The story begins in Vevay, Indiana, in 1978 with the discovery of an unpublished manuscript, handwritten by a sailor in the early 1800s, about a series of adventures that seemed more like fiction that truth. Some research into the events mentioned in the journal bore fruit, however, and soon its fragile pages landed in the hands of author/historian Gregory Gibson, who used the manuscript -- along with a whole lot of additional research -- as the basis for Demon of the Waters: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Whaleship Globe.

The book then travels back to 1802 where, in Nantucket's thriving whaling community, where readers will meet Samuel B. Comstock, the villain of the piece. We are first introduced to Samuel through his Quaker family -- parents Nathan and Elizabeth, and several younger siblings, including brothers William and George, both of whom has a part to play in this story as well. The book shares details of Samuel's youth, which included many signs that he would come to a bad end. And we see his first voyages on a whaling ship, which doesn't endear him to the occupation but, it turns out, doesn't prevent him from signing on for more trips to sea.

We learn that Samuel has an unusual fantasy, which involves being intentionally marooned on a tropical island, where he might rule over the natives. His fantasy sometimes involves mutiny and murder, foreshadowing what is to come. If his captain had granted his request to be left behind on Easter Island in 1822, a lot of trouble might have been avoided.

Then we get lost in several extensive chapters devoted mostly to unnecessary background information.

While some of the details are relevant to the story -- such as examples from Comstock's rebellious youth and some biographical data about the Globe's captain and officers -- other parts feel like filler. And there's a lot of filler. For instance, do we need several pages explaining how whaling ships were built? Or every last detail of how the ships were rigged at sea, how whale boats were manned, equipped and operated, or how a whale, once killed, was processed? Gibson doesn't get to the mutiny until exactly halfway through this 248-page book, and the mutiny itself has reached its conclusion in about 30 pages.

Please don't misunderstand -- I don't mind some background information on topics adjacent to the main point of a book ... but in this case, Gibson gets so bogged down in the minutiae of Nantucket history, whaling culture and the specifics of building ships and rendering whale oil that it's hard to remember at times that there's a tale of mutiny and murder buried in the weeds.

The heralded event takes place in January 1825 and, once Gibson gets to it, makes for intense reading. The mutiny is brutal, and the aftermath ... well, let's just say things don't go exactly as Comstock hoped. There is a haven for the mutineers on Mili Atoll, native islanders who aren't entirely thrilled about the new residents, and fighting among the surviving crewmen. A few of the unwilling sailors flee the island on the stolen Globe. Their hopeless bid for freedom, and their surprising arrival at Valparaiso on the coast of Chile, sets up the next sequence of events.

This is where Augustus Strong, a midshipman aboard the naval ship Dolphin, comes into play. The Dolphin is sent to find the island where the Globe's survivors are living, rescue the innocent sailors and arrest the mutineers. Fortunately for historians, Strong had a flair for writing about his experiences, and it is his account of the adventure that fell into Gibson's hands.

A substantial portion of the last few chapters deals with Gibson's research into the incident and his attempts to substantiate Strong's version of events. In this case, the additional details are quite interesting, not feeling at all like filler. Gibson concludes with the details of his own visit to Mili Atoll, as well as a "what happened next" coda for all of the key players in the story.

As mentioned, Demon of the Waters gets off to a slow start, bogged down with too much minutiae, but once Gibson finds his direction, it's enjoyable, informative and very well written.