Front cover image for In the heart of the sea : the tragedy of the whaleship Essex

In the heart of the sea : the tragedy of the whaleship Essex

Nathaniel Philbrick (Author)
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. Fearing cannibals on the islands to the west, the 20-man crew set out in three small boats for South America, almost 3,000 miles away. Three months later, only eight were left alive. This book shares a fantastic saga of survival and adventure, steeped in the lore of the whaling tradition, with deep resonance in literature and American history, and in the life of the Nantucket community. - Back cover

Print Book, English, 2001
Penguin Books, [New York], 2001