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| Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex | 
| Author: Owen Chase
Creator: Tim Cahill
Publisher: The Lyons Press
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
Buy New: $5.95
You Save: $7.00 (54%)
New (6) Collectible (1) from $5.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 182193
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5
ISBN: 1558218785
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.45
EAN: 9781558218789
ASIN: 1558218785
Publication Date: August 1, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Publisher's Overstock, Excellent Condition, may have remainder mark
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Product Description
The original narratives of the whaling disaster that inspired Moby-Dick. Melville's famous description of the sinking of the Pequod by the white whale--one of the most exciting moments in American literature--was based on a true story documented in 1821 by first mate Owen Chase in his Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex, and by his shipmate and captain in two separate accounts. Each account tells of a sperm whale's attack on the Essex in the South Seas, and of the crew's three-month struggle while stranded in small open boats. Of twenty men, eight survived. Six who died were eaten by their shipmates, one--the cabin boy--after lots had been drawn. The captain writes that he exclaimed, My lad, my lad, if you don't like your lot, I'll shoot the first man that touches you. The boy replied, I like it as well as any other. He was soon dispatched, the captain writes, and nothing of him left . . . my head is on fire at the recollection. This volume reproduces these gripping accounts, as well as Herman Melville's notes on the narratives. It sheds light on both our darkest impulses and our most ascendant selves, and gives rare insight into the workings of one of the most important literary minds of all time.
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| Customer Reviews:
Incredible .. all because of the real Moby Dick! May 30, 2008
This is an incredible real story of survival. Who can ever would have thought that a huge whale will struck the wooden ship with such ferocity, twice. Here you will learn what really thirst and hunger is, and what are the effects of that in the body in a prolonged situation. Three months they were in the sea, because of a bad decision of heading south to the coast of Chile instead of moving with the currents to the nearby Tahiti or other islands of the mid pacific. This book has the account of Chase, the captain and one of the shipmates that were left in Henderson Island (Google Earth: 2420'43S & 12818'01W). The few boat survivors were taken to Valparaiso (Chile) for recuperation before going back home. This is a great book and a story that you can also read in Nathaniel Philbrick's, In the Heart of the Sea, a book I read a few years ago. Enjoy!
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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