Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
"The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the Titanic disaster was in the twentieth. Nathaniel Philbrick now restores this story - which inspired the climactic scene in Herman Melville's Moby Dick - to its rightful place in American history.".
"In 1819, the 238-ton Essex set sail from Nantucket on a routine voyage for whales. Fifteen months later, the unthinkable happened: in the farthest reaches of the South Pacific, the Essex was rammed and sunk by an enraged sperm whale. Its twenty-man crew, fearing cannibals on the islands to the west, decided instead to sail their three tiny boats for the distant South American coast. They would eventually travel over 4,500 miles.
The next three months tested just how far humans could go in their battle against the sea as, one by one, they succumbed to hunger, thirst, disease, and fear.".
"Nathaniel Philbrick brings an incredible story to life, from the intricacies of Nantucket's whaling economy and the mechanics of sailing a square-rigger to the often mysterious behavior of whales. But it is his portrayal of the crew of the Essex that makes this a heartrending book. These were not romantic adventurers, but young working men, some teenagers, just trying to earn a living in the only way they knew how.
They were a varied lot; the ambitious first mate, Owen Chase, whose impulsive nature failed at a crucial moment, then drew him to a more dangerous course; the cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson, whose long-lost account of the ordeal, written at age seventy-one, provides new insights into the story; and Captain George Pollard, who was forced to take the most horrifying step if any of his men were to survive."--BOOK JACKET.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Subjects
Sperm whale, award:national_book_award=2000, National Book Award Winner, Whaleboats, Essex (Whaleship), Nonfiction, Open Library Staff Picks, award:national_book_award=nonfiction, Essex (Ship), Shipwrecks, History, Reading Level-Grade 11, Reading Level-Grade 12, Nantucket island (mass.), history, Whaling, Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks, etc., Whaling ships, Survival, nyt:expeditions-disasters-and-adventures=2015-04-12, New York Times bestseller, Essex (Whale-ship), Survival after airplane accidents, shipwrecks, Essex (Whale-ship.), Shipwreck survival, nyt:expeditions-disasters-and-adventures=2015-12-13, New York Times reviewedPlaces
Pacific Ocean, Massachusetts, Nantucket IslandShowing 10 featured editions. View all 36 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
01
In the heart of the sea: the epic true story that inspired Moby Dick
2015, William Collins
in English
0008126836 9780008126834
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
02
In the heart of the sea: the tragedy of the whaleship Essex
2015
in English
0143126814 9780143126812
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
03 |
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
04
In the heart of the sea: the epic true story that inspired Moby Dick
2001, Ted Smart
in English
0007639457 9780007639458
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
05
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
2001, Penguin
in English
0141001828 9780141001821
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
06
In the heart of the sea: the tragedy of the whaleship Essex
2000, Viking
in English
0670891576 9780670891573
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
07 |
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
08
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
May 4, 2000, Viking Adult
Hardcover
in English
0670891576 9780670891573
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
09
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
November 2000, Wheeler Publishing
Hardcover
in English
- Largeprint edition
1568959443 9781568959443
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
10
In the heart of the sea: The tragedy of the whaleship Essex.
2000, Penguin Books
0141001828 9780141001821
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. [279]-289) and index.
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Source records
Oregon Libraries MARC recordIthaca College Library MARC record
marc_openlibraries_phillipsacademy MARC record
marc_openlibraries_sanfranciscopubliclibrary MARC record
Internet Archive item record
Library of Congress MARC record
Internet Archive item record
Better World Books record
Promise Item
marc_nuls MARC record
marc_columbia MARC record
Work Description
In 1819, the 238-ton Essex set sail from Nantucket on a routine voyage to hunt whales. Fifteen months later, the Essex was rammed and sunk by an enraged sperm whale.
Links outside Open Library
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?July 9, 2024 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
November 19, 2022 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
April 30, 2022 | Edited by raybb | Edited without comment. |
April 30, 2022 | Edited by raybb | Merge works |
December 9, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | add works page |