Demon of the Waters: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Whaleship Globe

by Gregory Gibson, Erik Ronnberg (Illustrator), Gary Tonkin (Illustrator)

Excellent Book

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Maritime, Adventure, American History, Nautical

308 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Demon of the Waters is the second book I've read about the Globe mutiny led by Samuel Comstock in 1824. It's more recent than the one I read a few months ago, and the back cover promised information from a newly available source, which was also part of the attraction. Unfortunately, this book doesn't live up to its promise.

I knew I was going to have issues with the author's writing style when early chapters kept telling me what those associated with the Globe "may have" done and "probably" did. Heavy speculation in nonfiction is annoying. Explain common practices of the time, sure, but stick with the facts when it comes to the specific people you're writing about.

The book includes chapters about life in Nantucket, boat building, whaling practices, and the navy. Some of this background information was interesting, but it tended to veer off into unnecessary tangents. A lot of ship-related jargon was used and only occasionally explained, and for a general-audience type book, some of the technical aspects of sailing should have either been explained better or avoided. The short psychological analysis of Samuel Comstock seemed especially awkward.

The overall structure is jumpy and sometimes just strange. In one instance, a new chapter begins and then immediately skips us four days back in time for no obvious reason. There are also sections, seemingly placed at random, about the author's personal experiences as a book agent, his research on the new source of Globe information, and his trip to the island where the mutineers landed. I didn't find these parts especially interesting or relevant enough to justify the way they constantly broke the flow of the main story.

The much-touted new source was a private journal kept by a midshipman on the naval ship sent out after the mutineers, which probably explains why the book spends so many more pages on the rescue party than the other mutiny or shipwreck books I've read. I'm not sure how much truly new information this source contributed. The author quotes from the journal, but mocks the quality of the prose and compares it unfavorably to Melville more than once. It seems mean-spirited to keep pointing out that the young man's writing attempts are well beneath the efforts of one of America's best known literary figures.

My biggest problem with the book was that all the asides about the era, the author, and the rescue ship overshadowed the actual events of the mutiny at times. Some of the little details that I found really interesting from the earlier account that I read were either glossed over or entirely left out of this one.

If you're interested in reading only one book about the Globe, I'd recommend Mutiny on the Globe. Its style is a little more old-fashioned, but the simpler structure and clearer focus more than make up for that.

[J.C. Paulk · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent history book that reads like a dark thriller. The story is well grounded in fact and the speculation is kept only to a necessary minimum. Still, the events are put together in a smooth flowing narrative that leaves a chill running down the spine in parts. How many historical books do that?

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sure do like books about whalers. Another great book for anyone into maritime history. Maybe even for those that aren't. Well written and not many dull moments. A little too much sailor talk. The author obviously knows a lot about the old ships and uses a lot of terminology that most people won't be familiar with. Mostly describing the ship works. I have read A LOT of maritime history books and I still don't know what every sail or masts are called. At some parts I felt like "ok, I get it. You know a lot about historical ships.". Otherwise, great book and great story. A little of everything a great seafaring tale needs.

[Renee King · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this 3 stars, not because it is the compelling story of the mutiny on the Globe (you will most likely already know the tale if you are reading a book like this), but because it is a fabulously detailed account of what American whaling and whaling boats were like in the 19th century. I learned a great deal about the process of boiling down the blubber to usable oil. A daunting process in any environment, but seemingly awful on an early 19th century whaler. Ship building and construction, a lesson in mast placement and navigation also included, and appreciated.

However, do not expect any new revelations about Samuel Comstock, his murderous crimes, or the motivation for them. Most likely, he was a disturbed young man with some kind of mental illness and narcissism, which certainly would not have been properly identified or treated in that era. Nicely told, however, is the tale of the two lone castaways that were saved by the indigenous peoples, then rescued by the mission of the Dolphin.

The author's enthusiasm for the subject is palpable. Antique ship manuscript and diary collecting, maritime history research and even a trip to the Marshall Islands to experience where the doomed crew of the Globe came ashore is worth your time to read if you like this topic.
I recommend this book.

[Rick Rapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite a tale: a mutiny abound a whaleboat, the escape of the mutineers, a schism among the survivors, the escape of half of them, the murder of all but two of the others at the hands of natives...
And all of this pieced together through journals and accounts found in a wide variety of places. The author even journeys to Samoa and the location of the last rescue, but virtually all traces have been destroyed by WWII. The story is worthy of an adventure tale with its savagery, misplaced loyalty, and grateful natives, and rivals the fiction of Herman Melville.

