Reviews
Off the Deep End: A History of Madness at Sea by Nic Compton (Bloomsbury, New York, 2017, 288pp, illus, notes, index, isbn 978-1-4729-4112-1; $24hc) “The wonder is always new that any sane man can be a sailor.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson. So opens Nic Compton’s latest work, looking at the history of mental illness among seafarers who spent long periods at sea in the confines of a crowded ship or boat, or all alone in a lifeboat. In the 18th century, a British Royal Navy physician’s research found that sailors were seven times more likely to suffer from severe mental illness than the general population. It was speculated that mariners away at sea for long periods of time living in crowded confined spaces, often subjected to harsh discipline, and sustained on limited food supplies, were subjected to enormous mental stress. In this seagoing environment, the knowledge that a single error in judgment could have fatal consequences resulted in an omnipresent dread among mariners. This became a driving force, turning men to affirm their faith in God, meander into wild superstitions, or metamorphose into insanity; not unlike the fate of some prisoners held in solitary confinement for long periods of time. In his investigation into the long history of madness at sea, author and journalist Compton examined a number of aspects of the sea’s physical and metaphysical characteristics. He learned that its perils, vastness and monotony can play tricks on a person’s senses and at times make a rational thought a challenge. In examining case studies of those who lost their minds at sea or whose behavior is hard for the sane to reconcile, he looked at the often-marginal behavior of sailors living both figuratively and literally outside society’s customary rules. He found record after record of sailors who had experienced disturbing hallucinations—seeing elephants floating in the sea and strangers taking the helm, for example. More than one seafarer suffered a complete mental breakdown, becoming hypnotized by the sea and jumping overboard to his death. Off The Deep End is a maritime historical review of the men and women— both famous stories you have heard and some obscure cases you have not—who lost
their sanity while on a variety of ocean Arctic by various expeditions that sought experiences. A compendium of case studies, first to rescue, and later to discover the fate the book spans centuries in a chronological of the last expedition of Captain Sir John order, bringing the reader up to the twen- Franklin. ty-first century at the book’s end. Detailed In 1845, Franklin set sail from Britain accounts of shipwrecks yielded plenty of with two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS fodder for this study. There are tales of Terror, on what the Lords of the Admimariners who cannibalized their dead to ralty and a number of “old Arctic hands” survive, of inexplicable murders and sui- thought would be the culmination of the cides (perhaps the result of neurosis and Royal Navy’s quest to find and navigate paranoia), and all manner of terrors derived the Northwest Passage across the top of the from long periods of time at sea. This is an world. In those ships went 129 men with atypical study of maritime history explor- provisions for three years (including the ing the psychology, behavioral science, and latest innovation: canned, or “tinned” sociology of sailors dealing with the effects food), scientific instruments, naval stores of a cruel sea upon the mind. and equipment, and an extensive library, Off the Deep End is an engrossing read, plus a pet monkey named Jacko, Neptune a collection of maritime horror stories that the dog, and an unnamed cat. After a brief touch on occupational hardships: sailing encounter with whalers in Baffin Bay, the The Glencannon Press crews plagued by disorientation, scurvy, ships sailed through Lancaster Inlet and 4 col. inches (2.25 x 4.5 inches) suicide, and the phenomenon of calenture, entered the Northwest Passage. There, they Prefer page,perished bottominright. “a type of heat stroke thatright turnedhand men dea drawn-out ordeal witnessed lirious and compelled them to jump over in part by the indigenous Inuit inhabitants the side, usually to their deaths.” Compton of the Arctic, “disappearing” to the outside also presents fascinating evidence of psy- world. chosis at sea and suggests it may have When Erebus and Terror failed to manifested in suppressed bipolar symptoms emerge from the Arctic by 1848, the Roydocumented in the lives of both Christo- al Navy mounted the first of what would pher Columbus and William Bligh. That said, one might question whether Compton The Glencannon has the academic credentials to reach some Press of his conclusions about the causes of what he calls “sea-induced frenzies.” Still, this is Maritime Books an appealing book for readers who are intrigued by body-mind connections and psychiatric matters having to do with isoWhalers, Wharves and lation, even though the conclusions are Warfare, PeoPle and events speculative. Louis Arthur Norton that shaPed Pigeon Point West Simsbury, Connecticut
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Relics of the Franklin Expedition: Discovering Artifacts from the Doomed Arctic Voyage of 1845 by Garth Walpole and edited by Russell Potter (McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2017, 240pp, illus, appen, notes, biblio, index, isbn 978-1-4766-67188; $39.95pb) This book is a delight, a detailed treat that requires many encounters with its pages, and an archaeologist’s dream. If I had not been asked to review it, I would have asked for it for Christmas. This is an intelligent, well-organized analysis of nearly every artifact found in the Canadian
Not merely a tower of brick, this lighthouse is filled with tales of people who lived and worked within. Their human experiences offer a glimpse into a vanished way of life. Hardcover, 7x10, 192 pp. 83+ photos. $29.95 + $5 shipping. Free Catalog 1-510-455-9027 Online catalog at www.glencannon.com
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