essex sank, leaving twenty crew members drifting in three small open boats for ninety days. Through drastic measures, eight men survived to reveal this astonishing tale. But ina new account of the disaster was discovered, penned late in life by Thomas Nickerson, who had been the fifteen-year-old cabin boy of the ship. This discovery has vastly expanded and clarified the history of an event as grandiose in its time as the Titanic. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. The Paddack Letter 2. An Account of the Loss of the The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale 2. When you buy a book, we donate a book. Sign in. The Biggest Books of the Month. History Travel Writing Nonfiction Classics. May 01, ISBN Add to Cart. Also available from:. Available from:. Paperback —. Product Details. Inspired by Your Browsing History. The Journals of Lewis and Clark. The Bounty. Caroline Alexander. The Most Powerful Idea in the World. William Rosen. Kenneth C. Davis CD Audiobook Bundle. Leonard L. Wicked River. The Bohemians. Anthony Brandt. In the Heart of the Sea. Nathaniel Philbrick. The Aeronauts. James Glaisher. The Wizard of Menlo Park. Randall E. Perilous Fight. Stephen Budiansky. Revolutionary Characters. Gordon S. The Dreamer and the Doctor. Robert Middlekauff. Alexander Hamilton. The Last Place on Earth. Roland Huntford. Knights of the Sea. Henry David Thoreau. Paul Johnson. Reading the Man. Elizabeth Brown Pryor. Roughing It. The Mercury Martha Ackmann. The Civil War in 50 Objects. Angels and Ages. The Knife Man. American Massacre. Sally Denton. American Creation. Joseph J. Jane The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale. Give Me a Fast Ship. Russell Martin. Related Articles. Looking for More Great Reads? Download Hi Res. LitFlash The eBooks you want at the lowest prices. Read it Forward Read it first. Pass it on! Stay in Touch Sign up. We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again later. Become a Member Start earning points for buying books! The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale - Thomas Nickerson, Owen Chase - Google книги

Like a tourist, Melville met local dignitaries, dined out and took in the sights of the village he had previously only imagined. Captain George Pollard Jr. Pollard lived out his remaining years on land, as the village night watchman. Melville had written about Pollard briefly in Moby-Dickand only with regard to the whale sinking his ship. Pollard The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale told the full story to fellow captains over a dinner shortly after his rescue from the Essex ordeal, and to a missionary named George Bennet. To Bennet, the tale was like a confession. The trouble for Essex began, as Melville knew, on August 14,just two days after it The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale Nantucket on a whaling voyage that was supposed to last two and a half years. The foot-long ship was hit by a squall that destroyed its topgallant sail and nearly sank it. Still, Pollard continued, making The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale to Cape Horn five weeks later. But the man crew found the waters off South America nearly fished out, so they decided to sail for distant whaling grounds in the South Pacific, far from any shores. To restock, the Essex anchored at Charles Island in the Galapagos, where the crew collected sixty pound tortoises. As a prank, one of the crew set a fire, which, in the dry season, quickly spread. Pollard was furious, and swore vengeance on whoever set the fire. Many years later Charles Island was still a blackened wasteland, and the fire was believed to have caused the extinction of both the Floreana Tortoise and the Floreana Mockingbird. Essex First Mate Owen Chase, later in life. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. It was Chase who spotted a very big whale—85 feet in length, he estimated—lying quietly in the distance, its head facing the ship. The whale passed underneath the ship and began thrashing in the water. Then the whale disappeared. This time it hit the bow directly under the cathead and disappeared for good. The water rushed into the ship so fast, the only thing the crew could do was lower the boats and try fill them with navigational instruments, bread, water and supplies before the Essex turned over on its side. Pollard saw his ship in distress from a distance, then returned to see the Essex in ruin. Chase, what is the matter? Another boat returned, and the men sat in silence, their captain still pale and speechless. The men were unwilling to leave the doomed Essex as it slowly foundered, and Pollard tried to come up with a plan. In all, there were three boats and 20 men. The distance to land would be far greater, but they might catch the trade winds or be spotted by another whaling ship. Only Pollard seemed to understand the implications of The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale clear of the islands. According to Nathaniel Philbrick, in his book In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, although rumors of cannibalism persisted, traders had been visiting the islands without incident. Thus they left the Essex aboard their foot boats. They were challenged almost from the start. Saltwater saturated the bread, and the men began to dehydrate as they ate their daily rations. The sun was ravaging. They spotted land—Henderson Island—two weeks later, but it was barren. After another week the men began to run out of supplies. No one could blame them. And besides, it would stretch the provisions for the men in the boats. Herman Melville drew inspiration for Moby-Dick from the whale attack on the Essex. By mid-December, after weeks at sea, the boats began to take on water, more whales menaced the men at night, and by January, the paltry rations began to take their toll. Over the coming week, three more sailors died, and their bodies were cooked and eaten. The rations of human flesh did not last long, and the more the survivors ate, the hungrier they felt. On both boats the men became too weak to talk. It was the custom of the sea, dating back, at least in recorded instance, to the first half of the 17th century. Ramsdell drew the lot that required him to shoot his friend. He paused a long time. After a frantic chase, they managed to catch the English ship Indian and were rescued. They had only the bones of the last crewmen to perish, which they smashed on the bottom of the boat so that they could eat the marrow. Wretched and confused, Pollard and Ramsdell did not rejoice at their rescue, but simply turned to the bottom of their boat and stuffed bones into their pockets. The five Essex survivors were reunited in Valparaiso, where they recuperated before sailing back for Nantucket. As Philbrick writes, Pollard had recovered enough to join several captains for dinner, and he told them the entire story of the Essex wreck and his three harrowing months at sea. Years later, the third boat was discovered on Ducie Island; three skeletons were aboard. Miraculously, the three men who chose to stay on Henderson Island survived for nearly four months, mostly on shellfish and bird eggs, until an Australian ship rescued them. Once they arrived in Nantucket, the surviving crewmen of the Essex were welcomed, largely without judgment. Cannibalism in the most dire of circumstances, it was reasoned, was a custom of the sea. In similar The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale, survivors declined to eat the flesh of the dead but used it as bait for fish. But Philbrick notes that the men of the Essex were in waters largely devoid of marine life at the surface. Captain Pollard, however, was The Loss of the Ship Essex Sunk by a Whale as easily forgiven, because he had eaten his cousin. Once his days at sea were over, Pollard spent the rest of his life in Nantucket. Once a year, on the anniversary of the wreck of the Essexhe was said to have locked himself in his room and fasted in honor of his lost crewmen. ByMelville and Moby-Dick had begun their own slide into obscurity. He drank and suffered the death of his two sons. Depressed, he abandoned novels for poetry. In his poem Clarel he writes of. Joseph S. Evan L. Continue or Give a Gift. Privacy Terms of Use Sign up. SmartNews History. History Archaeology. World History. Science Age of Humans. Future of Space Exploration. Human Behavior. Our Planet. Earth Optimism Summit. Ingenuity Ingenuity Awards. The Innovative Spirit. Travel Virtual Travel. Travel With Us. Featured: Travel to Alaska. At the Smithsonian Visit. New Research. Curators' Corner. Ask Smithsonian. Vote Now! Photo of the Day. Video Ingenuity Awards. Smithsonian Channel. Video Contest. Games Daily Sudoku. Universal Crossword. Daily Word Search. Mah Jong Quest. Subscribe Top Menu Current Issue. Archaeology U. History World History Video Newsletter. Like this article? Comment on this Story. Last Name.