Nathaniel Philbrick's Blog, page 5
June 15, 2012
Chatham’s 300th
As it turns out, the town of Chatham on Cape Cod and I share the same birthday of June 11. On Monday, I was honored to give the keynote address at the town’s 300th anniversary celebration.
In the Whit Tileston Band Stand in Kate Gould Park on Main Street in Chatham, MA
In the meantime, I’m hard at work on my book about Boston and the Revolution, and looking forward to Nantucket’s first Book Festival this weekend. More to come!
February 9, 2012
Lights, Camera, Action at the AAS
One of my favorite research institutions is the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded by the newspaperman Isaiah Thomas (whose colonial-era printing press is on display), the AAS contains terrific collections of early American historical documents and artifacts. The AAS was a big help to me when I was researching Mayflower, and I've already spent considerable time there with my current project about Boston and the American Revolution. The AAS is presently putting together an orientation film, and last week I was interviewed about the unique pleasures of conducting research in the organization's dome-topped reading room.
On set at the AAS, ready for my close-up.
The highlight was getting the chance to read Isaiah Thomas's rather fevered account of the fighting at Lexington and Concord in The Massachusetts Spy. I was also able to examine a copy of the depositions taken from the American participants in the battle—another treasure among many at the AAS.
January 30, 2012
The Moby-Dick marathon & an award for Why Read Moby-Dick
Here is a great blog post from Phil Roosevelt, the Deputy Managing Editor of Barron's. He attended the recent Moby-Dick marathon on Nantucket, then e-mailed me from the ferry ride home to ask why investors should read Melville's classic.
And some good news for Why Read Moby-Dick?–The audiobook earned a place on the 2012 Listen List for Outstanding Audiobook Narration from the Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association. See the full list here.
December 8, 2011
My Favorite Chapter of Moby-Dick
Since Why Read Moby-Dick? came out in October, many readers have asked me which of the 135 chapters of Melville's masterpiece is my favorite. Even before I moved to my current island home 25 years ago, it was Chapter 14, simply titled "Nantucket." It's a five-paragraph prose poem that transforms a fifty square mile sandbank into a mythic launching pad of American global ambition. As a historian, I'm in absolute awe of how Melville adapted a host of diverse sources—Wampanoag oral tradition, a history of Nantucket by Obed Macy, Edmund Burke's famous speech "Conciliation with the Colonies," and much more—into a lyrical paean to the Nantucket's epic whaling heritage. Last week I had a great evening recording Chapter 14 at Nick and Victor Ferrantella's Garden Rock Studios here on Nantucket. On Saturday January 21, 2011, the Nantucket Atheneum will be hosting the island's first Moby-Dick Marathon Reading. Beginning in the Atheneum's Great Hall at noon, it's projected to last about 25 hours, with Nantucketers of all varieties volunteering to read from the novel. It's set to end around 1 pm on Sunday the 22nd, and suitably enough, quahog chowder will be served. As you might have guessed, I'll be reading Chapter 14.
Click here to listen to my reading of Chapter 14: Moby Dick CH. 14mp3
November 18, 2011
The Charles W. Morgan’s 70th Anniversary Celebration
On Saturday, November 5th I had the chance to speak at Mystic Seaport in support of the campaign to restore the Charles W. Morgan—the only surviving American whaleship. Seventy years ago, the Morgan arrived at Mystic, where she became the crown jewel of the Seaport’s collection. When working on In the Heart of the Sea back in 1998, I spent a week studying the Morgan, and the experience was vital to my research. What makes this current restoration project so exciting is that the Morgan will be able to sail again for the first time in about a century. The plan is for her to voyage to ports such as New Bedford and Provincetown in the summer of 2014, and it was an absolute pleasure to talk to the crowd assembled on that beautiful fall day about what an important boost this will be for not only Mystic Seaport but for all maritime history. I urge all of you that have a love of history and the sea to think about contributing to the Seaport’s efforts to make the Morgan sail again.
L to R: William Forster, Chairman Emeritus Mystic Seaport Board of Trustees; Melinda Carlisle, Co- Chair “Sail The Morgan” Campaign; Captain Robert Lane, Was aboard the Morgan as a Sea Scout when she came up the Mystic River on November 8, 1941; Senator Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut U.S. Senator; Stephen White, President Mystic Seaport; bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick; Ed Haberek, Stonington CT First Selectman
After the ceremony I went to the Seaport’s bookstore to sign copies of my new book Why Read Moby-Dick?, which made it my last stop on a tour that’s taken me to New York, Baltimore, New Bedford, Boston, Providence, R.I., and Falmouth, Mass.
Click below to watch the video footage of my talk at the Morgan dedication:
Nat addresses the crowd at the Charles W. Morgan 70th anniversary celebration
The Charles W. Morgan's 70th Anniversary Celebration
On Saturday, November 5th I had the chance to speak at Mystic Seaport in support of the campaign to restore the Charles W. Morgan—the only surviving American whaleship. Seventy years ago, the Morgan arrived at Mystic, where she became the crown jewel of the Seaport's collection. When working on In the Heart of the Sea back in 1998, I spent a week studying the Morgan, and the experience was vital to my research. What makes this current restoration project so exciting is that the Morgan will be able to sail again for the first time in about a century. The plan is for her to voyage to ports such as New Bedford and Provincetown in the summer of 2014, and it was an absolute pleasure to talk to the crowd assembled on that beautiful fall day about what an important boost this will be for not only Mystic Seaport but for all maritime history. I urge all of you that have a love of history and the sea to think about contributing to the Seaport's efforts to make the Morgan sail again.
