Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

32 reviews

bookbelle5_17's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad slow-paced

Review of In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

By: Nathaniel Philbrick

            Herman Melville’s famous novel Moby Dick is considered a must-read classic, and one that was inspired by the real-life tragedy of the whaleship Essex. Philbrick’s book tells of that event.  Just like Melville, Philbrick got a lot of his information from First Mate Owen Chase’s account of the events, though Chase’s account is limited as he, along with cabin boy Thomas Nickerson (the other source of information for Philbrick’s book), and a few other members of the crew were separated from the captain. It was a shock for Owen Chase when one of the Sperm Whale they would normally hunt attacks the Essex sinking it.  They experience the horrors of dehydration and starvation eventually resorting to cannibalisms.  Owen Chase comes off as ambitious and he along with the second mate didn’t always agree with Captain Pollard, who came off as passive and not a very good Captain.  We do get a bit of Nickerson and his thoughts on the situation, but most of the book focuses on Owen Chase.  Philbrick goes into detail on how they catch and remove the blubber from the whales and at one point crew ends up on an island where they try to hunt try tropical birds.  There is also a discussion of the African American’s being the first to died and are the ones that die first and are eaten by the survivors.  The author also talks other ships that have similar circumstances and how they responded.  This good deep dive into an event that people don’t know about.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, and Body horror

nimeneth's review against another edition

informative tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Cannibalism

brookealleger's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism and Death

dragnfary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cannibalism

genz_reads_classics's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

Oh boy this was so gripping but not worth the emotional pain

I think it was perfectly written and the last paragraph about bones is INSANE 🔥

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Gore, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Death, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

jcpanache's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Cannibalism

keepsleep's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, and Animal death

Moderate: Death, Blood, Classism, Medical content, and Racism

epiphoria's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

5.0

God.. I have no words. An unspeakable tragedy but undeniably, as Philbrick puts it, 'a tragedy that happens to be one of the greatest true stories ever told'. While the incident itself is greatly disturbing to hear of, this account is written with exceptional detail that still manages to capture any reader's attention, even if one might not be familiar with nautical terms. You might find yourself tasting sea salt on your tongue throughout. It includes a good number of sources as well as perspectives of the tragedy that give it a feeling of completeness and closure. While a lot of mistakes were made, it is impossible to not feel a respect and awe for the men of the Essex wreck, particularly their bravery and discipline in the face of such unimaginable suffering. This is a story that won't ever leave me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism

dorothygrace's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cannibalism, Body horror, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, and Suicidal thoughts

kilonshele's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism