Share <Embed>

Buy New

$10.63

List Price: $17.00
Save: $6.37 (37%)

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

This item ships to France. Want it Tuesday, May 21? Order within and choose AmazonGlobal Priority Shipping at checkout. Learn more

Deliver to France

Buy Used

$6.49

FREE Shipping on orders over $25.

Deliver to France

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Jenson Books Inc

Fulfilled by Amazon

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Other Sellers on Amazon

Add to Cart

$11.31
& FREE Shipping on eligible orders. Details

Sold by: CE_BOOKHOUSE

Add to Cart

$15.04
+ $1.75 shipping

Sold by: PBShop UK

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 4 images

Follow the Author

Nathaniel Philbrick

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex Paperback – May 1, 2001

by Nathaniel Philbrick (Author)

1,492 customer reviews

See all 59 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

"Please retry"

$9.49

—

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

"Please retry"

$12.55

Paperback

"Please retry"

$10.63

Audio CD, Audiobook, CD, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$17.99

Unknown Binding

"Please retry"

—

From the author of Mayflower, Valiant Ambition, and In the Hurricane's Eye--the riveting bestseller tells the story of the true events that inspired Melville's Moby-Dick.

Winner of the National Book Award, Nathaniel Philbrick's book is a fantastic saga of survival and adventure, steeped in the lore of whaling, with deep resonance in American literature and history.

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, recently adapted into a major feature film starring Chris Hemsworth, is a book for the ages.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"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

About the Author

Nathaniel Philbrick is the author of In the Heart of the Sea, winner of the National Book Award; Mayflower, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Bunker Hill, Valiant Ambition; Sea of Glory; The Last Stand; Why Read Moby Dick?; and Away Off Shore. He lives in Nantucket.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Series: later printing
Paperback: 302 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books; Reissue edition (May 1, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0141001828
ISBN-13: 978-0141001821
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 1,492 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10 in Ship History (Books)
- #12 in Marine Life
- #13 in Maritime History & Piracy (Books)

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

Be the first video

Your name here

Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features:

See Kindle Edition

1,492 customer reviews

Review this product

Write a customer review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

For those who love history!

January 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

I'm not here to necessarily review the book - as several people have already expressed what a great story this is - but rather I'm here to say thank you to Nathaniel Philbrick and all other non-fiction writers who have taken the time to research amazing real life events and place that information into a gripping, factual account that somehow still reads like a novel. I'm a high school history teacher who loves all kinds of history, but was never really interested in the whaling culture found on Nantucket Island, per se. But after having read an article about the book in my Smithsonian Magazine, I was instantly gripped. I had no idea that Moby Dick was based on a real event. When I was in high school, my dad challenged me to read Moby Dick. I think he actually said he would give me $100 to finish it - and even with the cash reward - I couldn't do it. I was so bored. But, at 17 years old, I had not yet found my favorite genre: historical non-fiction. Now as an adult, and obviously because I teach the subject, I have become a voracious reader of non-fiction books, and having just consumed this one, I can tell you it was well-written and paced beautifully. In between the story of the Essex were lots of little tidbit type facts about the whaling industry in general as well as other very famous and not-so-famous stove ships and evidences of survival induced cannibalism. Very interesting book. I'll be looking for another Philbrick book to read right after I post this review.

45 people found this helpful

Comment

Riveting and Extremely Graphic

January 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

Almost from the very beginning, the author spins together letters, partially-written accounts and log book entries-- along with his own research-- into a tale that is difficult to put down. Descriptions of shipwrecked sailors' dehydration and starvation are not for the faint of heart; furthermore, it was difficult not to squirm when attention turned to the grisly matter of 'harvesting' human flesh and doling it out amongst survivors. But a single detail refrains: in almost all accounts listed, sailors and shipmen appeared surprised and indignant when their quarry began to fight back. More than a few were bitter about these retaliations, ruminating upon them as they drifted helplessly in stranded whale-boats. But given the violent and extremely bloody methods used to dispatch a whale during that time period (first harpooning them, then rowing alongside to slash at tender tendons near the tail if they failed to succumb right away), the reason should be obvious: whales are extremely intelligent mammals with complex relationships and the same right to protect their pods and youngsters as any other creature. This tale is filled with horrific suffering, endured by both whales and shipmen alike.

17 people found this helpful

Comment

Unable to put it down

November 21, 2015

Verified Purchase

I knew the outlines of the story of the Essex from reading Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America. What was most interesting to me was the story of how the crew dealt with the event, their tenacity, ability to endure enormous suffering, and willingness to follow leaders, even leaders with very different skill sets. Lots of revealing detail about the community of Nantucket, the construction of the ships, how the crews were assembled of novice and veteran whalers, the sheer enormity of the task of finding, killing, rendering whales and sailing these relatively small, relatively fragile ships thousands of miles into unknown waters. These were courageous, if not desperate, men.

17 people found this helpful

Comment

Peter A. Hutchinson

The Truth Behind The Fish Story

January 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

Most readers now probably know that the destruction of the whaling ship Essex by a very large whale was a source for Herman Melville's great novel "Moby Dick". Without invidious comparison, it might be said that Mr. Philbrick picks up where Melville left off. He offers a fascinating and very real account -- and aftermath-- of the dramatic and dumbfounding event that actually happens at the end of Moby Dick as a masterwork of American literature. Philbrick draws from the accounts of Essex survivors and the realities of the whaling industry and its wooden ship world. It's a tough world, and Philbrick brings its details and people alive, which they once were, in a straightforward work of reportage as to what happened not only to a ship but to its people suddenly stranded in the middle of an ocean.
If you've read Melville-- either recently or some time ago, as I-- you owe it to yourself to know something more of his source and to find out "how it all ends". If you read Philbrick first you may learn all you want and forego jumping into Melville's turbulent sea, with its
undercurrents of Biblical doubt, human and animal vengeance and much else. But you're more likely to sign onto Melville's fateful voyage better prepared for what might be in store for you along with Ishmael and Quee Queg in Cap'n Ahab's crew. "Heart of the Sea" is fast-moving and thorough, its narrative of real events as strange and dramatic as anything a novelist could imagine -- or make use of.

16 people found this helpful

Comment

A review from a sailor.

January 6, 2014

Verified Purchase

I myself am a merchant seaman, and chose this book out of a list of potentials for my time at sea. I'm extremely glad I did. This book is very true to life, and will give readers with no knowledge of the maritime professions, as well as readers who have spent a life at sea nearly equal depth into every aspect that this book builds its self upon. The book starts by immersing you in the era of whale fishing, and the lifestyle of those living in, and sailing out of Nantucket on a personal level. Then it builds up characters individually, making you feel like you've actually met them. Next it builds up very graphic depictions of sailing, the hunt, and processing a whale. When tragedy strikes, the descriptions manage to get even more in depth. As a reader, although I did not feel that I would have made the same decisions as the various characters, I felt I could sympathize with them, and understand why they chose the way they did.

I'm not an avid reader, but this book was well worth the read. It really allows the imagination to take over to make the reader feel as though they are right there in the same boat, and part of the same crew.

29 people found this helpful

Comment

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Set up a giveaway

Pages with related products. See and discover other items: adventures of the sea, economics for kids, books about boats for kids, books in latin, new england farm, history of massachusetts

English $USD - U.S. Dollar United States

Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Interest-Based Ads
© 1996-2019, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates