Kudos to Philbrick for preserving the history of the 1820s whaling era and early Nantucket. It is chock-full of salty 19th century nautical terminology and seagoing lore presented in a very interesting and informative manner. It traces the roots of the real story behind Melville’s Moby Dick and at the same time preserves the history of a bygone era. One small warning though: In order to enjoy the second half of this book, one must have the stomach to read page upon page of starving men adrift at sea, for months on end. They have to resort to cannibalism to survive. All-in-all, this was a very good read. This book is like putting a seashell to your ear. You can really sense the heart of the sea.

3 stars - It was good.

This one started off slow for me as it was primarily about ships and killing whales, two topics that hold little interest to me. Around 1/3 of the way through is when the tragedy occurred and from there on, it was a very engaging survival story.

I still have a hard time with the ignorance mankind had in the past and continues to have today in regards to our planet's resources. I find it very interesting that subsets of cultures historically had more awareness and were better stewards (Native Americans come to mind), but unfortunately it seems they were the minority. I heard once that humans are much like cancer, spreading quickly and using up all the resources in their path, and that fitting description has never left my mind.

Throughout this novel I was in turn shocked by the arrogance, greed and ignorance of these men as they laid waste to every locale they visited, and later was shocked by the tenacity, courage, and will to live the same men bravely displayed.

I found the author's writing to not quite have the page turning narrative nonfiction quality that others have successfully mastered, such as Daniel James Brown, but nor was the writing dry or flat. There were numerous interesting factual tidbits through out and I am grateful for the new knowledge. For example, I was not aware that the Pacific ocean is larger than all of the Earth's landmasses combined.

-------------------------------------------
Favorite Quote: Nantucketers saw no contradiction between their livelihood and their religion.....Yet all shared in a common, spiritually infused mission - to maintain a peaceful life on land while raising bloody havoc at sea. Pacifist killers, plain-dressed millionaires, the whalemen of Nantucket were simply fulfilling the Lord's will.

First Sentence: Like a giant bird of prey, the whaleship moved lazily up the western coast of South America, zigging and zagging across a living sea of oil.

For a non-fiction book, this was an engaging recount of a tragic sea adventure back in the early 19th century. Claiming to be the true story that inspired Moby-Dick, the book takes us through the last journey of the whaleship Essex that was sunk in the middle of the Pacific ocean by a huge sperm whale. The fate of the crew on a desperate journey to reach land was largely determined by bad luck and each individual's mental and physical stamina. Needless to say that only a few survived even resolving to such acts as cannibalism (not a spoiler, it's written on the back cover of the book). Admittedly, this is not the only book written about the whaleship Essex (apparently, it's a well-known story in the Americas). But somehow the author managed to present it in a way that read almost like fiction. Considering that the last 50 pages of the book contain a multitude of notes on the sources of material (I admit that I only glanced over this part) and a full list of bibliography, it leaves a little doubt of the historical accuracy. It's definitely not a story for the fainthearted but it's almost a page-turner in some places which, in my opinion, is a pretty great achievement for non-fiction literature.

This book was a fantastic tale, the facts of which were an inspiration to Melville who met the surviving captain years later. The ship Essex headed to whaling groups in - as Phibrick excellently describes as the most desolate spot on Earth - a thousand miles off the coast of Chile in the Pacific. Beset by bad luck, the boat is stuck for weeks in the doldrums with no wind, struck by an unhappy (but not white) whale which founders the boat, and then struggle (mostly unsuccessfully) to survive with almost no food or water and almost no possible escape. It is a tale of human strength and desperation and highly readable. I read it before my third reading of Moby Dick and it was a fantastic background read. That being said, it is also an exciting standalone read.

Buddy-read with Jeff-fah-fah and Holly! Guys, it was awesome!



For anyone not knowing: this is a true story. The Essex, a ship full of whalers, ventures into the Pacific to kill a lot of animals, usually in a very horrific way, and the men get what they've got coming when a male sperm whale attacks and sinks the ship.

The story even inspired Herman Melville, the famous writer of Moby Dick, who met the son of Owen Chase (the first mate on the Essex).

This book presents a detailed account of the life of a whaler from Nantucket, the culture on the island and how it changed throughout the years, the life on board of a whaleship, the gruesome practice of killing not just whales but also other animals such as tortoises, and what happened after the attack of the sperm whale that sank the Essex.

What I liked very much was that the author went to great lengths to collect all the available accounts and combined them. The main source was cabin boy Thomas Nickerson's account, but Owen Chase was quoted often as well and many other details were included after the accounts of Captain Pollard and the other survivors in order to give, as best as possible so many years later, a 360° view on what happened. The author even amended the book with notes on each chapter.
Interesting were also the scientific details the author included, like the psychology of survival (important to showcase the bad effects of the captain's inactions), the biological effects of starvation and dehydration (by even giving an account of some experiments from 1945) as well as the history of Nantucket.

