Audiobook9 hours
Final Voyage: A Story of Arctic Disaster and One Fateful Whaling Season
Written by Peter Nichols
Narrated by Norman Dietz
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
In 1871, an entire fleet of whaling ships was caught in an arctic ice storm and destroyed. Though few lives were lost, the damage would forever shape one of America's most distinctive commodities: oil.
New Bedford, Massachusetts, was fertile ground for this country's first multimillion-dollar industry. Founded by assiduous Quaker merchants seeking refuge for their austere religion, the town also lent unparalleled access to the high seas. The combination would lead to what would become the most successful whaling industry in America, and with it, the world's first oil hegemony. Oyl, or oil derived from whale blubber, revolutionized New England commerce. And as intrepid New Bedford whalers ventured farther into uncharted waters in search of untapped resources, the town saw incomparable wealth. But with all of the town's resources tethered to this dangerous industry and the fickle sea, success was fragile.
Final Voyage is the story of one fateful whaling season that illuminates the unprecedented rise and devastating fall of America's first oil industry. Peter Nichols deftly captures what New Bedford life was like for its Quaker inhabitants and, using a wealth of primary resources, has created a vivid picture of the evolution of whaling and how its demise was destined even before that devastating voyage.
New Bedford, Massachusetts, was fertile ground for this country's first multimillion-dollar industry. Founded by assiduous Quaker merchants seeking refuge for their austere religion, the town also lent unparalleled access to the high seas. The combination would lead to what would become the most successful whaling industry in America, and with it, the world's first oil hegemony. Oyl, or oil derived from whale blubber, revolutionized New England commerce. And as intrepid New Bedford whalers ventured farther into uncharted waters in search of untapped resources, the town saw incomparable wealth. But with all of the town's resources tethered to this dangerous industry and the fickle sea, success was fragile.
Final Voyage is the story of one fateful whaling season that illuminates the unprecedented rise and devastating fall of America's first oil industry. Peter Nichols deftly captures what New Bedford life was like for its Quaker inhabitants and, using a wealth of primary resources, has created a vivid picture of the evolution of whaling and how its demise was destined even before that devastating voyage.
Author
Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols is the author of the national bestseller A Voyage for Madmen and two other books, Sea Change: Alone Across the Atlantic in a Wooden Boat, a memoir, and the novel Voyage to the North Star. He has taught creative writing at NYU in Paris and Georgetown University, and presently teaches at Bowdoin College. He is lives in Maine with his wife and son.
More audiobooks from Peter Nichols
A Voyage for Madmen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Granite Harbor: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVoyage to the North Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Final Voyage
Related audiobooks
Farthest North, Volume I Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fast in the Ice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSink ‘Em All: Submarine Warfare in the Pacific Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Island of the Blue Foxes: Disaster and Triumph on the World's Greatest Scientific Expedition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Arctic Seas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGoodnight, Sorry for Sinking You: Digitally narrated using a synthesized voice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cry Havoc!: The Crooked Road to Civil War, 1861 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Return of the Dambusters: The Exploits of World War II's Most Daring Flyers After the Flood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Now the Hell Will Start Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Great Rescue: American Heroes, an Iconic Ship, and the Race to Save Europe in WWI Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Measureless Peril: America in the Fight for the Atlantic, the Longest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Gold Rush: A Tale of the Klondike Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Day the World Ended: The Mount Pelee Disaster: May 7, 1902 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arctic Rescue: A Memoir of the Tragic Sinking of HMS Glorious Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTime Bandit: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea, and One of the World's Deadliest Jobs Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5American Icon: The Rise & Fall Of General George Custer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West, 1765-1776 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Men Out: The True Story of America's Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Man and His Ship: America's Greatest Naval Architect and His Quest to Build the S.S. United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Storm on Our Shores: One Island, Two Soldiers, and the Forgotten Battle of World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Man Who Flew The Memphis Belle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5America’s Most Influential Mountain Men: The History and Legacy of the 19th Century Explorers Who Helped Chart Paths to the West Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ice Diaries: The Untold Story of the USS Nautilus and the Cold War’s Most Daring Mission Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barons of the Sea: And their Race to Build the World's Fastest Clipper Ship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Industries For You
Presto!: How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Artpreneur: The Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Sustainable Living From Your Creativity Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of "The View" Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lego Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World’s Imagination Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disney's Land Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All You Need to Know About the Music Business: 11th Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSam Walton: Made in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Setting the Table Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Age of Fentanyl: Ending the Opioid Epidemic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mind Your Mindset: The Science That Shows Success Starts with Your Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Barbarians at the Gate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Burn Book: A Tech Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All The Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Final Voyage
Rating: 3.3888888 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
9 ratings0 reviews