L to R: William Forster, Chairman Emeritus Mystic Seaport Board of Trustees; Melinda Carlisle, Co- Chair "Sail The Morgan" Campaign; Captain Robert Lane, Was aboard the Morgan as a Sea Scout when she came up the Mystic River on November 8, 1941; Senator Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut U.S. Senator; Stephen White, President Mystic Seaport; bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick; Ed Haberek, Stonington CT First Selectman
After the ceremony I went to the Seaport's bookstore to sign copies of my new book Why Read Moby-Dick?, which made it my last stop on a tour that's taken me to New York, Baltimore, New Bedford, Boston, Providence, R.I., and Falmouth, Mass.
Click below to watch the video footage of my talk at the Morgan dedication:
Nat addresses the crowd at the Charles W. Morgan 70th anniversary celebration
October 24, 2011
Moby in New Bedford
Last Wednesday night I had the pleasure of traveling to the New Bedford Whaling Museum to talk about my new book Why Read Moby-Dick?. The museum has teamed up with another important New Bedford institution, the Zeiterion Theatre, to put together a series of Moby-related events that will climax in January with the Moby-Dick Marathon—an annual non-stop reading of Melville's novel that is now in its sixteenth year.
The cold rain was daunting for travel, but it set the perfect "damp, drizzly November in my soul" mood for talking about Melville's masterpiece. The theatre at the museum was packed and the questions could have gone on all night as we talked about the book that has such a close connection to this wonderful city. My thanks to museum president James Russell and director of education James Lopes and their staff for making the event such a great success.
Nat speaks to a packed house at the kick-off event for the New Bedofrd Whaling Museum's "MOBY!" series on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
A long line of Melville fans wait to have their copies of WHY READ MOBY-DICK? augotgraphed at the New Bedford Whaling Museum
September 12, 2011
The Massachusetts Maritime Academy Grand Opening
On Wednesday, September 8, I had the pleasure of attending the grand opening of a very special building at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA). Known as the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Information Commons (what us old folks used to call a library), this beautiful new structure includes a multi-story grand staircase featuring the text of my book In the Heart of the Sea etched into giant translucent tablets. Needless to say, it was a great honor to see the words of a book I wrote spread out across this magnificent public space, and my thanks to MMA President Admiral Richard Gurnon for making it happen.
Nat and MMA board member John Bullard at the opening of the ABS Information Commons at Mass. Maritime. Photo by Steve Heaslip, Cape Cod Times.
May 26, 2011
From Garry Owen to Messing About in a Boat
My paperback tour for The Last Stand ended in terrific style with an event sponsored by Gibson's Bookstore at the Red River Theatres in Concord, New Hampshire. It's hard to beat a brand-new movie theatre for a venue, particularly when it's filled with a large and enthusiastic audience. For me the highlight came after the talk, when we were all treated to a screening of Alfred Thomas Catalfo's wonderful film Bighorn. Billed as a "supernatural historical fantasy," this 15-minute film is an ingenious and demented intermingling of the Battle of the Little Bighorn with the New England Patriots. Enough said, you've got to see this movie!
Nat with filmmaker Alfred Thomas Catalfo (left) and cinematographer Jeff Spires at the Red River Theatres in Concord, N.H.
The next day I stopped off at my parents' house on Cape Cod and had the pleasure of going for a row in Spindrift, a new dinghy my father Thomas Philbrick built this winter in his basement. The plan is to use Spindrift as a tender when we're exploring the many islands of Boston Harbor, which will be featured in my next book about Boston and the Revolution.
Nat takes Spindrift for a spin.
In other news, congratulations to Bryan McArdle who is the winner in the "Where in the World is Nat" contest. We received many entries but Bryan was the only one who was able to correctly identify all six of the cities in the photos. The correct answers are:
1. Milwaukee
2. St. Louis
3. Pittsburgh
4. Austin
5. Chicago
6. Petoskey
With all that travel behind me, I'm now back in my office bunker on Nantucket. Many thanks to everyone who attended my various events over the course of the last four weeks. I greatly appreciate the support.
May 19, 2011
From the Charles W. Morgan to the Far West
Prior to my event at Mystic Seaport, I had the pleasure of meeting up with my good friend Matthew Stackpole, son of the great Nantucket whaling historian Edouard Stackpole. Matthew is helping raise the funds required to restore the seaport's crown jewel, the Charles W. Morgan, the only surviving American whaleship.
The Charles W. Morgan with a whaleboat in the foreground.
Matthew had given me a tour of the ship a little more than a year before, and it was amazing to see how much progress has been made in anticipation of her launch in July 2013.
Although whaleships were not the most nimble of craft, there is nonetheless a powerful grace about the Morgan.
The restoration project is so extensive that this 170-year-old ship will be able to sail once again, something she hasn't done in a great many decades. Having had the chance to sail on the Mayflower II a few years ago, I know what a thrill it is to be on a historic vessel under sail alone. Instead of a barnacle-gathering artifact, the Morgan will be, once again, a living breathing part of our collective history.
Matthew Stackpole in the belly of the Morgan.
It was great fun talking about The Last Stand at the Seaport, especially when it came to discussing that miraculous riverboat the Far West. One of the themes running throughout The Last Stand is that the wilderness of the West and the wilderness of the sea are essentially one and the same, and nowhere did that seem more true than last night at Mystic Seaport.
