In the heart of the sea

the tragedy of the whaleship Essex

by

301 pages

English language

Published Nov. 7, 2015

ISBN:
978-0-14-312681-2
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OCLC Number:
927311158

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(3 reviews)

"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." --Amazon.com.

32 editions

reviewed In the heart of the sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

Review of 'In the heart of the sea' on 'Goodreads'

The wreck of the whaleship Essex, stove in by a whale, is an established part of American lore and notably appropriated by Melville for Moby Dick. In the Heart of the Sea weaves together the narratives of the survivors to present their ordeal in a manner that is both clinical (with depictions of the processes of both whale rendering and human starvation) and unsparing in its presentations of the misjudgments of impetuous First Mate Owen Chase and the irresolute Captain Pollard. Beyond the tragedy of the Essex, this book captures in exacting detail life in the whaling community that was 19th century Natucket

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Subjects

  • Shipwreck survival
  • Shipwrecks
  • Essex (Whaleship)

Places

  • Pacific Ocean