Where I disagree with the author is that the men were victims of circumstance and made the best of it. Because the truth is that they deserved every stinking horrific bit of this voyage. Yes, they had to eat their dead companions (even killing one actively to eat him), but after reading of how they killed the whales, how they starved tortoises to death and were personally responsible for the eradication of an entire tortoise species on a Galápagos islands, I just couldn't feel sorry for them.

This is the route the three little whaleboats took after the wahleship sank

and despite hating the people and actually enjoying their suffering, it is impressive how much and how long they survived. Then again, it would have been so much easier if they hadn't been so stupid (yes, a lot of the horrible things that happened to the crew could have been avoided).

P.S.: The irony of the movie is that while the focus of this book is Nickerson's narration and the movie is supposed to be the adaptation of this book, the focus of the movie is Chase's account (naturally, painting himself in a very favourable light).

P.P.S.: I REALLY disliked Owen Chase. I mean, apart from everything related to his character at the beginning of the ship's voyage and the way he put himself in a favourable light when writing down his account of the events, the way he got married then left then lost his wife then re-married immediately then left again then lost this wife too then remarried immediately again (this was repeated a couple of times) ... even if it was his way of coping with what had happened, this was despicable. And he fared much better than Pollard (at least career-wise)!

Anyway, a lively and informative narration of a true event that inspired a lot of people, meticulously researched and written in a very nice way.

A harrowing, grueling tale of survival under the most arduous conditions imaginable. I couldn’t put it down.

You can watch my full review here on my YouTube channel:

In the Heart of the Sea | Book Discussion
https://youtu.be/FaVVkmWcidI

A mind-churning non-fiction of human strength and survival.

After an illuminating portrait of Nantucket, an American fishing town in the 1800s, Nathaniel Philbrick describes the tragic ordeals experienced by one whaleship.

This is harrowing brave stuff, where right to the end I wondered if there would be any survivors. The crew were lost at sea, weeks without adequate food and water, that when a few that were left were rescued were just shells of their former self.

This story of survival that would reach Herman Melville and inspire him to write Moby Dick. Moby Dick is on my tbr, but I doubt it will match the torment this crew went through. Of what I know of Moby Dick, the connection to this whaleship is only a passing encounter with an angry whale, and this whaleship has no Captain Ahab that obsessed over it.


In 2016 a movie with the same name as this book was produced. Having seen it, I would say it is more inspired by this book then based on it. The movie turns the story into a heroic action adventure, and makes a bigger deal of an aggressive, stalking whale. The most interesting thing about the movie is the subplot with Herman Melville, who is mentioned throughout this book but more as a side note. It’s a real shame that the movie, in trying to fit an action genre, diminishes the heart of this tale.

في قلب البحر.....ناثانيل فيلبريك
ت/محمد جمال.

كتاب جميل وممتع جدا، حتى مع اسلوبه التقريري قدم لنا نموذج دقيق وحي لصورة حياتية كاملة لشريحة غامضة، شعب يعيش على زيوت العنبر ودم الحيتان، وكانت، سبب الهام العديد من المبدعين لأنها منطقة خصبة بالحكايات والمغامرات، فالكتاب خرج عبارة عن سيرة لمنطقة كان الزمن العامل الأبرز في ركودها.

ورغم ان كون الكتاب عن المنطقة اللي الهمت ميلفل لكتابة موبي ديك، وان دا كان السبب المشجع لي في البداية، الا انه سرعان ما مثّل الكتاب في حد ذاته متعة وكهف مليء بالأسرار والمعلومات المفيدة، وكل دا بسلاسة ودقة يُحسد عليها، ومكتوبة كأنه تقرير كامل عن ظروف المنطقة دي الحياتية من اقتصاد ودين وهوس بالبحر وحيتانه الضخمة، وان صيد الحيتان بكل عنفه ودمويته، كان بيُمارس من قِبل بشر يحملون من الوداعة والخشوع على الأرض الكثير، كأن البحر يجعلهم وحوش ضارية، ويعودون لطبيعتهم على الأرض.

