A taut thriller bringing to life the story of the Essex and its crew. Rammed by a whale, the crew must make to land (safe land, not cannibal land) in small boats. ( )

An engaging story of the Whaleship Essex's sinking by a sperm whale, the disasterous trials of the crew for 96 days in their whaleboats, and biographical studies of the individual survivors. All of this with a mixing history of Nantucket and whaling in America. This isn't dry history. It will grip the reader, and carry you along page by page. Enjoy. ( )

This is one of the most horrifying historial pieces I've ever read. Philbrick does a good job of weaving disparate narratives together to tell the story of the doomed whaleship Essex from start to finish. The horrors the surviving crew endured are overwhelming and hard to imagine anyone surviving at all. ( )

Time and again, I am amazed by humans' ability to inflict and endure suffering. ( )

There was a lot more included in this story than I anticipated, we kind of rushed through the actual whale incident and focused on the...cannibalism. If you like your shipwreck stories to have cannibalism in them, this one has so much marrow-sucking content for you.
I didn't realize this was the inspiration behind Moby Dick, so that's a nudge towards getting me to pick that one up soon.
I'd say I enjoyed The Wager more than this, as it honed in on the ship experience and conditions much more. I listened to this on audiobook, and unless my ears were playing tricks, he references "the blacks" quite a bit, which falls pretty badly on my 2023 ears. ( )

In the Heart of the Sea is a history of a 19th-century whaling disaster told in novelistic style by Nathaniel Philbrick. In 1820, the whaleship Essex, sailing from Nantucket, was rammed and destroyed by a sperm whale in the Pacific Ocean. This incident influenced Herman Melville in writing Moby Dick. Only 8 of the 21 crew members survived the arduous journey on whale boats with the survivors resorting to cannibalizing those who died of starvation.

Philbrick does a great job at establishing the community of early 19th century Nantucket and how it's economy centered on the whaling industry. Ships were crewed by inexperienced sailors who learned on the job under the command of captains with only a few journeys under their belt. In this case it was the first-time captain George Pollard Jr. who Philbrick characterizes as hesitant and too willing to be influenced by his crew. This includes first mate Owen Chase, perhaps resentful that he had not been appointed captain, and very assertive of doing things his way. What we know of the Essex's journey are based on accounts by Chase and 14-year-old cabin boy cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson.

Race and social caste play their part in the whaleship. Native Nantucketers were considered the superior group and tended to socialize among themselves. Other groups included white sailors from the mainland who the Nantucketers considered green hands, as well as a group of free Black sailors. While Quaker Nantucket was known for abolitionist, the Black sailors were nonetheless discriminated against, and significantly almost all of the sailors to die from starvation and then cannibalized were Black men. Philbrick draws on other historical accounts and scientific research to viscerally describe starvation's effects on the human body and mind.

Philbrick's writing is engaging, and sometimes stomach turning, as a deep dive into a significant historical event that would become part of the American mythology.

Favorite Passages:

"But the rise of the Pacific sperm-whale fishery had an unfortunate side effect. Instead of voyages that had once averaged about nine months, two- and three-year voyages had become the norm. Never before had the division between Nantucket’s whalemen and their people been so great. Long gone were the days when Nantucketers could watch from shore as the men and boys of the island pursued the whale. Nantucket was now the whaling capital of the world, but there were more than a few islanders who had never even seen a whale."

"...the whalemen preferred to think of it as what one commentator called “a self-propelled tub of high-income lard.” Whales were described by the amount of oil they would produce (as in a fifty-barrel whale), and although the whalemen took careful note of the mammal’s habits, they made no attempt to regard it as anything more than a commodity whose constituent parts (head, blubber, ambergris, etc.) were of value to them. The rest of it—the tons of meat, bone, and guts—was simply thrown away, creating festering rafts of offal that attracted birds, fish, and, of course, sharks. Just as the skinned corpses of buffaloes would soon dot the prairies of the American West, so did the headless gray remains of sperm whales litter the Pacific Ocean in the early nineteenth century."

"Nantucketers were suspicious of anything beyond their immediate experience. Their far-reaching success in whaling was founded not on radical technological advances or bold gambles but on a profound conservatism. Gradually building on the achievements of the generations before them, they had expanded their whaling empire in a most deliberate and painstaking manner. If new information didn’t come to them from the lips of another Nantucketer, it was suspect."

