In the Heart of the Sea

The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

By: Nathaniel Philbrick

Narrated by: Scott Brick

From the author of In the Hurricane's Eye and Valiant Ambition, the riveting and critically acclaimed bestseller and a major motion picture starring Chris Hemsworth, directed by Ron Howard.

Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson star in a film based on this National Book Award–winning account of the true events behind Moby Dick.

In 1820, the whaleship Essex was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale, leaving the desperate crew to drift for more than ninety days in three tiny boats. Nathaniel Philbrick uses little-known documents and vivid details about the Nantucket whaling tradition to reveal the chilling facts of this infamous maritime disaster. In the Heart of the Sea—and now, its epic adaptation for the screen—will forever place the Essex tragedy in the American historical canon.

Critic reviews

A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century

"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

"[Told] with verve and authenticity...a classic tale of the sea."—San Francisco Chronicle

"Nathaniel Philbrick has taken one of the most horrifying stories in maritime history and turned it into a classic....One of the most chilling books I have ever read."—Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm

Great story - not great recording

Would you try another book from Nathaniel Philbrick and/or Scott Brick?

yes

What three words best describe Scott Brick’s performance?

His performance is fine, but there was no equalizing his voice so it was loud and then soft. Bad recording and bad transitions.

If you like Whaling, Shipwrecks, and Cannibalism

I loved Moby Dick and particularly enjoy seafaring and survival stories, so this novel hit many of my buttons and I totally enjoyed it. This was a very fact based retelling of an intense survival story. There is also quite a bit of information on the functioning and personalities of a whaling ship. Some say Moby Dick was inspired by this true life shipwreck story.

If you have not read Moby Dick, I would recommend reading this first. It gives enlightening perspectives that will improve that classic. If you have read Moby Dick (and liked it) you will likely enjoy this book as well.

It ends with a long section of footnotes that others may find boring, but I loved it.

The narration was good, but the editing and sound quality was messy. There were a number of jumps and repeats and the noise level varied from clean to annoying. Although I did not like the editing or sound issues, it did not at all ruin this book for me.

UNBELIEVABLE!

It is no wonder this received the National Book Award... This is, to put it as simply as possible, a MUST READ! You don't like history? No problem! You are not interested in whaling? No problem! This is a compelling relevant story of human nature, struggle, friendship, loss, pain, death, and whale oil. A true American story of EPIC proportions!

Essex Disaster Inspires Melville!

If you could sum up In the Heart of the Sea in three words, what would they be?

Inspiring Survival Story

What was one of the most memorable moments of In the Heart of the Sea?

Drawing lots while starving at sea to see who would sacrifice his life so the rest of the crew could live.

Which scene was your favorite?

When the whaling ship was rammed by a pissed off whale and eventually sank.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The actual story was spellbinding, but the last hour and a half consisted of author footnotes on his research. Tedious.

This is a story you'll remember

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. This was an amazing story and well written. I would recommend it to anyone interested in historical tragedies.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Scott Brick?

Yes. The narrator actually did a great job. The only issue I had with the narration was that the recording sounded tinny at times, the volume was inconsistent, and the audio clips were poorly edited. Sometimes the narration kind of jumped from one word to the next and it was very obvious that two clips had been edited together. It could have been smoother.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"By avoiding cannibals, they BECAME the cannibals!"

This would make an awesome movie.