Mike answers “What did you think the most surprising...”

Emily asked this question about In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex:

What did you think the most surprising part of the story was?

Mike I've read quite a bit on the age of polar exploration, Shackleton, Amundsen, the Northwest Passage, the mutiny of the Bounty and Bligh's open-boat voy…moreI've read quite a bit on the age of polar exploration, Shackleton, Amundsen, the Northwest Passage, the mutiny of the Bounty and Bligh's open-boat voyage. I think what surprised me, the real tragedy here, was how much of it seemed so avoidable. So unnecessary. There's a heroism in Shackleton and Bligh's stories that I don't get here. It just seemed so awful and pathetic. AMAZING true story and hats off to the survivors. But there was no parade in my mind at the end, I felt really, really bad for them in a way that, right or wrong, I often don't in other true survival tales.(less)

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In the Heart of the Sea

by Nathaniel Philbrick (Goodreads Author)

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