In the Heart of the Sea

The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

By: Nathaniel Philbrick

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

National Book Award, Nonfiction, 2000

The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific, the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.

Nathaniel Philbrick uses little-known documents, including a long-lost account written by the ship's cabin boy, and penetrating details about whaling and the Nantucket community to reveal the chilling events surrounding this epic maritime disaster. An intense and mesmerizing read, In the Heart of the Sea is a monumental work of history forever placing the Essex tragedy in the American historical canon.

©2000 Nathaniel Philbrick (P)2000 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Fascinating...One of our country's great adventure stories...when it comes to extremes, In the Heart of the Sea is right there." (The Wall Street Journal)

"A book that gets in your bones...Philbrick has created an eerie thriller from a centuries old tale....Scrupulously researched and eloquently written...it would have earned Melville's admiration." (The New York Times Book Review)

"Spellbinding." (Time)

Captivating.

Stories of the sea fascinate me. The people were so fearless to undertake such adventures in unknown waters using primitive navigating equipment. Yet our nation is founded on the commerce provided by these stalwart folk.

At 14 I was introduced to Mystic Seaport, the whaling ships and the economy the sea provided. These memories live fresh in my heart this day.

I especially liked the Notes at the end of the book. Many additional facts were learned from listening to this scholarly work. A great read!

A Good Read, Highly Recommended

I thought the author did a good job of telling an interesting story while also giving the reader plenty of context in order to fully appreciate the degree of the tragic events told in this book. Often the author will take time aside from the narrative thrust to compare the sorts of decisions the men of the Essex had to make with similar situations. In particular, I enjoyed Philbrick's comparison between the captain of the Essex and Ernest Shackleton regarding leadership decisions in a crisis situation.

One thing that bothered me about this audiobook version of the book is that it had these moments where the audio seemed to jump forward, the reader seemingly cutting himself off. It was strange and it happened multiple times throughout the book.

Awesome!

Best book I have listened to this year! If you like Eric Larsons' books you will love this

Gripping and tragic.

If you think you’re having a bad day, give this book a whirl. Unimaginable to try to comprehend what these men endured. Real life is always stranger than fiction. I did think the author showed bias on several points and contradicted himself in the notes versus assumptions he made that weren’t factual in the book, but you can judge for yourself. Hard to listen to at times because of the subject matter, but a worthwhile telling of a tragic journey.

Gut wrenching.

An amazing story of human endurance, and how difficult life was in a time that modern people today can hardly understand. Good stuff.

Great book, worst-produced audiobook I've heard.

The book is great. The audiobook production is quite possibly the worst I've heard. The reader is fine, but the production cuts off the last two or three words of every chapter, and the next one will start with such a different room tone and EQ that it barely even sounds like the same person. Again, a great book, but someone needs to get in there and fix the audiobook ASAP. Few things as aggravating as every chapter cutting off.

Audio problem? What audio problem?

I almost didn't purchase this title, because I saw reviews complaining of terrible editing and audio issues. Before I made my decision, I checked out the same narration through Overdrive. I didn't hear ANY issues or problems with the audio. In fact, I enjoyed the book so much I purchased it on audible after my library loan was finished on overdrive. I enjoyed the narrator's voice and I loved the story. For those who are hesitating giving this title a shot because of reviews about audio issues, don't worry about it. I didn't hear any and if there are, they're much to small to be noticed.

Gripping

Great descriptions of whaling and of the hardships faced by the crew of the Essex.

Stop when the story's over!

This book is an excellent account of a true historical event of unspeakable suffering and tragedy. I very much enjoyed the retelling of this old story from the perspective of one of the survivors. However, when the survivors are rescued and finally brought back to civilization to be reunited with their homes and families, the book still goes on for another three hours! All the subsequent historical footnotes and accounts of modern-day Nantucket could be nothing but a letdown after such an epic story. I would've given this book a five star review if the author had just known when to say "the end"

Absolutely fascinating

I never thought this would be a subject of interest to me, but I was riveted. It's a great story of human strength and frailty, history of the Nantucket whaling industry and culture, and geographical exploration. I thought the narration was fantastic. After I listened to it, my husband and father read it and they both loved it as well.