In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex (Hardcover)
$24.95
Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Description
In 1820, the Essex, a whaleship out of Nantucket, set sail for the South Pacific with twenty crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific, thousands of miles from land, it was rammed by an angry sperm whale and sank. The crew drifted for over 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease, and ultimately turning to cannibalism for survival. Only five men returned.
The story of the Essex was as well known in the last century as the story of the Titanic is today. The events gave Melville the climax for Moby Dick. As narrated by Nathaniel Philbrick, "In the Heart of the Sea" is a fantastic tale of survival and adventure, steeped in the lore of the whaling tradition, with deep resonances in literature and American history, and in the life of the Nantucket community. Though others have told this story in brief, Philbrick has access to little-known documents, including the account written by the ship's Cabin Boy, hitherto unavailable to scholars. This is an affecting and important work of American history, and it is a bestseller in the making.
About the Author
Nathaniel Philbrick, is a leading authority on the history of Nantucket Island. His In the Heart of the Sea won the National Book Award. His latest book is Sea of Glory, about the epic U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842. His other books include Away off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890 (which Russell Baker called "indispensable") and Abram's Eyes: The Native American Legend of Nantucket Island ("a classic of historical truthtelling," according to Stuart Frank, director of the Kendall Whaling Museum). He has written an introduction to a new edition of Joseph Hart's Miriam Coffin, or The Whale Fisherman, a Nantucket novel (first published in 1834) that Melville relied upon for information about the island when writing Moby Dick.
Philbrick, a champion sailboat racer, has also written extensively about sailing, including The Passionate Sailor (1987) and the forthcoming Second Wind: A Sunfish Sailor's Odyssey. He was editor in chief of the classic Yaahting: A Parody (1984).
In his role as director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies, Philbrick, who is also a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association, gives frequent talks about Nantucket and sailing. He has appeared on "NBC Today Weekend", A&E's "Biography" series, and National Public Radio and has served as a consultant for the movie "Moby Dick", shown on the USA Network. He received a bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a Master of Arts in American Literature from Duke. He lives on Natucket with his wife and two children.
