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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

s

incere thanks to Albert F. Egan, Jr., and Dorothy H. Egan; without their support over the last seven years through the Egan Foundation and the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies, I would have never been able to write this book. Thanks also to Margaret Moore Booker, who kept the Institute flourishing during my year-long leave of absence.

For more than a decade the staff of the Nantucket Historical Association has assisted me in the exploration of the island's past. Thanks to Jean Weber, Betsy Lowenstein, Elizabeth Oldham, Aimee Newell, Cecil Barron Jensen, Rick Morcam, Jeremey Slavitz, Mary Woodruff, and everyone else at the N.H.A., both past and present. The Nantucket Atheneum is another indispensible island institution that provided me with a vital link to libraries throughout the region and the country; special thanks to Charlotte Maison, Betsy Tyler, Sharon Carlee, and Chris Turrentine. Patty Hanley, librarian at the Maria Mitchell Science Library, was also a huge help. I am aslo indebted to island bookstore owner Mimi Beman, who has been a tireless supporter of my work. The staff of Mystic Seaport and the faculty of the Williams-Mystic Program were a constant source of knowledge and expertise throughout the writing of this book; thanks to James Carlton, Mary K. Bercaw Edwards, James McKenna, Katrina Bercaw, Donald Treworgy, Glenn Gordinier, Glenn Grasso, and Don Sinetti. In addition to speaking with me about topics ranging from whalemen's songs to scrimshaw, Stuart Frank, Director of the Kendall Whaling Museum, kindly offered me the use of the museum's scholar's quarters. Thanks to Michael Dyer for guiding me through the Kendall's library and providing copies of articles at a moment's notice. Michael Jehle and Judith Downey of the New Bedford Whaling Museum were also extremely helpful.

Nantucketers Chuck Gieg and David Cocker helped me sort out the navigational questions associated with the story; I owe whatever verisimilitude is contained in my account of the Essex's knockdown to Chuck's firsthand experience of a similar catastrophe. Thanks to Diana Brown for sharing with me her grandfather's memories of Captain Pollard. Dr. Tim Lepore and especially Beth Tornovish provided countless articles and insights into the physiology of starvation and dehydration. Robert Leach could not have been more generous in sharing with me a lifetime of research into the island's Quaker community. Melville and Essex expert Thomas Heffernan of Adelphi University patiently listened to my musings about the personalities of Pollard and Chase. Hal Whitehead of Dalhousie University helped me better understand the behavior of sperm whales. Ted Ducas of Wellesley College spoke to me about the physics of whales and commented on Chapter 5. Model maker Mark Sutherland and marine artist Len Tantillo shared their knowledge of early nineteenth-century whaleships, while naval architect Peter Smith at Hinkley Yachts provided a quantitative analysis of what wouldhappen when a whale rammed a ship. Claude Rawson of Yale University talked to me about cannibalism. Stephen McGarvey of Brown University introduced me to the field of evolutionary biology. Steven Jones helped sort out several issues concerning the economics of whaling while Wes Tiffney of the University of Massachusetts-Boston Nantucket Field Station spoke to me about the island's natural history. My cousins Steve Philbrick and Ben Philbrick taught me about sheep-raising and boat construction, respectively. Island historian Robert Mooney and Nantucket newspaper expert Lee Rand Burne directed me to several important articles from the Nantucket Inquirer. During his summer in the Galapagos Islands, Ned Claflin steered me to several valuable resources, as did Galapagos expert Richard Kremer. Mary Sicchio at the Cape Cod Community College Library helped me with the geneology of the Nickerson family. Lament Thomas at the University of Bridgeport provided research assistance, as did Sally O'Neil, who searched archives in England and Australia. Nathaniel Clapp located materials for me in Providence, Rhode Island. John Turrentine made available his copy of Thomas Chappel's extremely rare account of the Essex disaster. Jamie Jones offered insights into the collective psyche of an island community

while Edie Ray, Tracy Plaut, and Tracy Sundell recounted their memories of the sperm whale that washed up on Nantucket.

Special thanks to my Nantucket friend and neighbor Tom Congdon, whose enthusiasm and keen editorial judgment were an immense help, particularly in the early stages of the project. Gregory Whitehead provided essential input on the first draft. Marc Wortman helped me with several medical-related research questions and also read portions of the manuscript. Others who read and commented on the manuscript include my parents, Thomas and Marianne Philbrick, Susan Beegel, Mary K. Bercaw Edwards, Glenn Grasso, Thomas Heffernan, Stuart Frank, Michael Jehle, Chuck Gieg, Beth Tornovish, Tim Lepore, Cecil Barron Jensen, Betsy Lowenstein, Howie Sanders, Richard Green, Rick Jaffa, Richard Johnson, Peter Gow, and Richard Ellis. All errors, though, are mine and mine alone.

At Viking, my editor Wendy Wolf always made this book a top priority. Throughout a hectic summer of revisions, she ceaselessly challenged me to live up to the material's potential. A heart-felt thank you, Wendy. Kris Puopolo's comments on the first third of the manuscript were invaluable while Hal Fessenden provided late-inning input that significantly strengthened the book. Thanks also to Beena Kamlani for her meticulous and thoughtful work on the manuscript.

Special thanks to my agent Stuart Krichevsky, who has kept me on course through a most arduous and exciting year and a half.

Finally, my love, admiration, and gratitude to my wife Melissa (to whom this book is dedicated) and to our teenage children, Jennie and Ethan, who cheerfully submitted to listening to the first draft of each chapter, even when they had homework to do.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER TWELVE