In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
8 out of 10Calamitous. In 1820 the American whaleship Essex was rammed and sunk by an irritated whale in the South Pacific Ocean. The crew initially stayed afloat and survived in the three boats. After 90 days, 9 members of the 20 man crew had died. The remainder were in very poor shape as 8 of them reached the coast of Chile (the other 3 men were later rescued on a small inhospitable island). Philbrick does an excellent job telling the horrific tale with a peppering of relevant information to better paint a picture of early 19th century maritime economics. The sinking of the Essex is the inspiration for Herman Melville's Moby Dick.