Philbrick tells the story of the Essex well. I enjoyed the narrative and particularly appreciated the connections he made to its famous fictional counterpart, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. But wow, what a horrific situation!
I think that I’d prefer Melville’s invented ending to the real life outcome; better to go down with the ship than to spend three months in a small boat on the open ocean, suffering from starvation and dehydration and resorting to eating dead shipmates, even if it does ultimately mean survival.
Unlike some of the other shipwreck stories I’ve read – Endurance and The Wager – which depict desperate times but end with a feeling of triumph, the story of the Essex just felt sad. As Philbrick rightly concludes,
The Essex disaster is not a tale of adventure. It is a tragedy that happens to be one of the greatest true stories ever told.
Notes & Links
This book was certainly better because I recently read Moby Dick, which drew inspiration from the final journey of the Essex.
I’ve also written mini-reviews of Endurance and The Wager. Shipwrecks make for fascinating stories.