Listen free for 30 days
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $23.31
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
National Book Award, Nonfiction, 2000
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific, the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
Nathaniel Philbrick uses little-known documents, including a long-lost account written by the ship's cabin boy, and penetrating details about whaling and the Nantucket community to reveal the chilling events surrounding this epic maritime disaster. An intense and mesmerizing read, In the Heart of the Sea is a monumental work of history forever placing the Essex tragedy in the American historical canon.
You may also enjoy...
-
Labyrinth of Ice
- The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition
- Written by: Buddy Levy
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In July 1881, Lt. A. W. Greely and his crew of 24 scientists and explorers were bound for the last region unmarked on global maps. Their goal: Farthest North. What would follow was one of the most extraordinary and terrible voyages ever made. Greely and his men confronted every possible challenge - vicious wolves, sub-zero temperatures, and months of total darkness - as they set about exploring one of the most remote, unrelenting environments on the planet. In May 1882, they broke the 300-year-old record, and returned to camp to eagerly await the resupply ship. Only nothing came.
-
-
Excellent book!
- By Anonymous User on 2023-06-24
Written by: Buddy Levy
-
Madhouse at the End of the Earth
- The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night
- Written by: Julian Sancton
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail for a three-year expedition aboard the good ship Belgica with dreams of glory. His destination was the uncharted end of the earth: the icy continent of Antarctica. But de Gerlache’s plans to be first to the magnetic South Pole would swiftly go awry. After a series of costly setbacks, the commandant faced two bad options: turn back in defeat and spare his men the devastating Antarctic winter, or recklessly chase fame by sailing deeper into the freezing waters.
-
-
One of the best of this genre!
- By Nicholas Yaremchuk on 2023-09-22
Written by: Julian Sancton
-
In the Kingdom of Ice
- The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
- Written by: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: The North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of "Arctic Fever." The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship.
-
-
Not written by a lover of artic exploration
- By Alexander Turner on 2020-01-09
Written by: Hampton Sides
-
The Wager
- A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
- Written by: David Grann
- Narrated by: Dion Graham, David Grann
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as “the prize of all the oceans,” it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia.
-
-
Worst narration I’ve heard on Audible
- By Murray Campbell on 2023-12-10
Written by: David Grann
-
The Indifferent Stars Above
- The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party
- Written by: Daniel James Brown
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In April of 1846, 21-year-old Sarah Graves, intent on a better future, set out west from Illinois with her new husband, her parents, and eight siblings. Seven months later, after joining a party of pioneers led by George Donner, they reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains as the first heavy snows of the season closed the pass ahead of them. In early December, starving and desperate, Sarah and 14 others set out for California on snowshoes and over the next 32 days endured almost unfathomable hardships and horrors.
-
-
Immersive and Affecting
- By Langer MD on 2021-08-05
Written by: Daniel James Brown
-
Alive
- The Story of the Andes Survivors
- Written by: Piers Paul Read
- Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the 45 original passengers and crew, only 16 made it off the mountain alive. For 10 excruciating weeks, they suffered deprivations beyond imagining, confronting nature head-on at its most furious and inhospitable. And to survive, these men and women not only had to keep their faith; they had to make an impossible decision: Should they eat the flesh of their dead friends?
-
-
Good story but spoiled by the narration
- By polka7532 on 2021-04-18
Written by: Piers Paul Read
-
Labyrinth of Ice
- The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition
- Written by: Buddy Levy
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In July 1881, Lt. A. W. Greely and his crew of 24 scientists and explorers were bound for the last region unmarked on global maps. Their goal: Farthest North. What would follow was one of the most extraordinary and terrible voyages ever made. Greely and his men confronted every possible challenge - vicious wolves, sub-zero temperatures, and months of total darkness - as they set about exploring one of the most remote, unrelenting environments on the planet. In May 1882, they broke the 300-year-old record, and returned to camp to eagerly await the resupply ship. Only nothing came.
-
-
Excellent book!
- By Anonymous User on 2023-06-24
Written by: Buddy Levy
-
Madhouse at the End of the Earth
- The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night
- Written by: Julian Sancton
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail for a three-year expedition aboard the good ship Belgica with dreams of glory. His destination was the uncharted end of the earth: the icy continent of Antarctica. But de Gerlache’s plans to be first to the magnetic South Pole would swiftly go awry. After a series of costly setbacks, the commandant faced two bad options: turn back in defeat and spare his men the devastating Antarctic winter, or recklessly chase fame by sailing deeper into the freezing waters.
-
-
One of the best of this genre!
- By Nicholas Yaremchuk on 2023-09-22
Written by: Julian Sancton
-
In the Kingdom of Ice
- The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
- Written by: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: The North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of "Arctic Fever." The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship.
