In the Heart of the Sea is a true story about the Essex, a Nantucket whaling ship and its tragic encounter with an angry, revenge-seeking sperm whale. Since the movie was recently being released, my friend Eva and I decided to do a buddy read together. I'll admit I was impressed with the amount of research, details and extraneous information the author included about whaling, Quakers, Nantucket, shipwrecks, you name it. However the first quarter of the story was bogged down with so many facts and recitations that the story itself floundered and it became a little dull and boring. After the actual sinking of the ship though, the story did a complete turn around and I was engrossed until the end. I think because the author focused more on regaling us with the story of the ship and the crew and their dreadful time surviving at sea instead of inundating us with historical facts. If you have an interest in whaling or the Essex whaleship, I would recommend reading this book. There is just a ton of fascinating information. You'll be surprised at not only how long and how far the crew had to travel in an open whaleboat but what they had to do survive while they were lost at sea. It's a pretty horrific story. It will definitely make you think twice about going on your next cruise or fishing expedition. I personally will be land bound for a while, if not forever.

This book reads the way a TV documentary sounds. Chapter 3 has valuable insights and I wish more people knew these details. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in history, especially early American history.
A fascinating factoid from the book:
Pennsylvania's homicide rate in the 1720's alone exceeded London's rate for all of the 18th century.
(Every time a politician talks about violence like it's a new problem, think about that fact.)
There is excellent insight to how the European settlers created poverty in a land that once had none. Then sections that show how they complained that people they made poor were now in poverty and, as such, a burden. There's even an excellent description of what a poorhouse was and how it came to exist.
The book reveals Pennsylvania's false history, the settlers lie that there was an absolute extinction of all Indians in Pennsylvania. Hannah's death was part of their evidence. But the book also mentions that the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission reports 50,000 PA residents with Native American lineage, some of who are Lenni-Lenape like myself.
The reasons I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5 are as follows:
I'm not sure that the Shackamoxon meeting under the Elm tree is actually well known by all Pennsylvanian children, though it should be. How the actual "naming" process works isn't revealed until page 78, so it might be confusing as to how the Lenapes names are assigned or assumed by the colonists before that section. The difference between Minsi and Munsee should have been touched upon, especially given how often people mistakenly use them interchangeably. Page 115 starts using the term "The Delawares" without mentioning how that name came into use, or who Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr is. The Walking Purchase mentions the runners, but doesn't note the wildly boasted— that they were identical siblings. (This cheating strategy is well known enough to be parodied in modern comedies.)

The stories cover four generations of Quaker women from New Garden, Indiana, and provided interesting insight into their beliefs, as each novella shows how the Society of Friends react to the situations of the day. I don’t know much about the Quakers beyond their pacifism and opposition to slavery, and these stories brought out both these beliefs well, and gave me a better understanding of the beliefs of this group.In New Garden’s Hope by Jennifer Hudson Taylor, Josiah Wall and Ruth Payne are engaged, but Josiah upsets Ruth by postponing the wedding - again. Ruth breaks their engagement, believing that if Josiah isn't prepared to marry her when he promised that he doesn't love her enough. Josiah has to decide where his priorities lie – with Ruth, or with his own interests (specifically, campaigning on behalf of the Federalist candidate in the 1808 US Presidential Election).At one point, on of the characters says of the election “if the campaigns were not over and the votes cast. In a few months, we’ll know the results”. This delay between the end of polling and the final result being known was an interesting point I had never thought of, as in modern politics we almost always know the result the day the polls close, or a day after at the latest.The second story, New Garden’s crossroads by Ann E. Schrock, follows Deborah, daughter of Josiah Wall, who is a furniture maker and abolitionist in Indiana. Nathaniel Fox is a slave hunter, a long way from his own Quaker roots. An accident brings them together, and they develop feelings for each other but Nathaniel must recommit to the Society of Friends before they could marry as Deborah will not leave the faith. I liked Nathaniel, because his apparent worldliness underpinned a pragmatic realism that I felt the Quakers perhaps lacked: “Plain or lofty speech, plain dress or not, makes no difference to me.” He took another deep breath. “I’ve been out in the world and am not convinced that a man can be completely non-violent.”In New Garden’s Inspiration by Claire Sanders, takes place during the War Between the States (the US Civil War), as the Quakers must decide if they will remain true to their non violent beliefs, or if they will fight to end slavery. Leah Wall marries widower Caleb Whitaker in order to care for his two children while he is away serving in the Union army in the war. This was a marriage of convenience story with a difference, in that Leah thought it was going to be a real marriage, so works to make it one. The final story was my favourite, New Garden's Crossroads by Susette Williams. Set in the present day, it introduces Catherine Wall, a nurse who starts volunteering at a local youth centre after she meets the director, Jaidon Taylor, at a gang shooting. However, Jaidon is not a Quaker, so to marry him would mean leaving her church. I felt that this story gave a solid gospel message and showed the power of God to change lives. I would be interested in reading more about the origins and practices of the Quakers (officially known as the Society of Friends), perhaps examining some of the companies they founded.Thanks to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.