Title:
The loss of the ship Essex, sunk by a whale / Thomas Nickerson, Owen Chase, and others ; edited with an introduction and notes by Nathaniel Philbrick and Thomas Philbrick.
Author:
Nickerson, Thomas, 1805-1883.
Philbrick, Nathaniel.
Philbrick, Thomas.
Publication Information:
New York : Penguin Books, 2000.
Call Number:
G530.E77 L67 2000
Abstract:
In 1820, the Nantucket whaleship "Essex", thousands of miles from home in the South Pacific, was rammed by an angry sperm whale. The ship sank, leaving 20 crew members floating in three small boats. The incident provided the inspiration for Melville's masterpiece, "Moby Dick". A riveting tale of history and true-life adventure, this classic edition combines first-person narratives of the doomed voyage of the whaleship with every relevant contemporary account.
Electronic Access:
Table of contents http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1203/00020147-t.htmlContributor biographical information http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1203/00020147-b.html
Publisher description http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1317/00020147-d.html
ISBN:
9780140437966
Series:
Penguin classics
Penguin classics.
Physical Description:
xv, 231 pages ; 20 cm.
General Note:
"First-person accounts" - front cover
Corporate Subject:
Contents:
Introduction -- Suggestions for further reading -- Essex narratives: First reports -- Paddack letter -- Macy letter mate's story -- Chase's narrative of the most extraordinary and distressing shipwreck of the whale-ship Essex -- Herman Melville's annotation of chase's narrative -- Boy's story -- Nickerson's "desultory sketches" -- Nickerson's letter to Lewis -- Captain's story -- Excerpt from Ridgely's letterbook -- Excerpt from Wilkes's autobiography -- Excerpt from Tyerman and Bennet's journal -- Boatsteerer's story -- Account of the loss of the Essex -- Excerpt from the journal of the Surry -- Extracts: Memories and apocrypha -- Notes.
