-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Abridged Audiobook
- Categories: History, Americas
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Mutiny on the Bounty
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.
-
-
You don't know the whole story.
- By Justin Sluyter on 05-01-19
By: Peter FitzSimons
-
Mayflower
- A Story of Courage, Community, and War
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims is much more than the well-known tale of piety and sacrifice; it is a 55-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound.
-
-
Removing the Blinders
- By Karen on 07-21-06
-
Sea of Glory
- America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea, and no one writes more eloquently about that watery wilderness than Nathaniel Philbrick. In his best-selling In the Heart of the Sea, Philbrick probed the nightmarish dangers of the vast Pacific. Now, in an epic sea adventure, he writes about one of the most ambitious voyages of discovery the Western world has ever seen - the US Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842.
-
-
A good solid voyage of discovery
- By Ken Sundermeyer on 06-18-05
-
Endurance
- Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
- 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.
-
-
Superb in so many ways
- By David on 01-19-14
By: Alfred Lansing
-
Valiant Ambition
- George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In September 1776, the vulnerable Continental army under an unsure George Washington evacuated New York after a devastating defeat by the British army. Three weeks later, near the Canadian border, one of his favorite generals, Benedict Arnold, miraculously succeeded in postponing the British naval advance down Lake Champlain that might have lost the war. As this book ends, four years later, Washington has vanquished his demons, and Arnold has fled to the enemy. America was forced at last to realize that the real threat to its liberties might not come from without but from within.
-
-
Fantastic book that every American should read
- By Ross on 11-02-16
-
The Last Stand
- Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer's Last Stand, the June 1876 battle has been equated with other famous last stands, from the Spartans' defeat at Thermopylae to Davy Crockett at the Alamo.
-
-
Disappointing
- By N. Rogers on 07-03-17
-
Mutiny on the Bounty
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.
-
-
You don't know the whole story.
- By Justin Sluyter on 05-01-19
By: Peter FitzSimons
-
Mayflower
- A Story of Courage, Community, and War
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims is much more than the well-known tale of piety and sacrifice; it is a 55-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound.
-
-
Removing the Blinders
- By Karen on 07-21-06
-
Sea of Glory
- America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea, and no one writes more eloquently about that watery wilderness than Nathaniel Philbrick. In his best-selling In the Heart of the Sea, Philbrick probed the nightmarish dangers of the vast Pacific. Now, in an epic sea adventure, he writes about one of the most ambitious voyages of discovery the Western world has ever seen - the US Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842.
-
-
A good solid voyage of discovery
- By Ken Sundermeyer on 06-18-05
-
Endurance
- Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
- 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.
-
-
Superb in so many ways
- By David on 01-19-14
By: Alfred Lansing
-
Valiant Ambition
- George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In September 1776, the vulnerable Continental army under an unsure George Washington evacuated New York after a devastating defeat by the British army. Three weeks later, near the Canadian border, one of his favorite generals, Benedict Arnold, miraculously succeeded in postponing the British naval advance down Lake Champlain that might have lost the war. As this book ends, four years later, Washington has vanquished his demons, and Arnold has fled to the enemy. America was forced at last to realize that the real threat to its liberties might not come from without but from within.
-
-
Fantastic book that every American should read
- By Ross on 11-02-16
-
The Last Stand
- Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer's Last Stand, the June 1876 battle has been equated with other famous last stands, from the Spartans' defeat at Thermopylae to Davy Crockett at the Alamo.
-
-
Disappointing
- By N. Rogers on 07-03-17
-
Island of the Lost
- Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World
- By: Joan Druett
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Auckland Island is a godforsaken place in the middle of the Southern Ocean, 285 miles south of New Zealand. With year-round freezing rain and howling winds, it is one of the most forbidding places in the world. To be shipwrecked there means almost certain death. In 1864, Captain Thomas Musgrave and his crew of four aboard the schooner Grafton wreck on the southern end of the island. Utterly alone in a dense coastal forest, plagued by stinging blowflies and relentless rain, Captain Musgrave inspires his men to take action.