This was a fascinating and well researched story of the American whaler Essex which left Nantucket on August 12, 1819 under command of Captain George Pollard. The twenty man crew included First mate Owen Chase and cabin boy Thomas Nickerson. The book provides an excellent insight into the dangers and brutally hard life of whaling. From the outset the final voyage of the Essex seemed doomed. Captain Pollard and First mate Chase were new in their positions having been promoted after successful prior voyages. The crew was comprised of "greenies" ... first time and inexperienced whalers. Getting underway was fraught with problems and embarrassing to the first time captain who would have liked to make a good impression to the owners and residents of Nantucket who watched from shore. Two days after Essex left port, a squall hit her and knocked her on her side, nearly sinking her. At this time in history many of fishing grounds had been depleted. However the crew encountered other whalers, who told them of a newly discovered hunting ground, known as the "offshore ground", in the South Pacific. The Essex set course for this new and unknown area. And with destiny. On November 20 1820 the crew saw an abnormally large whale acting strangely. The whale rammed Essex. "Never before, in the entire history of the Nantucket whale fishery, had a whale been known to attack a ship". The Essex sank and the crew was forced into the whale boats where they spent over 90 days with little food or water and resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. The decision was made to attempt to get South America rather than the relatively close island of Marquesas ironically due to the fear of cannibals.

This was not simply the story of a shipwreck and survival. It is also the story of class and race. These events took place during the nineteenth century. A very different time and culture. There was sharp and obvious distinction between shipboard life for officers and the crew. Even with the food and where you slept. The same was true with race. And even whether you were from Nantucket. This was even evident in the manning of the whale boats. Even when the Essex was sunk and they took to the whale boats there was a distinction in the boat you were assigned to. Men from Nantucket were in boat one with Captain Pollard, a couple of men from Nantucket and white men from outside Nantucket were in boat two with First mate Owen Chase, the African Americans were in boat three with the Second mate. The majority of residents of Nantucket were Quakers and their religion appears to have been a factor in survival. At least some of the teachings of Quakers seems to have played a part in how they handled the ordeal.

It is perhaps easy to say in hindsight but it would seem that there were many poor decisions made. If the Essex had returned for repairs after running into the squall on the second day out, if they had made for Marquesas island rather than attempt to get to South America, if the captain had been more authoritative, if the first and second mate hadn't tried to influence the captains decisions. Easy to say now. This is still an amazing story of survival. The book is well written and researched.

Me ha gustado bastante.
Si es cierto que pensaba que el momento del ataque del cachalote sería mas adelante, y sucedió relativamente pronto, pero madre mía que odisea luego...
Esta contada con una cantidad importante de sucesos acaecidos a distintas balleneras y otros sucesos relacionados con lo que les pasó a la tripulación del Essex, que aportan mucha información y datos de interés.
Valoración: 8.5/10
Sinopsis: En 1819, el barco Essex zarpó del puerto de Nantucket, en la costa este de Estados Unidos, con el objetivo de cazar ballenas durante dos años. Quince meses después, mientras navegaba en pleno Pacífico, el barco fue atacado por una ballena gigante, y la tripulación se vio obligada a refugiarse en tres botes salvavidas. Fue entonces cuando empezó la tragedia: por temor a las tribus caníbales que se creía que poblaban las islas del Pacífico, emprendieron una travesía camino al este. Tres meses después, la tripulación del barco Dauphin vio un pequeño bote a la deriva en las costas de Sudamérica. Al acercarse, descubrió un montón de huesos humanos junto a dos supervivientes. El hambre había obligado a los marineros a comerse a sus propios compañeros.

Nathaniel Philbrick relata en este libro una de las crónicas más trágicas y emocionantes de la historia marítima. La de unos hombres al borde del horror cuyo coraje y lucha por sobrevivir fueron más allá de cualquier límite imaginable.
# 25. Un libro publicado en el año 2000. Reto Popsugar 2024.

I'm absolutely captivated by this novel. It's a masterpiece. Philbrick’s skill is evident in crafting this harrowing tale of a whaling ship disaster, where survivors are forced to endure 89 days adrift in a small boat, crossing 4,500 miles of ocean, and ultimately resorting to cannibalism to stay alive.

It's an incredibly challenging task.

Typically, writing about disasters presents two major challenges: first, defining a clear theme, and second, mitigating the horror of human atrocities.

Because disasters rarely have a positive connotation, making it difficult to establish a clear theme. Whether it's Pompeii, the Titanic, the Munich air disaster, or 9/11, these events are often associated with tragedy, pain, and death, making it challenging to extract a positive message. While in the face of disaster, human nature, often at its most primal, is laid bare.

With whaling being a cornerstone of the American economy at the time, the sinking of the Essex could have served as a backdrop for a grand narrative exploring themes of industry, national identity, or even the progress of time.

In the Heart of the Sea eschews this broad historical context. Instead, it delves deep into the specific setting of the Essex, expanding on the history and decline of Nantucket, the whaling island. While details about the island's women, for instance, might seem tangential to the ship's disaster, they contribute to a richer tapestry and highlight the broader cultural and historical context. The book's conclusion, which focuses on Nantucket's decline, further emphasizes this connection.

