Buy new:
$16.00
FREE delivery: Monday, Jan 8 on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Return this item for free
  • Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
  • Learn more about free returns.
FREE delivery Monday, January 8 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 10 left in stock - order soon.
$$16.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$16.00
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery Thursday, January 11 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, January 10
Used: Good | Details
Sold by Tiana Two Enterprises
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Cover art differs from that pictured in the listing (see June 2000 edition) but ISBN#s match. Cover shows minor signs of wear, but pages are all clean and intact. No writing/highlighting.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
New & Used (50) from
$2.56  + $3.99 shipping
Other Sellers on Amazon
Added
$13.83
+ $3.99 shipping
Sold by: BOOKS etc. _
Sold by: BOOKS etc. _
(21674 ratings)
82% positive over last 12 months
In Stock
Shipping rates and Return policy
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Nathaniel Philbrick
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale: First-Person Accounts (Penguin Classics) Paperback – May 1, 2000

by Nathaniel Philbrick (Author), Thomas Nickerson (Author), Thomas Philbrick (Introduction)
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$16.00","priceAmount":16.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"16","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Lre1VBijz8%2ByZFw0fJrqHhv7lfXEWo6FdNwAUy1HX%2Bkm2H10pGsOgE0uWzf%2FssOj4575r3oZbj2CyBI%2FPzSjkwrtHwiAq%2BtjdfDK1phuaA6ChEODHGRGfwg%2FgdCSL6S7qKTvvdXRdM4%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.64","priceAmount":8.64,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"64","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Lre1VBijz8%2ByZFw0fJrqHhv7lfXEWo6F6qWbsC%2B45N2Vzt6Zc7SHvTpz2NiXSUoPd28RhXCGNwupEhr8l%2FYnd2gegUCniiN4NHz7R8cYC5XbvvNiZ29VIE822j7pe4oI8ULWd6O57uhMLT0%2BRS77YRy9t0VnZMVW6Zzn6R%2BnjTF0ObWvuIykpQ%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The gripping first-hand narrative of the whaling ship disaster that inspired Melville’s Moby-Dick and informed Nathaniel Philbrick’s monumental history, In the Heart of the Sea
 
In 1820, the Nantucket whaleship Essex was rammed by an angry sperm whale thousands of miles from home in the South Pacific. The Essex sank, leaving twenty crew members drifting in three small open boats for ninety days. Through drastic measures, eight men survived to reveal this astonishing tale. The Narrative of the Wreck of the Whaleship Essex, by Owen Chase, has long been the essential account of the Essex’s doomed voyage. But in 1980, a new account of the disaster was discovered, penned late in life by Thomas Nickerson, who had been the fifteen-year-old cabin boy of the ship. This discovery has vastly expanded and clarified the history of an event as grandiose in its time as the Titanic. 
 
This edition presents Nickerson’s never-before-published chronicle alongside Chase’s version. Also included are the most important other contemporary accounts of the incident, Melville’s notes in his copy of the Chase narrative, and journal entries by Emerson and Thoreau.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

From Booklist

Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea described the loss of the whaler Essex in the Pacific Ocean--the whale attack that inspired the climax of Melville's Moby Dickand the horrors the crew suffered as they strove to return home. Philbrick's book sought to balance first-mate Owen Chase's classic version of the Essex disaster against the narrative, discovered in 1981, of Thomas Nickerson, an Essex cabin boy. This volume collects these and other primary sources: letters sent back to Nantucket when the first survivors reached South America; Chase's narrative and Melville's notes in his copy of it; Nickerson's sketches, written years later, and a Nickerson letter; interviews with the ship's captain; the story of one of the men who remained in the islands near the wreck; and "memories and apocrypha." These are not literary documents; they are sailors' stories of a terrifying experience, full of maritime detail. Appropriate where Philbrick's book or other studies of nineteenth-century men at sea circulate. Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Thomas Philbrick is professor emeritus of English at the University of Pittsburgh.

Nathaniel Philbrick is a leading authority on the history of Nantucket Island. His In the Heart of the Sea won the National Book Award. His latest book is Sea of Glory, about the epic U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842. His other books include Away off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890 (which Russell Baker called "indispensable") and Abram's Eyes: The Native American Legend of Nantucket Island ("a classic of historical truthtelling," according to Stuart Frank, director of the Kendall Whaling Museum). He has written an introduction to a new edition of Joseph Hart's Miriam Coffin, or The Whale Fisherman, a Nantucket novel (first published in 1834) that Melville relied upon for information about the island when writing Moby Dick.