-
-
Not written by a lover of artic exploration
- By Alexander Turner on 2020-01-09
Written by: Hampton Sides
-
The Wager
- A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
- Written by: David Grann
- Narrated by: Dion Graham, David Grann
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as “the prize of all the oceans,” it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia.
-
-
Worst narration I’ve heard on Audible
- By Murray Campbell on 2023-12-10
Written by: David Grann
-
The Indifferent Stars Above
- The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party
- Written by: Daniel James Brown
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In April of 1846, 21-year-old Sarah Graves, intent on a better future, set out west from Illinois with her new husband, her parents, and eight siblings. Seven months later, after joining a party of pioneers led by George Donner, they reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains as the first heavy snows of the season closed the pass ahead of them. In early December, starving and desperate, Sarah and 14 others set out for California on snowshoes and over the next 32 days endured almost unfathomable hardships and horrors.
-
-
Immersive and Affecting
- By Langer MD on 2021-08-05
Written by: Daniel James Brown
-
Alive
- The Story of the Andes Survivors
- Written by: Piers Paul Read
- Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the 45 original passengers and crew, only 16 made it off the mountain alive. For 10 excruciating weeks, they suffered deprivations beyond imagining, confronting nature head-on at its most furious and inhospitable. And to survive, these men and women not only had to keep their faith; they had to make an impossible decision: Should they eat the flesh of their dead friends?
-
-
Good story but spoiled by the narration
- By polka7532 on 2021-04-18
Written by: Piers Paul Read
-
A War Like No Other
- How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War
- Written by: Victor Davis Hanson
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hanson compellingly portrays the ways Athens and Sparta fought on land and sea, in city and countryside, and details their employment of the full scope of conventional and non-conventional tactics, from sieges to targeted assassinations, torture, and terrorism. He also assesses the crucial roles played by warriors such as Pericles and Lysander, artists, among them Aristophanes, and thinkers including Sophocles and Plato.
Written by: Victor Davis Hanson
-
Endurance
- Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
- Written by: Alfred Lansing
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In August of 1914, the British ship Endurance set sail for the South Atlantic. In October, 1915, still half a continent away from its intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in the ice. For five months, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men, drifting on ice packs, were castaways in one of the most savage regions of the world.
-
-
One of the best stories ever, plus great narrator
- By Ben on 2018-01-31
Written by: Alfred Lansing
-
Deliverance
- Written by: James Dickey
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The setting is the Georgia wilderness, where the state's most remote white-water river awaits. In the thundering froth of that river, in its echoing stone canyons, four men on a canoe trip discover a freedom and exhilaration beyond compare. And then, in a moment of horror, the adventure turns into a struggle for survival as one man becomes a human hunter who is offered his own harrowing deliverance.
-
-
Top Drawer Reading !
- By RICHARD E on 2019-09-26
Written by: James Dickey
-
Butcher’s Crossing
- Written by: John Williams
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 1870s, Will Andrews, fired up by Emerson to seek "an original relation to nature," drops out of Harvard and heads west. He washes up in Butcher's Crossing, a small Kansas town full of restless men looking for ways to make money and ways to waste it. One of these men regales Will with tales of the immense buffalo herds hidden away in the Colorado Rockies and convinces him to join an expedition to track them down.
-
-
Great story...strange writing style.
- By Katherine on 2018-08-30
Written by: John Williams
-
Into Africa
- The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone
- Written by: Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" So goes the signature introduction of New York Herald star journalist Henry Morton Stanley to renowned explorer Dr. David Livingstone, who had been missing for six years in the wilds of Africa. Into Africa ushers us into the meeting of these remarkable men. In 1866, when Livingstone journeyed into the heart of the African continent in search of the Nile's source, the land was rough, unknown to Europeans, and inhabited by man-eating tribes.
-
-
Read it many times before but the narrator...
- By GrandTour on 2018-11-25
Written by: Martin Dugard
-
Skeletons on the Zahara
- A True Story of Survival
- Written by: Dean King
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everywhere hailed as a masterpiece of historical adventure, this enthralling narrative recounts the experiences of 12 American sailors who were shipwrecked off the coast of Africa in 1815, captured by desert nomads, sold into slavery, and subjected to a hellish two-month journey through the bone-dry heart of the Sahara. The ordeal of these men - who found themselves tested by barbarism, murder, starvation, death, dehydration, and hostile tribes that roamed the desert on camelback - is made indelibly vivid in this gripping account of courage, brotherhood, and survival.
