National Book Award Non Fiction Winner
In the Heart of the Sea
by Nathaniel Philbrick
Summary
The true story of the whaleship Essex, which was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale in 1820—the real-life event that inspired Moby-Dick.
”
Historical Context & Significance
Philbrick used the long-lost narrative of the ship's cabin boy to reconstruct the crew's 90 days of starvation and cannibalism in open boats.