Through these seemingly tangential details, Philbrick crafts Nantucket into a metaphorical "whaling ship" floating within the larger narrative of American whaling history.

In this way, the narrative creates a parallel between the doomed whaling ship Essex and the historical whaling community of Nantucket. Both are "whaling vessels" in a sense, and their stories resonate together like a haunting duet. The shipwreck becomes a catalyst, leading us to ponder the timeless themes of rise and fall. As the Essex sinks beneath the waves and Nantucket declines, the final lines of the book suggest that the only enduring remnants of the island's whaling history are the bones of the whales. Contemplating these bones, much like contemplating the sunken ships, is a somber and reflective experience.

Now, let's address the second challenge.

The survivors of the Essex were forced to resort to cannibalism.

To mitigate the horror of cannibalism, Philbrick emphasizes the extreme desperation of the survivors, suggesting they were driven to such acts out of necessity. Additionally, he highlights their humanity before the disaster, detailing their lives and aspirations.

However, it's important to acknowledge that cannibalism, even in the face of extreme circumstances, is a morally reprehensible act. The ongoing debate about whether members of Franklin's Arctic expedition resorted to cannibalism underscores the difficulty of justifying such actions.

Yet, Philbrick successfully navigates this challenge.

His primary approach is to extend the survivors' life stories beyond the immediate disaster. By following the characters throughout their lives, revealing their struggles with guilt and trauma, he allows me to empathize with their plight. The passage of time underscores the sincerity of their remorse, making it easier me to forgive their actions.

Additionally, he begins the narrative by depicting the departure of the whaling ship as a fraught and anxiety-ridden experience. By emphasizing the hardships from the outset, I am immediately drawn to sympathize with the characters and more easily understand their subsequent actions. These subtle yet effective narrative choices almost perfectly address the challenges of writing about disaster, resulting in a compelling and engaging story that showcases his skill.

A well-crafted story requires a consistent point of view that guides the narrative and shapes the reader's understanding of the events. By starting with Nickerson, Philbrick establishes a civilian perspective that informs the entire narrative, providing an unfiltered view of the events. This perspective allows for a detailed exploration of both the island and the sea, ultimately transforming Nantucket into a metaphorical "whaling ship" within the broader context of American whaling history.

This approach works well when describing the island's history and current state. However, introducing the island's customs becomes more challenging when shifting perspectives. Since Chase is primarily focused on becoming captain, using his perspective would require omitting many details that he wouldn't be aware of. Maintaining the same level of detail as Nickerson's perspective would feel jarring, and neglecting the island's customs would undermine the book's dual narrative structure and impact the overall plot.

To ensure the perspective and tone remain consistent throughout, Philbrick carefully consider the point of view and attitude from the beginning, ensuring that they serve the plot and theme. He achieves this by starting with the civilian perspective of Nickerson and concluding with the haunting image of whale bones, creating a powerful contrast that encapsulates the tragedy of the event. The choice to begin with Nickerson, again, is a testament to his skill.

Another noteworthy technique employed is the masterful use of conflict, suspense, and contradictions. In today's publishing landscape, non-fiction faces its biggest competition from visual media. To stand out, non-fiction works must incorporate more dramatic elements, such as plot twists, contradictions, and conflicts.

In this novel, these elements are abundant. Even from the beginning, the narrative is filled with twists and turns. For instance, the Essex initially seems unremarkable, but to young Nickerson, it represents a chance at a new life. Later, Philbrick juxtaposes the seemingly harmonious community on Nantucket with Nickerson's outsider perspective. And once at sea, the crew faces numerous conflicts with nature, dwindling resources, and their own changing selves.

To craft a non-fiction work with the same level of engagement as a television series, the author must delve deep into the subject matter, paying close attention to detail. This novel in this regard, providing in-depth descriptions of the physiological effects of starvation, for example.

Finally, I must criticize the film adaptation. In my opinion, it was a poor adaptation. One particularly egregious scene shows the survivors, driven to cannibalism, hesitating to harm a whale. This is a contrived and unrealistic portrayal of their desperation.

The film's failure primarily lies in its decision to focus on Chase as the main protagonist. To provide a satisfying narrative arc for a character who has committed cannibalism, the film introduces a capitalist conspiracy as the primary antagonist. This shift in focus undermines the original story and feels forced.

5 / 5 stars

Just so everyone knows...
I rooted for the whale...
Every. Single. Time.

It would seem that every person who was aboard the Essex, or any other whaling ship, would do just about anything to fulfill their greedy and selfish desires. They had no respect for life, except their own, and because of that I stopped caring what happened to them.

PS - You know what they say about karma...

#savethewhales #savethetortoises