-
-
Skeletons on the Zahara
- By Conrad Noble on 2022-06-14
Written by: Dean King
-
Blood and Thunder
- An Epic of the American West
- Written by: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: Don Leslie
- Length: 20 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1846, the Army of the West marched through Santa Fe, en route to invade and occupy the Western territories claimed by Mexico. Fueled by the new ideology of “Manifest Destiny,” this land grab would lead to a decades-long battle between the United States and the Navajos, the fiercely resistant rulers of a huge swath of mountainous desert wilderness.
-
-
A grand story filled with tragedy and hope
- By Matt on 2018-12-04
Written by: Hampton Sides
-
Where Men Win Glory
- The Odyssey of Pat Tillman
- Written by: Jon Krakauer
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like the men whose epic stories Jon Krakauer has told in his previous bestsellers, Pat Tillman was an irrepressible individualist and iconoclast. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the United States Army. He was deeply troubled by 9/11, and he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate hillside in southeastern Afghanistan.
-
-
A bittersweet journey indeed! Well worth it.
- By Darth_Vodka on 2023-09-14
Written by: Jon Krakauer
-
Empire of Ice and Stone
- The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk
- Written by: Buddy Levy
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1913, the wooden-hulled brigantine Karluk departed Canada for the Arctic Ocean. At the helm was Captain Bob Bartlett, considered the world’s greatest living ice navigator. The expedition’s visionary leader was a flamboyant impresario named Vilhjalmur Stefansson hungry for fame. Just six weeks after the Karluk departed, giant ice floes closed in around her. As the ship became icebound, Stefansson disembarked with five companions and struck out on what he claimed was a 10-day caribou hunting trip. Most on board would never see him again.
-
-
Fast paced story of survival
- By Robert Bermuhler on 2023-01-06
Written by: Buddy Levy
-
A Land So Strange
- The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca
- Written by: Andres Resendez
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1528, a mission set out from Spain to colonize Florida. But the expedition went horribly wrong: Delayed by a hurricane, knocked off course by a colossal error of navigation, and ultimately doomed by a disastrous decision to separate the men from their ships, the mission quickly became a desperate journey of survival. Of the 300 men who had embarked on the journey, only four survived - three Spaniards and an African slave.
-
-
Well done
- By David on 2021-10-31
Written by: Andres Resendez
-
Dead Mountain
- The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident
- Written by: Donnie Eichar
- Narrated by: Donnie Eichar
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. Eerie aspects of the incident—unexplained violent injuries, signs that they cut open and fled the tent without proper clothing or shoes, a strange final photograph taken by one of the hikers, and elevated levels of radiation found on some of their clothes—have led to decades of speculation over what really happened.
-
-
In depth and gripping story
- By toby snelgrove on 2018-08-12
Written by: Donnie Eichar
-
River of Darkness
- Francisco Orellana's Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon
- Written by: Buddy Levy
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1541, the brutal conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro and his well-born lieutenant Francisco Orellana set off from Quito in search of La Canela, South America's rumored Land of Cinnamon, and the fabled El Dorado, "the golden man". Driving an enormous retinue of mercenaries, enslaved natives, horses, hunting dogs, and other animals across the Andes, they watched their proud expedition begin to disintegrate even before they descended into the nightmarish jungle, following the course of a powerful river.
-
-
Great story and great voice
- By Luc on 2023-06-25
Written by: Buddy Levy
What the critics say
"Fascinating...One of our country's great adventure stories...when it comes to extremes, In the Heart of the Sea is right there." (The Wall Street Journal)
"A book that gets in your bones...Philbrick has created an eerie thriller from a centuries old tale....Scrupulously researched and eloquently written...it would have earned Melville's admiration." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Spellbinding." (Time)
What listeners say about In the Heart of the Sea
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2024-03-15
Fantastic account of the Essex!!!
Absolutely loved this book! Very detailed account and well read by the narrator. Yes, the last section was long, but it did offer some interesting tidbits of information. What a story!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2021-02-22
Excellent
The audio was perfect with no issues at all. Great story as well. The references are cited at the end of the book, rather than throughout which made it more enjoyable to listen to.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- leon heidema
- 2024-01-19
Good
I really enjoyed the story but the last 2 hrs can be cut down. Thanks
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael
- 2023-11-01
everything is awesome
The reading was fantastic!
The story of the Essex was well researched and described!
Loved all of it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Carla
- 2023-08-28
I loved it so much I listened to it twice!
This book is very captivating and informative—all of which was essential to tell this incredible story, and because of this I needed to listen to the audiobook twice to catch details I missed the first time (and I enjoyed every second of it). I ended up watching the movie after I heard it the first time and was so disappointed because the experience of these sea men could not possibly be captured in a movie, the detail by the author was just outstanding. Definitely recommend. And would listen to it again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful