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Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex, Adapted for Young People from In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick is an adaptation of the author’s more New York Times best seller history book. The book has been adapted into a 2015 motion picture, In the Heart of the Sea, which has not been received very well, but I think that now I’ll have to watch it.

The story revolves around the Essex, a Nantucket whaleship, and its crew who left on a two year trip. The trip was plagued by one disaster after another for nearly a year and a half, when a huge sperm whale did the unheard of, and attacked them, sinking the boat in the Pacific Ocean.

All 20 members of the crew got in three whaleboat and were stuck at sea for three horrible months. The crew resorted to eat their dead friends, or kill others for food. Eventually the boats became separated, when they were rescued off the coast of Chile, only five of them were alive.

My son bought this book for himself, I read it as well since the subject seemed interesting and I knew I wasn’t going to read the “grown up” version, also it’s something I like to do as it gives us something to talk about around the dinner table. Especially in days like this, the time of COVID where we spend all day, every day together.

Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex, Adapted for Young People from In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick is not for the weak of stomach. I have no idea what’s in the full book, but the author certain did not mince on the gore and toll the months at sea took on the poor crew.

The author does an excellent job recreating life in a small whaling town in 1819 New England. He also describes at length the bad luck the Essex had while on her last voyage. The attack of the whale is possibly my favorite part of the book, as well as the influence the story had on Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

The book is based on a journal that was lost at one time, but found again. While the author does a fine job, the problem with such stories is that we, the readers, are not vested with any of the characters, and hence don’t have a personal stake, if you will, in the story.

The author managed to write a gripping and captivating story about actual events, in a relatable, easy to read manner. I must admit that I enjoyed it more than my son, but I’m sure that has more to do with his reading style and taste than the author’s talent. ( )

is there an adult version? this was great. If I were young, it sure would make me want to become a sea historian! ( )

Excellent adaptation for the older student. We used it as a read aloud for history. The movie premiers in 12/2015! My sons loved the story. ( )

This book is a junior version of the bestseller, In the Heart of the Sea, also by Philbrick. It is intended for a YA audience. But it is in no way any less dramatic that the original. It tells the story of the whaleship, Essex, which was attacked (yes, attacked) by a sperm whale. The crew of 21 men (several of them teens) split up into 3 boats and tried to get back to land. Unfortunately, they made a bad decision of heading east towards Chile instead of heading west towards numerous possible landings in the South Pacific because of a fear of becoming victims of cannibalistic tribes. It took 93 days for the last survivors to be picked up by other ships.

Details were taken from accounts written at the time in Nantucket newspapers and the survivors own recorded words. The reader is given an overview of life on a whaling ship and how these intrepid sailors provided a young nation with whale oil used to light homes and lubricate machinery. ( )

What can I say? I started Revenge of the Whale with a little trepidation as these kind of novels usually boggle my brain with umpteen nautical terms and descriptions. Philbrick however, has not fallen into this trap. Where sea faring objects are described very often they are accompanied with a diagram that clearly displays their place on the vessel, this accompanied by a number of photographs and easy to read maps allows the reader to really feel a part of the crew.

The book follows the crew of the Whaleship Essex and how they are attacked by a sperm whale which leads to them escaping in 3 small whaleboats. The lead up to the attack and the actual event only take up the first 3rd of the book, the rest details their constant struggle against the savage sea. Thirst and hunger drive the men to extraordinary lengths including cannibalism. In fact out of the 21 strong crew only 8 survived the journey.

An amazing true story, extremely well written and informative. Easily recommendable to anyone that loves adventure or interested in the History of Nantucket whaling. Interestingly the Essex adventure was the original inspiration for Moby Dick.

My only complaint would be that the novel appears to be a stripped down version of another book called In the Heart of the Sea. If I had known this before purchase I think I would have bought that instead. However, I will certainly seek it out in the future.
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