{"product_id":"9780760357361","title":"Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex: The Complete Illustrated Edition: The Extraordinary and Distressing Memoir That Inspired Herman Melville's Moby-Dick","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOwen Chase's memoir of the sinking of the \u003ci\u003eEssex\u003c\/i\u003e by a whale, which inspired Herman Melville's epic \u003ci\u003eMoby-Dick\u003c\/i\u003e and the film\u003ci\u003e In The Heart of the Sea.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e Owen Chase was the first mate on the ill-fated American whaling ship \u003ci\u003eEssex\u003c\/i\u003e, which was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in the southern Pacific Ocean in 1820. The crew spent \u003cb\u003emonths at sea in leaking boats \u003c\/b\u003eand endured the blazing sun, attacks by killer whales, and lack of food. The men were forced to\u003cb\u003e resort to cannibalism \u003c\/b\u003ebefore the final eight survivors were rescued. Chase recorded the tale of the ship's sinking and the following events with\u003cb\u003e harrowing clarity\u003c\/b\u003e in the \u003ci\u003eWreck of the Whale Ship Essex:\u003c\/i\u003e \"I turned around and saw him about one hundred rods [500 m or 550 yards] directly ahead of us, coming down with twice his ordinary speed of around 24 knots (44 km\/h), and it appeared with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect. The surf flew in all directions about him with the continual violent thrashing of his tail. His head about half out of the water, and in that way he came upon us, and again struck the ship.\" Filled throughout with period and contemporary \u003cb\u003eart\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003ephotographs\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003emaps\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eartifacts\u003c\/b\u003e, this is a beautifully illustrated edition of a classic American memoir, augmented with the writings of other participants, as well as the \u003cb\u003eperspectives of period and contemporary historians.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Voyageur Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47010604056816,"sku":"9780760357361","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780760357361_p0.jpg?v=1763639384","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780760357361","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}