San Antonio College Library

Facing the risks of nineteenth-century sailing, including pirates and unscrupulous captains, a young mate sets his sights on a whale with an unusual reputation and finds his crew stalked by a menacing force.

The history of the American whaling industry, from its 17th-century origins in drift and shore whaling off the coast of New England and Cape Cod, through the golden age of deep ocean whaling, and on to its demise in the decades following the American Civil War.