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Title: Go to the source
Review: If you want to be enthralled by the story of the Essex, go to the source -- any one of the printings of Essex first mate Owen Chase's first-hand account in his "Wreck of the Whaleship Essex".His narrative takes you on the ship and grips you with the terror these men must have felt, adrift at sea with little food or water.Philbrick's retelling of the story doesn't capture the detail as well as one who was actually there.However, if you're looking for a history lesson on whaling, this one's not bad.
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