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

Demon of the Waters by Gregory Gibson

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.






























































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