In the Heart of the Sea: Young Reader's Edition

The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

By: Nathaniel Philbrick

Narrated by: Taylor Mali

In the Heart of the Sea brings to new life the incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship Essex - the inspiration for the climax of Moby-Dick. In a harrowing pause resister, Nathaniel Philbrick restores this epic story to its rightful place in American history.

In 1819, the 240-ton Essex set sail from Nantucket on a routine voyage. Fifteen months later, in the farthest reaches of the South Pacific, it was repeatedly rammed and sunk by an 80-ton bull sperm whale. Its 20-man crew, fearing cannibals on the islands to the west, made for the 3,000-mile-distant coast of South America in three tiny boats. During 90 days at sea under horrendous conditions, the survivors clung to life as, one by one, they succumbed to hunger, thirst, disease, and fear.

In the Heart of the Sea tells perhaps the greatest sea story ever. Philbrick interweaves his account of this extraordinary ordeal of ordinary men with a wealth of whale lore and with a brilliantly detailed portrait of the lost, unique community of Nantucket whalers. Impeccably researched and beautifully told, the audiobook delivers the ultimate portrait of man against nature. At once a literary companion and a pause resister that speaks to the same issues of class, race, and man's relationship to nature that permeate the works of Melville, In the Heart of the Sea will endure as a vital work of American history.

©2015 Nathaniel Philbrick (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Tragic story, simply told

The first bit of the story was a little dry, but it was interesting to learn the basics of whaling and about the men who sailed in the doomed Essex. After the unexpected (to them) whale attack, the story of the men's struggle to survive surpasses the imagination. It's nearly impossible to imagine oneself in their place, and living on the open sea for 90 days with only a bit of hard tack and each other is unimaginable.

very well done!

a great, true story that is educational and entertaining. Captivated me from the very first.

excellent

A well told historic account of a tragedy. School children should be given this as reading material instead of Moby Dick!

glad I chose the abridged version

it was ok. narrator changed pace and volume that made it difficult to stay with him while listening in a car

This is the real classic.

Moby Dick might be hailed as a classic although Melville’s language gets in the way of its reading. The Heart of the sea is the real classic, told in a language that is not ambiguous or florid. This book is a riveting read; I could not put it down.