In the Heart of the Sea:

The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex 

By Nathaniel Philbrick

302 pages

Originally published May 8, 2000

Storytellers have used real-life events as inspiration going back to the beginning of history. Herman Melville’s classic 1851 novel about an elusive and dangerous whale, for example, was partly based on a real-life Sperm Whale: Mocha Dick. Named for the island of Mocha in Chile, where it was first spotted, it eluded whalers for decades before being killed in 1839. A first-person account of Mocha Dick’s demise was published in 1839 in The Knickerbocker (a literary magazine). Subtitled “The White Whale of the Pacific,” it was a story that Melville almost certainly read. Click here.

Another source that Melville drew upon was the tragic story of the whaleship Essex, chronicled by Nathaniel Philbrick in his book In the Heart of the Sea.

It was the book of the month for the Mules, recommended by founding members BS and CA. (The two of them are probably responsible for more book recommendations than all the other members put together. We don’t formally acknowledge that because we like to believe that the club is equitable and inclusive. But I suspect that, like every other social and political organization, the Mules is secretly run by a Deep State, of which these two are deeply ensconced.)

It was quite a good recommendation. Full of information about whales and the whaling life. But it was also a book that made you stop and think every several pages about the possibilities and limits of human courage and endurance. It is hard to read it without having to confront the fact that we are all much softer than men and women were back then.

The Story 

In 1820, the whaleship Essex is rammed and eventually sunk by what appears to be an angry Sperm Whale. As the ship sinks, the captain and crew desperately provision three small whaleboats for what will turn out to be 90 terrible days at sea.

Widely reported and discussed in the media at the time, the wreck of the Essex was, for the 19th century, as big a story as was the sinking of the Titanic a century later.

Critical Reception 

In the Heart of the Sea was on the NYT bestseller list for 40 weeks. It won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2000.

* “Scrupulously researched and elegantly written, In the Heart of the Sea is a masterpiece of maritime history. It would have earned Melville’s admiration.” (W. Jeffrey Bolster, New York Times)

* “One of our country’s great adventure stories.” (Wall Street Journal)

* “[Told] with verve and authenticity… a classic tale of the sea.” (San Francisco Chronicle)