Our first recommendation for the month is: In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
Captivating right from the start Philbrick looks back on the most famous whaling disaster of the nineteenth century, the sinking of the Essex, which was the inspiration for Moby Dick. The heart of this work is the portrayal of the crew – which Philbrick manages to do without romanticising them – and the way he recreates the unique relationship between man and nature in this remote outpost of America.
Also recommended: Moby Dick by Herman Melville; Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick; Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
