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khuizenga's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Blood, Cannibalism, and Classism
mcdsweetea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
5.0
kieranhealy's review against another edition
5.0
Philbrick is a master. The ability to put a novelist's touch to a historical accounting is a true skill, and Philbrick is one of the very best. This reads as more of a horror story than a survival tale or an adventure. Because that is what these men experienced. True horror. Read it.
diddy_shovel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.75
A gripping tale of adventure and survival, capturing a pretty incredible time in history. I love the lengths Philbrick goes to to contextualise the whaling industry and the history of Nantucket, but never once does this feel cumbersome or a barrier to the plot.
Working with disjointed and conflicting information, the narrative that Philbrick constructs is awesome in the truest sense of the word, and his rich descriptions throughout were absolutely enthralling. No pun intended, I was absolutely hooked and could barely put this book down once I started. I really felt like I was there, experiencing every emotion and part of every moment, and I felt so drawn to all the men involved.
The one thing that stands in the way of 5 stars was how Philbrick randomly inserts asides about the writing of Moby Dick or sociological studies done in the 1900s. While intended to add further explanation to some areas in the novel, I found they distracted from the rawness of book and, in places, broke the spell of the narrative which was a shame.
Also, the guy that burned an entire island to the ground "as a prank"? Hilarious.
Working with disjointed and conflicting information, the narrative that Philbrick constructs is awesome in the truest sense of the word, and his rich descriptions throughout were absolutely enthralling. No pun intended, I was absolutely hooked and could barely put this book down once I started. I really felt like I was there, experiencing every emotion and part of every moment, and I felt so drawn to all the men involved.
The one thing that stands in the way of 5 stars was how Philbrick randomly inserts asides about the writing of Moby Dick or sociological studies done in the 1900s. While intended to add further explanation to some areas in the novel, I found they distracted from the rawness of book and, in places, broke the spell of the narrative which was a shame.
Also, the guy that burned an entire island to the ground "as a prank"? Hilarious.
kdap94's review against another edition
4.0
For a book on a topic I never really cared to know more about, I was absolutely fascinated by the story. I thought the storytelling was well done. I did skim parts that I wasn’t overly interested in which is why I only gave it 4 stars.
annenichols's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
START READING AT CHAPTER 1 - THE PROLOGUE/FORWARD IS SPOILER AFTER SPOILER.
A decent adventure story marred by blatant racism. I couldn't believe the date of publication; thought it had to be decades earlier. Author: just because the journals contained racism doesn't mean you have to transcribe them verbatim or accept their worldview. Paraphrasing, "The blacksdied first because they had lower body fat ??? Disgusting.
Similarly, there was insufficient editorializing of the xenophobicdecision not to aim for nearby islands . Way too many uninhibited references to "savages."
Unrelatedly, this like many similar books included some extraneous details, especially at the end, that didn't contribute much.
Overall, disappointing. Could have been so good.
A decent adventure story marred by blatant racism. I couldn't believe the date of publication; thought it had to be decades earlier. Author: just because the journals contained racism doesn't mean you have to transcribe them verbatim or accept their worldview. Paraphrasing, "The blacks
Similarly, there was insufficient editorializing of the xenophobic
Unrelatedly, this like many similar books included some extraneous details, especially at the end, that didn't contribute much.
Overall, disappointing. Could have been so good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia