The Essex, an American whaleship from Nantucket, Massachusetts, sank after a sperm whale attacked it in the Pacific Ocean in November 1820. Having lost their ship, the crew of the Essex attempted to sail to South America in whaleboats. After suffering from starvation and dehydration, most of the crew died before the survivors were rescued in February 1821.
In retelling the story of the crew's ordeal, Philbrick uses an account written by Thomas Nickerson, who was a teenage cabin boy on board the Essex and wrote about the experience in his old age; Nickerson's account was found in 1960 but was not authenticated until 1980. In 1984, an abridged version of his account was finally published. The book also uses the better known account of Owen Chase, the ship's first mate, which was published soon after the ordeal.[1]
^"In the Heart of the Sea - Final Trailer [HD]". Warner Bros. Pictures & Youtube.com. 1 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 6 November 2015. In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story.