-
-
Fascinating, well told, well researched
- By Miles on 07-21-17
By: Joan Druett
-
Dead Wake
- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On May 1, 1915, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were anxious. Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone, and for months, its U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic.
-
-
Larson writes history that reads like fiction
- By Max on 03-22-15
By: Erik Larson
-
Away Off Shore
- Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his first book of history, Away Off Shore, New York Times best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals the people and the stories behind what was once the whaling capital of the world. Beyond its charm, quaint local traditions, and whaling yarns, Philbrick explores the origins of Nantucket in this comprehensive history. From the English settlers who thought they were purchasing a "Native American ghost town" but actually found a fully realized society, the story of Nantucket is a truly unique chapter of American history.
-
-
There once were some (wo)men in Nantucket...
- By Darwin8u on 02-03-19
-
Why Read Moby-Dick?
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Length: 2 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times best-selling author of seagoing epics now celebrates an American classic.Moby-Dick is perhaps the greatest of the Great American Novels, yet its length and esoteric subject matter create an aura of difficulty that too often keeps readers at bay. Fortunately, one unabashed fan wants passionately to give Melville's masterpiece the broad contemporary audience it deserves.
-
-
A beautiful love letter to an amazing novel
- By Darwin8u on 10-20-12
-
In the Kingdom of Ice
- The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
- 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.
-
-
Took a long time to develop
- By Brandon on 02-20-15
By: Hampton Sides
-
The Perfect Storm
- A True Story of Men Against the Sea
- By: Sebastian Junger
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Man’s struggle against the sea is a theme that has created some of the world’s most exciting stories. Now, in the tradition of Moby Dick comes a New York Times best seller destined to become a modern classic. Written by journalist Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm combines an intimate portrait of a small fishing crew with fascinating scientific data about boats and weather systems.
-
-
Fact is better than Fiction
- By Ryan on 11-26-14
By: Sebastian Junger
-
The Man Who Ate His Boots
- The Tragic History of the Search for the Northwest Passage
- By: Anthony Brandt
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The enthralling and often harrowing history of the adventurers who searched for the Northwest Passage, the holy grail of 19th-century British exploration. After the triumphant end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the British took it upon themselves to complete something they had been trying to do since the 16th century: Find the fabled Northwest Passage, a shortcut to the Orient via a sea route over Northern Canada. For the next 35 years the British Admiralty sent out expedition after expedition to probe the ice-bound waters of the Canadian Arctic in search of a route.
-
-
They don't get any better than this
- By Christopher on 08-15-14
By: Anthony Brandt
-
The River of Doubt
- Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
- By: Candice Millard
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.
-
-
Excellent Writing, Story and Narration
- By Philip on 11-03-05
By: Candice Millard
-
The Worst Journey in the World
- By: Apsley Cherry-Garrard
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 20 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This gripping story of courage and achievement is the account of Robert Falcon Scott's last fateful expedition to the Antarctic, as told by surviving expedition member Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Cherry-Garrard, whom Scott lauded as a tough, efficient member of the team, tells of the journey from England to South Africa and southward to the ice floes. From there began the unforgettable polar journey across a forbidding and inhospitable region.
-
-
Heart felt description of Anartica
- By Robin on 03-30-11
-
James Cook
- The Story Behind the Man Who Mapped the World
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 21 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The name Captain James Cook is one of the most recognisable in Australian history - an almost mythic figure who is often discussed, celebrated, reviled and debated. But who was the real James Cook? This Yorkshire farm boy would go on to become the foremost mariner, scientist, navigator and cartographer of his era, and to personally map a third of the globe. His great voyages of discovery were incredible feats of seamanship and navigation.
-
-
Historic Voyage
- By Eisteddfod on 12-15-19
By: Peter FitzSimons
-
Batavia
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Richard Aspel
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story begins in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave Holland. The magnificent ship is already boiling over with a mutinous plot that is just about to break into the open when, just off the coast of Western Australia, it strikes an unseen reef in the middle of the night. While Commandeur Francisco Pelsaert decides to take the longboat across 2,000 miles of open sea for help, his second-in-command Jeronimus Cornelisz takes over....
