Rating: 
Summary: couldn't put it down
Review: I stumbled over this book in probably the perfect setting -the New Bedford Whaling Museum- & as my title indicates, I literally couldn't put it down. Instead I retired to a quiet corner of the museum shop and, well, a couple of hours later I came to with the bulk of the book read. Not that this isn't a well-researched book with good background material, but i found both the drama of the story & Philbrick's prose quite compelling & this for someone who frankly doesn't like whaling stories! This is an exciting window into a strange and terrible period in our relationship with the sea, and also an amazing glimpse at the lives of soem extraordinary men placed in impossible conditions. Philbrick gives us the sense of both their strengths and weaknesses without excessive pseudo-psychoanalysis, and we are left frankly in a state of wonder -wonder at how the survivors not only made it through their epic voyage, but also the rest of their lives, and also wonder at how we would have fared under similar circumstances.
Rating:
Summary: When men were men
Review: I grew up in New England and have visited Nantucket on many occasions. After reading this book my last visit to the whaling museum gave the whalejaws, the harpoons, the whaleboats and other artifacts new meaning. Whaling was an extraordinarily demanding and dangerous endeavor even when the whales were "well-behaved." In this story, we have the drama of the Moby Dick theme coupled with a survival story that is amazing in and of itself. I found the writing excellent and the story well told. If readers have a chance to visit a whaling museum it will give the read a bit of an extra punch.
Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: just a great book. one of the best i have ever read
Rating:
Summary: Not for the faint-of-heart
Review: This was an interesting story and well-told. Prior to reading it, I was largely ignorant of the Nantucket whale industry. Philbrick doesn't assume any prior knowledge of the subject, and places the story of the Essex into its historical context. Several accounts of the Essex tragedy were written by its survivors, and those who knew and met them. Philbrick does an excellent job of weaving together these different tales, showing the possible biases and motives which may explain their differences. There certainly were an interesting cast of characters aboard the ship, and their personalities and failures are well developed. I'm a bit squeamish by nature, and the book did have be twitching in my seat a few times at the graphic descriptions. In fact, the story of starvation and its physiological effects on the sailors had me munching on tortilla chips, convincing myself that this would never happen to me! This is definitely worth reading, for those interested in the sea or for anyone who enjoys a well-written adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: "In the Heart of the Sea" is one of the best books that I have ever read, but the best thing about it is that it is a true story. The tale is highly influenced by the ship's cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson, who was fourteen and on board when the tragedy took place. The story begins in the prosperous whaling community of Nantuckett, offering a good deal of insight into the whaling occupations, as well as into an economy based on the resources obtained from whales. I never realized that Herman Melville based one of his greatest works, "Moby Dick", on the plight of this whaleship and its crew. Nathaniel Philbrick takes you on a journey that you will never forget, although, this sunken whaleship, who had the fame of the "Titanic" in its own time period, has almost been forgotten historically. To be on board through the omniscent eyes of a fourteen year old, is utterly amazing. Once I read about the hardships that these men went through, I realized how easy most of our lives are, and how much is taken for granted. This book is as much of a testimonial of human will as it is a documented masterpiece. After reading the book, it is easy to understand why Melville chose to embrace, and captivate this subject securing it a place in fictional literary history, but the non-fictional story is even better. I strongly recommend this book to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Much More than Expected
Review: This is a very well written story, not so much about the terrible ordeal of surviving in an open boat at sea, but more about how a private, close-knit community survives by sending its sons around the world to hunt and kill and often-times die. The author knits his story together as a history lesson about the whaling industry, and uses as a core the sinking of the Essex. The resultant misery and cannibalism are treated very matter-of-factly, with just the right amount of emotionalism thrown in. This is a must-read book.
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Summary: I LOVE THIS BOOK
Review: IN THE HEART OF THE SEA was a great book. Im in 4th grade and Im 10 years old. My teacher told me about this book and said it was GREAT. you should relly buy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: nice enough but not exactly penetrating
Review: As Nathaniel Philbrick freely admits, history is replete with tales of shipwrecked castaways - and planewrecked rugger teams - eating each other. And the Essex was not the only whale boat to sink, nor even was it the only one to get rammed by a whale. Nor is N. Philbrick the only man to have written about this particular ship: leaving aside Herman Melville, Philbrick acknowledges and cites at length from three other authors who have written on the same subject, and two of them were actually on board. So while the book rips along at a jaunty pace, and is a pleasant enough read, it's never clear what its raison d'etre is, other than to cash in on the current appetite for strange but true tales about quirky but forgetten strugglers against the conventions and odds of history (you know, Fermat's Theorem, Longitude, that sort of thing). The learned author also fails to even consider, let alone answer, the point that, if the great offshore whaling grounds were in the South Pacific, why - instead of sailing there, around South America, from the New York region, didn't the Natucketers just up sticks and move to California? Would have saved them a lot of time, you'd think, not to mention the aggravation of rounding Cape Horn. A worthy enough effort, but it is a bit pointless, and inevitably it pales into comparison with Moby Dick.
Rating: 
Summary: The Battering Ram
Review: I'm a big fan of Moby Dick, so I was predisposed to like this book by virtue of a strong interest in the subject matter. I don't know how someone with no interest in whaling or survival at sea stories would like this, but for me, it was a winner. This is a plain, straightforward, and comprehensive account of the disaster of the Nantucket whaleship Essex, sunk by a massive sperm whale in the Pacific ocean in 1820. Philbrick skillfully augments the basic story with the history of the Nantucket whaling business, the society of Nantucket, and various other ancillary topics. As the story progresses to the survivors' ordeal in open boats, Philbrick brings in such topics as survival psychology and research on starvation. Fortunately, Philbrick includes the necessary maps one needs to fully appreciate the journey, as well as interesting photographs and drawings. If you have any interest at all in sea stories, or survival stories, or if you love Moby Dick, you will surely enjoy this engaging account of a truly amazing story.
Rating:
Summary: Uh, thanks, but I'll take the Greek Isles cruise package
Review: On August 12, 1819, the Nantucket whaler ESSEX, captained by George Pollard, weighed anchor for the Pacific hunting grounds. Of the 21 men aboard, only a handful would return. Nathaniel Philbrick's IN THE HEART OF THE SEA exceeded my expectations. His historical narrative begins as a treatise on whaleships and the business of whaling. Indeed, killing and cutting apart a whale is so ungentle an art that Greenpeace activists are likely to punch the air and exclaim "Yes!" when the Essex is rammed and sunk by a sperm whale on November 20, 1820 far out in Watery Nowhere. The book then becomes a gritty survival story replete with an examination of the stages of dehydration and starvation, a brief history of cannibalism among disaster survivors, and commentary on the essence of successful command leadership under dire straits. As Philbrick is careful to point out early on, the ESSEX survivors sailed in open lifeboats 500 miles further than Captain Bligh of the HMS BOUNTY after being set adrift my mutineers, and three times further than Ernest Shackleton of the ice-crushed HMS ENDURANCE on his celebrated passage to South Georgia Island. IN THE HEART OF THE SEA is an amazing tale deftly recreated by the author from primary sources. I was loath to put it down even for such necessary activities as sleeping and going to work. After a story such as this, one gains a new respect for those that went down to the sea in wooden, sailing ships. And, should someone invite me out for no more than an afternoon of simple whale watching just off the coast, I'll be sure and pack my water wings.
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