Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Ghost Ship : The Mysterious True Story of the Mary Celeste and Her Missing Crew by BRIAN HICKS ISBN: 0-345-46391-9 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (2 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Interesting Story Stretched Out
Comment: Brian Hicks does a satisfying job in Ghost Ship in presenting all angles of the mystery surrounding the Mary Celeste and her missing crew. Particularly interesting is the author's examination of the how this true tale of terror morphed into an almost legendary event as various myths began to attach themselves to an historical occurence, starting with a story by Arthur Conan Doyle. The ship's name even changed from Mary Celeste into Marie Celeste in common usage as if in tribute to its own new iconic status. The book, at times, feels a little padded as the author veers into somewhat related spheres (such as the Bermuda Triangle). The author, though, does provide a solution that seems to answer many of the unanswered questions and seems far more reasonable than anything put forward previously. A nice summer beach read as one looks out at the ocean.
Rating: 4
Summary: Fun reading, but be prepared for some wading
Comment: Ghost Ship is the detailed history of the Mary Celeste, a ship found abandoned in the late 1800s. It's considered one of history's greatest maritime mysteries, since nothing was found out of order on the ship. All the foul weather gear was intact, all the crew's belongings were still in their proper places - in other words, there wasn't the slightest hint of foul weather or piracy. The crew had simply vanished with no mention of anything out of the ordinary in the captain's log.
Brian Hicks first gives a broad overview of the ship's bizarre past, and then launches into one of the most detailed accounts of anything I've ever read on any topic. He begins with the ship's construction, including not only the man who built it but a brief history of the town he lived in and the economic impact it had on his community. From here he traces the Mary Celeste, then known as the Amazon, through its first captain's strange death while on his first sailing, up to its second captain, Benjamin Briggs. At this point the Briggs family history is given - everything you could possibly want to know about the Briggs' is included here. From the patriarch, Nathan Briggs and his marriage into the Cobb family, to the birth of every Briggs child and each of their own marriages and eventual deaths at sea, Hicks covers minutia at an almost unparalleled depth.
It's at this point that I got slightly annoyed with the book. Since the Mary Celeste is shrouded in mystery, Hicks adopts sort of a "well this is what we *do* know" attitude, and every detail - and I mean every detail - that we actually know of from diaries and newspapers is included in his early chapters.
For the next couple hundred pages this continues, as the history of the Mary Celeste's actual discovery is chronicled, the trial that ensued, and eventually the hoaxes and theories that sprung up, mostly after Conan Doyle's fictional account appeared in Cornhill Magazine. At times the reading is very slow and dense and Hicks refuses to give any hints of what he proposes actually happened, although you know it's coming. While Hicks effectively utilizes the technique of building suspense, he does it to an almost annoying level. Ultimately the excruciating detail that fills this book isn't really enough to satisfy until the anti-climactic ending, where Hicks almost sheepishly reveals his own theory of what happens. With all the tension he tries to create throughout the earlier chapters, I found it surprising that I was halfway through his own explanation before I realized that's what it was.
Having said that, his explanation is a pretty good one. It's by far the most plausible of anything previously put forth, and doesn't leave many holes. The major problems with his idea are that of industrial alcohol transportation safety guidelines. One, it's hard to believe that the shipping companies wouldn't have been aware of the dangers of transporting dangerous substances (and thus taken more precautions against leakage), and two, if they didn't regularly take these precautions it seems like what Hicks suggests as his solution would've happened much more frequently.
Ghost Ship is ultimately a quick and fun read. I recommend it, but be prepared to wade through some dense sections. And after a few days of digesting it, you might come to realize that while the best solution yet, Hicks' ideas are ultimately just one more offering in the dozens of theories already out there.
 |
Title: Ghost Ships: True Stories of Nautical Nightmares, Hauntings, and Disasters by Richard Winer ISBN: 0425175480 Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group Pub. Date: 10 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
 |
Title: The Big One : The Earthquake That Rocked Early America and Helped Create a Science by Charles Officer, Jake Page ISBN: 0618341501 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Pub. Date: 17 June, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
 |
Title: A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer : The Life of William Dampier by Diana Preston, Michael Preston ISBN: 0802714250 Publisher: Walker & Company Pub. Date: 01 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
 |
Title: Shadow Divers : The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of theLast Mysteries of World War II by Robert Kurson ISBN: 0375508589 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 29 June, 2004 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
 |
Title: The Taking (KOONTZ, DEAN) by Dean Koontz ISBN: 055380250X Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 25 May, 2004 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
