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)

Excellent

An outstanding read; well written and well documented.

I was concerned about the whales and then....

No one can endorse whaling, but since this was a different era, I decided to give this book a try. I'm glad I did. While whaling is part of the story, it is small part. The other trials and tribulations were so mind-boggling that it feels like a footnote. Great read.

I enjoyed this book completely

Once I started listening I could not stop. The author goes into great detail. He did his research. I also enjoyed the further research he added into the book after the epilogue.

I

read this book a number of years ago and now have enjoyed it again being read to me.

Good story worthwhile a listen

But do we need 12 chapters of citations on the audio book? The citations are a bit tedious. Skip them

Riveting

This is a story that should be told. Well written and delightfully narrated.

An Amazing Journey

I loved the idea that humans don't always win in the slaughtering of another species.
History comes alive in the journey of the Essex crew and the whale that changed their lives.
I had no idea that Herman Melville wrote his Moby Dick story based on the facts based in this book. I just might reread Moby Dick.

Top 5 shipwreck

It has to be in my top five favorite shipwreck survival stories, and I am a big fan of that genre.
The ‘Notes’, an almost 2 hour last part is basically bibliography and source quote. It can be tedious but on the plus side through it I got some other good reading recommendations.
Narration is excellent.

Read this first, then read Moby-Dick

Would you consider the audio edition of In the Heart of the Sea to be better than the print version?

Any additional comments?

This book was not on my radar until I read “Railsea” by China Mieville, which is a young adult science fiction redux of Moby-Dick. I had never read Moby-Dick but figured since I knew the general outline of the story that would be enough. However, as is my wont, while reading “Railsea” I got more and more curious about Moby-Dick and started to do some research. That research brought me to “In the Heart of the Sea” and thank goodness it did.

“In the Heart of the Sea” is a fantastically well-written account of the true story of a whaling ship that was sunk by a whale in the 1820’s. It turns out that Melville knew the story of the Essex and the tale inspired some of the events in Moby-Dick. Philbrick has done his homework and gives the reader not merely the facts about the Essex, but also quite a bit of history about whaling in general and Nantucket whaling in particular. He also delves into research on how humans survive in extraordinary circumstances, which was shocking, horrifying and fascinating in equal measures. In addition to all this, Philbrick gives an overview of the life of Herman Melville and explains how Moby-Dick was written.

After finishing “In the Heart of the Sea” I was absolutely compelled to read Moby-Dick. I picked up an abridged audio version and was completely amazed by it. I thank Nathaniel Philbrick for penning his history and opening up my mind so that I was able to fully appreciate Moby-Dick.

High Adventure

I have NOT listened to this audiobook but I read the hard copy when it came out and it was gripping. I can only imagine that if it is narrarated well, it will be a thrilling audio.