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Book Review, © Copyright 2002, Jim Loy
This is the original account by the First Mate of the Essex, a whale ship from Nantucket. On Nov. 20, 1820, while its boats were out attacking a number of sperm whales, the Essex was twice rammed by an angry whale, and began to sink. In the three whale boats, the crew of 20 men stayed near the ship for a few days, recovering food, water, sails, and some other things. Then they sailed south, nearly dying of hunger and thirst in their leaky boats, landing on Henderson Island one month later. They stayed there a few days, and then headed eastward (leaving three men who chose to remain on the island) for Easter Island. Due to unfavorable winds, they passed to the south of Easter Island, and headed for South America. The three boats were separated, and some of the men died in their weakened condition. Near the end, the survivors resorted to canabalism. Mr. Chase and two other men were rescued on Feb. 18, 1821. Captain Pollard and one other man were rescued on Feb. 23. Two of the three men left on Henderson Island were rescued on Apr. 5, 1821, and returned home via Australia and London. The third whale boat was never found. The wreck of the Essex was the main inspiration for Herman Melville's book, Moby Dick.
There are several editions of this book. And there are several other recent books (I have read none of them) about wreck of the Essex:
To order this book, click Amazon.com (goes directly to this book).