Blogging from a broken 747 on the tarmac at O’Hare — bound for Singapore — where the trusty Treo will not work and the lame rented GSM Nokia has no browser.
Managed to devour Nathaniel Philbrick’s National Book Award winner (2000) In the Heart of the Sea, his retelling of the story of the Essex, the model for Moby Dick.
Definitely an inspiration to finish the Captain Chatfield work and turn it into a book. I brought his Civil War letters with me to start transcription during my stay in Asia.
I’ll blog when possible though not by Treo. Will be shopping for a Canon Powershot in Singapore duty-free.
I think that “In the heart of” in the title, is actually the crux of that book. While it was fascinating to read about whalers’ wives and the pursuit of Pacific sperm whales, the most interesting part was the psychological effects on the men who had to eat their shipmates for survival. It truly begs the question, how do you deal with that?
After reading the book, it’s easy to see why Melville was so fascinated by the story after talking to one of the survivor’s sons.