Philbrick, a champion sailboat racer, has also written extensively about sailing, including The Passionate Sailor (1987) and the forthcoming Second Wind: A Sunfish Sailor's Odyssey. He was editor in chief of the classic Yaahting: A Parody (1984).

In his role as director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies, Philbrick, who is also a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association, gives frequent talks about Nantucket and sailing. He has appeared on "NBC Today Weekend", A&E's "Biography" series, and National Public Radio and has served as a consultant for the movie "Moby Dick", shown on the USA Network. He received a bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a Master of Arts in American Literature from Duke. He lives on Natucket with his wife and two children.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  4. Publication date
    May 1, 2000
  5. Grade level
    12 and up
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0140437967
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0140437966
  10. See all details
Next page
Books with Buzz
Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more

Frequently bought together

The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale: First-Person Accounts (Penguin Classics)
$16.00
Get it as soon as Monday, Jan 8
Only 10 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
$11.89
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
The Illustrated Wreck of the Whaleship Essex: 200th Anniversary Edition
$6.95
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; First Edition (May 1, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140437967
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140437966
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

Important information

To report an issue with this product or seller, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Nathaniel Philbrick

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Nathaniel Philbrick

Life at a Glance

Born

1956 in Boston, Mass.

Educated

Linden Elementary School and Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pa.; BA in English from Brown University in Providence, RI, and an MA in America Literature from Duke University in Durham, NC

Sailing

Philbrick was Brown's first Intercollegiate All-American sailor in 1978; that year he won the Sunfish North Americans in Barrington, RI; today he and his wife Melissa sail their Beetle Cat Clio and their Tiffany Jane 34 Marie-J in the waters surrounding Nantucket Island.

Married

Melissa Douthart Philbrick, who is an attorney on Nantucket. They have two children: Jennie, 23, and Ethan 20.

Career

After grad school, Philbrick worked for four years at Sailing World magazine; was a freelancer for a number of years, during which time he wrote/edited several sailing books, including Yaahting: A Parody (1984), for which he was the editor-in-chief; during this time he was also the primary caregiver for his two children. After moving to Nantucket in 1986, he became interested in the history of the island and wrote Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People. He was offered the opportunity to start the Egan Maritime Foundation in 1995, and in 2000 he published In the Heart of the Sea, followed by Sea of Glory, in 2003, and Mayflower, due in May 2006.

Awards and Honors

In the Heart of the Sea won the National Book Award for nonfiction; Revenge of the Whale won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; Sea of Glory won the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize and the Albion-Monroe Award from the National Maritime Historical Society. Philbrick has also received the Byrne Waterman Award from the Kendall Whaling Museum, the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for distinguished service from the USS Constitution Museum, the Nathaniel Bowditch Award from the American Merchant Marine Museum, and the William Bradford Award from the Pilgrim Society.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
133 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ted B.
5.0 out of 5 stars First hand accounts !
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2021
Verified Purchase
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Roscoe M
5.0 out of 5 stars How Melville came to write Moby Dick
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2022
Verified Purchase
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mark A. Smiddy
5.0 out of 5 stars Complete Collection of Personal Accounts of Essex Tragedy
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2002
Verified Purchase
25 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Silverlady
4.0 out of 5 stars Gift
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good condition. Received promptly.
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2021
Verified Purchase
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
art333
5.0 out of 5 stars Whalers plight
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2011
Verified Purchase
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Rob S
5.0 out of 5 stars New angles on one of the greatest true stories ever
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2016
Verified Purchase
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
punk
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommend
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2019
Verified Purchase
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
M. B. Galvia
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book. Smart service
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
Report
Susan M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Canada on June 22, 2018
Verified Purchase
Report
Vilhjálmur
5.0 out of 5 stars Nettes Nachlesen zum Film "In the heart of the Sea"
Reviewed in Germany on February 6, 2018
Verified Purchase
Report
rainbird
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2018
Verified Purchase
Report
Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars The Loss of the Ship ESSEX, sunk by a Whale
Reviewed in Germany on May 7, 2013
Verified Purchase
Report