"Shipowners hoped to combine a fishy, hard-driving captain with an approachable and steady mate. But in the labor-starved frenzy of Nantucket in 1819, the Essex had ended up with a captain who had the instincts and soul of a mate, and a mate who had the ambition and fire of a captain. Instead of giving an order and sticking with it, Pollard indulged his matelike tendency to listen to others. This provided Chase—who had no qualms about speaking up—with the opportunity to impose his own will. For better or worse, the men of the Essex were sailing toward a destiny that would be determined, in large part, not by their unassertive captain but by their forceful and fishy mate."

"But if the island’s inhabitants once ventured to the far corners of the world, today it seems as if the world has made its way to Nantucket. It is not whaling, of course, that brings the tourists to the island, but the romantic glorification of whaling—the same kind of myths that historically important places all across America have learned to shine and polish to their economic advantage. Yet, despite the circus (some have called it a theme park) that is modern Nantucket, the story of the Essex is too troubling, too complex to fit comfortably into a chamber of commerce brochure.”

"Like the Donner Party, the men of the Essex could have avoided disaster, but this does not diminish the extent of the men’s sufferings, or their bravery and extraordinary discipline."

( )

This book is interesting and thought provoking, but it never truly gripped me. I would recommend to non fiction fans. ( )

In truth, this should be both a three-star and a four star book. The beginning of the story is kind of slow, and a bit boring. But this changes after the attack, where it becomes personal and riveting.

But while I didn't enjoy the first part as much as the second, it did provide a fascinating glimpse into the world of the Nantucket whalers and their struggles.

In the end, this book is an interesting mixture between adventure novel and historical account, that I thoroughly enjoyed, if not always for its fast-paced storytelling. ( )

Fun book and a very quick read. Surprising amount of interesting digressions on whale hunting and Nantucket, and the cannibalism at sea does not disappoint. ( )

I thought it was a great non-fiction page turner. I feel this quote from the book sums it up. "The Essex disaster is not a tale of adventure. It is a tragedy that happens to be one of the greatest true stories ever told. ( )

486-1

Well written account of whaler Essex sunk by a sperm whale in 1820 and the horrendous trials of the survivors in the whaleboats who headed for S. America from an area West of the Galapogos Islands. This story became the basis of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Definitely worth reading. ( )

The author brings history to life in this true story of the whale ship Essex, the inspiration for Melville's Moby Dick. It was a fascinating book, including information about the whaling industry of the early 1800s, what it was like to live on Nantucket at that time, and of course a gripping account of the attack on the ship by a sperm whale and the attempt by the crew to survive in the aftermath. It shows the importance of effective decision making in times of crisis. As a warning, it contains rather gruesome depictions of how whales were hunted and harvested, the impacts of starvation and dehydration, and cannibalism. Recommended to readers of non-fiction, those interested in maritime history, and anyone who enjoys an engrossing tale told well. ( )

Although the author is well known for his excellent work, I was a bit disappointed in this book.

The story of the Essex itself is fascinating. However, while I appreciate the author's attempt to provide a fuller back story and context of the events, in my opinion he went a bit too far at times - which detracted from the main narrative. More importantly, the author failed to completely capture the depths of experience that the survivors went through. A book that should have been an absolute page turner wasn't always that.

A good, but not great work. ( )

I read an ARC of this book around the same time I read Moby Dick and adore both. This is one of the rare books that even though I had an ARC, I bought the hardcover when it came out. Excellent read. One of my all time favorite nonfiction books. ( )

A chilling tale of survival and death on the high seas. Reminiscent of Piers Paul Read’s “Alive: the Story of the Andes Survivors,” Philbrick’s descriptions of the horrors of trying to survive when food has long since run out and fresh water is only a dream are at the same time disturbing and fascinating. This is one of the best of the adventure genre that has become so popular in the past decade. The writing is engaging and the story is hard to put down but difficult to read at times. That comfortable easy chair never felt so good than it did while reading “In the Heart of the Sea.” ( )

This was a good length. Any longer and I would have felt we were wallowing in the misery a bit too long, and as we learned in the book, death of starvation/dehydration is unpleasant to witness.