[Joshua Blood · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

The story of the Globe mutiny is no doubt extremely interesting, but the book was bogged down with too much insignificant detail in places. The chapters detailing the lead up to the mutiny, the mutiny, and the fall out from the mutiny were incredible, but the chapters about the building of whaling ships, pages about which sails are which was difficult to get through.

[DJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well told historical account of murderous mutiny: one Quaker cracked.

[Phil K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Globe was a whaling ship. In 1822 there was a mutiny. This (and much more) is recounted in the book "Demon of the Waters".

I had previously read (and highly recommend) "In the Heart of the Sea" about the whaleship Essex that was struck by a whale and sank in 1820. The gruesome and terrible mutiny and murders on the Globe knocked the Essex out of the headlines.

Gibson's book does a great job talking about the whaling industry and how it operated (including ship-building, financing/business, and life). I was drawn to the details about the people and their work. I also liked the explanation of the day's politics (whale oil was THE 'big oil' of the day) and what was going on with American expansionism (missionaries and trading with Pacific islands), and the international stage (Spain losing its control on colonies).

While the mutiny itself happened very quickly, it was very dramatic page-turning.
The entirety of the book is not the story's narrative, however. There are multiple (short) chapters designated to how the book was researched and how sources were preserved in the subsequent hundreds of years. So at times it feels like the book breaks the 4th wall explaining how it came to be.

Overall an amazing story where children (who today wouldn't be given the car for the weekend) are sent off on a 3-year whaling cruise, only to be witnesses to one of the most bloody and gripping mutinies of the day (the main mutineer was only 22 years old and the captain 29).

To anyone who loves nautical history, tales of captains, mutinies, natives, and naval rescues, I would highly recommend this book.

[Karyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a sad boat aficionado, I was excited to find a book about an event I hadn’t yet heard of. Most folks are aware of the Bounty mutiny, but the mutiny on the Globe was new to me. However, this book wasn’t nearly as good as it could have been.

I’m not sure what Gibson was going for in this book. While as a bibliophile, I enjoyed the parts about how he came across some of the manuscripts and early materials regarding the Globe, I’m not quite sure why he chose to discuss that aspect. It would have been better if he had had more detail about that, or left it out altogether. I also found him a bit judgmental, especially considering how he describes Irene, the woman who finds all these bookish treasures and keeps them in her garage.

Gibson also decides to go into great detail about certain things, like the rigging of a ship and the various terms for the masts and the sails attached, and he enjoys throwing in nautical terms without actually defining them. I wish this book had been available on Kindle because at least then I would have had an inkling of what he was talking about.

I didn’t care for the layout of the book either. Gibson plays fast and loose with the chronology of events, going back and forward in time, which serves only to confuse the reader. Also I would have liked more evidence that Samuel B. Comstock was really that awful a person. It feels very much like hearsay.

At any rate, I would definitely read another book about the mutiny on the Globe, but I cannot recommend this one.

[Voyt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mixture of history, adventure and tragedy.
POSTED ON AMAZON 2003
I highly recommend this book to all who like to read about toll ships and see adventures.
Painstakingly, masterfully written, book embraces detailed description of whaling ships and their role in making many Nantuckers rich, as well as many aspects of human life during the "golden" era of whaling for oil industry. But not only this.
We have many historical details about early Pacific navigations and about competition for dominance in this region between France, Britain and Americans.
We will learn with fascination how white sailors encountered first time and clashed with other cultures and tribes of Pacific islands; also, how the toll ships were build on Nantucket Island at the beginning of the 19th century and who was involved in those projects.
And of course the main theme - gruesome events on the deck of the "Globe" and on the Mili atoll (Marshall islands), where two cultures met suddenly by surprise and got stunned - beautifully woven into the whole text.
Masterpiece, Mr. Gibson, no doubt. It should be considered as continuation of "In the Heart of the Sea".

[Lorilynn Barth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Detailed Account

Entertaining as well as meticulously researched. Whaling enthusiasts will not be disappointed. Footnotes are detailed and very interesting. Author has taken pains to be historically accurate.

[Don Teeter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a history book that reads like a novel, the writing is so engaging and the settings so exotic. With real stories like this out there, I don't know why Hollywood wastes its time on Bounty remakes.