-
-
Great Australian History
- By Hugh on 03-04-13
By: Peter FitzSimons
-
In Harm's Way
- The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors
- By: Doug Stanton
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine. An estimated 300 men were killed upon impact; close to 900 sailors were cast into the Pacific Ocean, where they remained undetected by the navy for nearly four days and nights. Battered by a savage sea, they struggled to stay alive, fighting off sharks, hypothermia, and dementia. By the time rescue arrived, all but 317 men had died. The captain's subsequent court-martial left many questions unanswered
-
-
Amazing and true naval tale!!!
- By Mark on 07-16-17
By: Doug Stanton
Publisher's Summary
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.
Critic Reviews
"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)
"[Told] with verve and authenticity...a classic tale of the sea." (San Francisco Chronicle)
More from the same
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
- Amazon Customer
- 12-06-06
Wow
If you like history and are intrigued by the sea, then please give this book a listen. I learned so much about the history of trade, as well as the whaling industry. The book is a fast listen, and a story that couldn't have been written better as fiction. The narrator did a fine job as well.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rachel - Audible
- 10-17-17
Moby-Dick Without All That Riveting Whale Taxonomy
This book has it all: shipwrecks, sharks, and cannibalism. And it’s all true! The Essex is the whaleship that inspired Herman Melville’s classic (and one of my favorite books), Moby-Dick, and its real-life tale is stranger than fiction. After an 80 ton sperm whale repeatedly rammed and sank their ship, 20 crew members were left stranded in three tiny boats in the middle of the ocean. Spoiler: not everyone makes it.
This book is a doozy of a page-turner, and Philbrick does an incredible job digging into all of the nuances of life before, during, and after surviving such a mind-boggling tragedy. In the Heart of the Sea is a perfect companion piece to Moby-Dick, or a great stand-alone read for anyone who’s ever wanted to read Moby-Dick but can do without all that riveting whale taxonomy.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Vincent
- 12-10-08
Very Interesting
I bought this one on a whim not having much to do with or knowledge of Nantuckett or whaling. I found it very captivating and quite entertaining. The historical accounts of the surviving crew members and Nantuckett in general was a great touch to the main portion of the book. Made me want to visit the museum.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Jim
- 03-31-10
Excellent
Well worth the listen.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richelle
- 01-23-13
unreal
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes. Great story of human spirit
What three words best describe Edward Herrmann’s performance?
Great voice
Any additional comments?
I did not care for music, Sometimes it played as story went on.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ann
- 09-10-12
Riveting story that I just couldn't turn off
What made the experience of listening to In the Heart of the Sea the most enjoyable?
The reader was fantastic. He made you beleive that you were actually there seeing what he was reading to you about.
What did you like best about this story?
The believeablilty of the reader
Which character – as performed by Edward Herrmann – was your favorite?
Any of the boatmen. They all had a tale to tell that was just engulfing.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I was just so involved in the story and the whalemen and the events that happened I could almost smell the salt sea air as Edward had us sailing along on the Essex. Fantastic!
Any additional comments?
This is a keeper that I will listen to again and again. I always learn more each time I re-listen to a book
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Leah
- 01-31-15
Great story- excellent narration
The descriptions of the whaling ships and the process of breaking down a whale will stick with me for a long time!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rosy
- 03-20-21
The Best
I have read this book many times, and recently listened to it to refresh my memory for a YouTube Channel I do reviewing sailing movies (Captain Pedantic). The book is exceptional, as is Richard Hermann's reading of it.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Victoria Thompson
- 11-06-20
Great Historical Story and Narration
I started reading this book, and later saw I had audible credits and decided to listen to it. I am
So glad I did !! The story of the Essex and it’s crew inspired Melville to write Moby Dick.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Brett T Durbin
- 01-29-20
Amazing telling of a fantastic story!
The happenings of this incredible story which inspired Herman Melville's great classic are wonderfully told in the voice of a great artist in this audiobook. A supreme listing experience, I wish every audiobook I listened to were this great!