Philbrick had a different opinion on necessary cannibalism than Hampton Sides in "In the Kingdom of Ice" - Sides (or just Captain De Long?) mentioned repeatedly the shame of eating one's companions. But he also made a point of listing the extreme moral fortitude of the officers of the Jeannette. Philbrick made it pretty clear that the officers of the Essex were not nearly as strong.

There was a lot of good historical context - I kept wondering why Philbrick was harping about the poor way the African American sailors were treated until he reminded us that Nantucket had a strong abolitionist reputation, reminding all of us that abolitionist does not mean in favor of equal rights (explicitly or implicitly).

It was interesting how none of the sailors were publicly ostracized for cannibalism or for sinking the Essex and their admittedly pretty poor decisions made after the sinking.


Anyway, fascinating book, I would have liked the maps a little more interspersed, but that's what you get with a Kindle edition. ( )

Really good, but really terrifying too. The open water sea freaks me out, and whales freak me out even more (they're so huge, and mostly hidden underwater). The book reads quickly and like a narrative. But the terror and the sadness and the starving are all too real. Makes you wonder how well you would survive if forced to. ( )

A medida que la crónica periodística se adentra en el mar siguiendo a los infortunados, te va envolviendo una niebla sobrecogedora. Una vez allí, es imposible dejar de devorar las páginas que restan. Tan imposible, como intentar saciar la sed y el hambre durante ese maldito viaje de regreso en el Pacífico... ( )

This was the Young Reader's edition that I listened to on Audible. I could have done without the first third of the book, the background of ships and whaling. Once the sperm whale did its damage, though, it was a fairly interesting story as men try to survive over 90 days in a small boat with food and water stores gone. They eventually turn to cannibalism. This was the story of the whaleship Essex. I would be quite surprised if young readers would in fact enjoy this--it was a bit dry. 338 pages ( )

Awesome!!!!!!! ( )

Nathaniel Philbrick's well-researched account draws from diaries and other sources in the Nantucket Historical Society's museums and other locations to paint a picture of the tragic shipwreck of the Nantucket whaling vessel, the Essex, commanded by Captain Pollard. His first mate was Owen Chase. While many of the men were from the island, some crew members, particularly African Americans, were outsiders. A large sperm whale attacked the ship. By the time they abandoned the ship to the smaller vessels, some of their provisions were unusable. They spent 93 days at sea without adequate food or water. One week was spent on Henderson Island where they found a small spring and a few fishes, but nothing adequate enough to sustain them. Fear of cannibals kept them from sailing to easier ports, and in the end, they ended up eating their fellow crew members (mostly deceased ones although they did shoot one) to survive. The smaller vessels became separated, and three men chose to remain on Henderson Island. Finally the survivors were rescued, and the author brought us up to date on each of their lives as best as records permitted. I think this is the first audiobook to which I've listened where nearly two hours of footnotes were read. You might think they were boring, but I found them enjoyable as they were read in such a manner that added to the narrative. This story, of course, inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick, and Philbrick mentions Melville's reading of Chase's account and interview with Capt. Pollard who became the island's night watchman. The cannibalism parts lasted longer than I could tolerate in places, but otherwise, it was an excellent book. ( )

3.5 stars
I picked up this book because I saw a preview for the film. It looked interesting. The book was more than I was expecting. It's mostly about what happened after the infamous whale attack that brought down the ship. The author does a great job of delivering the facts. Sometimes it's a dry delivery like a boring school lesson. Other times, it feels like reading a horror story. The survivors sometimes chose the wrong directions and went to terrible lengths to keep going. Cannibalism happens, and not in small quantities. ( )

There are experiments going on such as the Mars500 project where a number of people have been sealed into a mock-up of a spaceship for 520 days - to finish November 2011. From reading this book it sounds as if all the experiments necessary have already been done by the whaling ships in the 1800s. I hope the Mars500 project does not have this book on their reading list, but they should each be given a free copy as soon as they are out. The whaling ships were in some ways more cut off than spaceships and certainly went to sea for comparable lengths of time, in worse conditions.

This tale is a heart rending account of what happened after the sinking of the ship by the whale, but also an account of what men endured even when things did not go wrong. Leaves me feeling luckier than ever to be living here and now - and I recommend the book to everyone, not just spacemen. ( )

To discover that Moby Dick was inspired by a "true tale" was startling. In the story of the Essex, the encounter with the whale is a small (but critical) part of the story. A grizzly but well documented account of the aftermath of the encounter with the whale. ( )