Children of the Light: The Rise and Fall of New Bedford Whaling and the Death of the Arctic Fleet

by Everett S. Allen

Discusses the settlement of New Bedford by the Quakers, their development of the whaling industry, and the events surrounding the destruction of the Arctic fleet in 1871

Genres: Nonfiction

302 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Jenna]

Most definitely not a book I would pick up and read on my own. I listened to this one via WPR's Chapter a Day radio program and I was fascinated by the subject. It was very well written. Detailed with bits from personal interviews, newspaper articles, and other accounts. If I ever have the opportunity to travel East the New Bedford Whaling Museum will likely be on my list of places to visit simply because this book piqued my interest on the subject.

[Clara]

If this subject interests you, the book gives a very good sense of what New Bedford might have been like during the final years of the "golden age" of whaling. Lots of specific details and human insights as Everett Allen paints the city and the mind-set of some of its leading characters, especially the Howland brothers who built their great ship "Concordia" just as the good years were ending.

[Annushka]

Read this for a history paper and thought it was fascinating. Not sure if it’s as fascinating if you’re not on the hunt for facts about 19th century commercial whaling?

[Jude]

One of the best histories whaling written. This book, by a New Bedford native with family ties to the whaling business, provides a harrowing account of the loss of the arctic fleet in 1871, and puts in context of the settlement of New Bedford by Quakers, and the birth and growth of the whaling industry.

[Alan]

This was a fascinating account of a doomed arctic whaling expedition in 1871, but more so an interesting history of the area I grew up in (New Bedford, Massachusetts), the whaling industry, the Friends religion, Eskimos, and the whaling industry in general. At times it was almost too much - it seemed more a collection of essays than a real narrative, but the subject matter was compelling.