In the Heart of the Sea : The Epic True Story That Inspired 'Moby Dick

Review 'William Hootkins can barely hide the disdain in his deep, throaty, American voice as he tells of the massacre. If you listen hard enough you can detect a hint of poetic justice as he relays the horrors of the survivors, found sucking the marrow from their dead shipmates' bone. Brilliant.' Observer 'Nathaniel Philbrick has taken one of the most horrifying stories in maritime history and turned it into a classic. Rich with detail on topics ranging from celestial navigation and whale biology to the history of cannibalism, this is historical writing at its best -- and at the same time, one of the most chilling books I have ever read.' Sebastian Junger, author of THE PERFECT STORM. About the Author Nathaniel Philbrick is a historian and broadcaster who has written extensively about sailing. He is director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies on Nantucket Island, and a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association. He was a consultant on the movie Moby Dick. Aged 41, he has lived on Nantucket with his wife and two children since 1986. "The sinking of the whaleship Essex by an enraged spermwhale in the Pacific in November 1820 set in motion one of the most dramatic sea stories of all time: the twenty sailors who survived the wreck took to three small boats (one of which was again attacked by a whale) and only eight of them survived their subsequent 90-day ordeal, after resorting to cannibalising their mates. Three months after the Essex was broken up, the whaleship Dauphin, cruising off the coast of South America, spotted a small boat in the open ocean. As they pulled alongside they saw piles of bones in the bottom of the boat, at least two skeletons' worth, with two survivors - almost skeletons themselves - sucking the marrow from the bones of their dead ship-mates"--Publisher's description The sinking of the Nantucket whale ship Essex by an enraged sperm whale far out in the Pacific in 1820 was the inspiration for Melvilles classic novel. In this compelling narrative, the maritime historian Nathaniel Philbrick uses first hand accounts, including the diary of one of the survivors, to describe the terrifying experiences of the 20 crewmen of the Essex when they took to the open sea in three small boats. The sinking of the whaleship Essex by an enraged sperm whale in the Pacific in 1820 set in motion one of the most dramatic sea stories of all time, and inspired Moby Dick. Of the 20 sailors who took to lifeboats only three survived, by turning cannibal The Number One best-selling, epic true-life story of one of the most notorious maritime disasters of the 19th century, beautifully reissued alongside Philbrick's new paperback, Sea of Glory. 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.