[Mike Rad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was very different than I imagined. The author described the history of book finding and exploration of historical accounts as much as he described the events of the mutiny. A very thoughtful and thorough accounting of the story overall. Very enjoyable

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted this to be more exciting

[Jeramy Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im going to keep it short. I’m not the biggest fan but it is okay.

[Mark Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine

[Melissa Cuevas · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I picked this up, I was hoping that I had another book much along the same lines as the wonderful "In the Heart of the Sea", which I truly enjoy and reread often.
However, I was truly disappointed here. The first part, dealing with the Globe's financial history, the familial lines of her owners and crew, and her building, were strong and enjoyable. The first kinks started to show in the intermittent and annoying self insertion chapters that the writer kept placing... if (and it's a very strong if) there really was a need to go into his personal history with the documents that spawned this book, they should have been either at the front of the book, or the back, but dropping them piecemeal in the middle made for a distracting and jarring read. But, once I got to the actual voyage and mutiny, I realized that there might have been an actual reason for these chapters, because quite bluntly, there is precious little about the voyage and mutiny contained in this book. They serve as padding to justify a book length price of a very brief look at the actual event. I actually had to go back to find a single paragraph of grave importance because I couldn't believe that was all the coverage that this certain event warranted in the entire layout of this book. A completely gratuitous self insertion section was of equal length or longer than the mutiny. Then we go to the Dolphin's attempt to find and rescue the survivors (with yet more interspersed history on a not very interesting manuscript...yes, I see all of your friends/contacts wanted a mention!) which, in spite of the fact that he crew survived to have written/been interviewed, etc, remains extremely light on substance and heavy on yet more self insertions.
Just read "In the Heart of the Sea" and pass this one up.

[Sasha (bahareads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I am a bloody man! I have a bloody hand and I will be avenged!"

I was browsing through Half-Price Books when the title of this book caught my eye. I had just recently been studying the point in history which the Whaleship Mutiny takes place in so I figured 'heck why not pick it up'.

Gibson does a great job with keeping the story intriguing and not bogged down with dry facts. But there was a number of issues that I had with this book. The foremost being, I don't want to hear what "probably" or "maybe" happened. If you think it happened then say it like you believe it or, if you don't, then present it as rumors of the time. This is supposed to be non-fiction, stick to the facts!

The next issue is I really couldn't care less about how Gibson came by whatever book for your research, or some random book hoarder seller. They're irrelevant and didn't add to main point of this book.

I did like learning about the back ground of Nantucket and the whaling industry. It was fascinating to learn that "There was at least one whaleship whose crew were entirely composed of blacks" as well as that blacks would attain ranks up to that of the harpooner (which is just below that of the ship's officers.) However some of the background information wasn't necessary and just bogged down the story.

The last and most egregious problem with this book was that so little time was spent on the actually mutiny. Gibson built up to it; but it was there and gone in the next breath and the survivors were on their way back home.

In the end I did like learning more about the whaling industry and how the different whaling towns interacted with each other. As well as the random little facts sprinkled here and there. But the main point of the book (which was the mutiny) is really glossed over.

[krin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-researched book on not only the mutiny Samuel Comstock led on the whaleship Globe, but also the broader history of the whaling industry and its effect on trade and the culture in Nantucket and surrounding areas during the early 19th century.

[Natalie]

This has been on my list forever and I finally went to the library to get it and it was Lost, so....I'm not going to worry about it anymore. I don't want to read it bad enough to borrow it. Maybe if the library finds it, I'll read it, but I'm moving it off my massive to-read list.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Samuel Comstock led a mutiny aboard the whaling ship Globe. This book is a story of that mutiny, whaling in general during the age of sail, and the author's own experiences as a book scout. The entries on the whaling industry are detailed and informative.

[Tim Painter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another 19th century mutiny story that rivals that of the bounty. A very engrossing book and worthy of reading. Gives a good look into the lives of whalers in that day.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting true story with lots of insights into the 1800's whaling industry. Gets alittle bogged down in the end.

[Monica Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written story of the mutiny on the whaleship Globe in 1823. Full of details on whaling and the Nantucket whaleship days.

[Dr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An sad historical story, leaving one wondering why some individuals are so evil.

[Irenic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part history, part true-crime, I could not put this down. Getting a middle-aged mid-western gal interested in maritime history is quite an accomplishment. Now I want to read more of Gibson's work

[Raving Redcoat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable look at a largely forgotten chapter in American whaling. Fans of nautical nonfiction will enjoy this.

[Justin Tyner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mutinies always seem justified

[Straw · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have been a 100 page book.