A young man returns home to a port town in Massachusetts following four years of naval service in the civil war. Although he didn't write to his girlfriend for four years, he expected her to be waiting for him. She wasn't - she married another. He also plans to go into the whaling business but didn't know that during his military service the whaling trade dried up as the discovery of petroleum had negated the need for whale oil. With his life in a downward spiral and his anger boiling, he must decide what kind of future path he will take.

Whalers return from fighting the Civil War to learn that petroleum is replacing whale oil and that their services are no longer in demand. One man decides to fight obsolesence.

A young civil war soldier comes home to find the world has changed and is unappreciative of his efforts. His girlfriend married a rich man in his absence, and, as a whaler, his main occupation eliminated with the discover of petroleum. Is it just me, or do many of the characters sound much much older than they are supposed to be. The main character, Noah (an intentional allusion, I'm sure, to the guy with the Ark from waaaaay back), is supposed to be 25 in the story, but sounds like a haggerd wizzened old geriatric seadog. Not one of the best stories. Unconvincing character development, loosely strung together sequence of events that we are led to believe lead to Noah's epiphany regarding the sanctity of life and the goodness of mankind.

I wanted to like this story and there were points that were good, but overall I have to agree with Rammstein's comment "Unconvincing character development, loosely strung together sequence of events that we are led to believe lead to Noah's epiphany regarding the sanctity of life and the goodness of mankind." Not a recommended listen.

As we continue to debate over how to power this nation- it was interesting to hear that it has been controversial topic for quite some time.