American author, Nathaniel Philbrick, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and currently lives in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Nathaniel graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, earned his bachelor’s degree in English at Brown University, and his master’s degree in American literature at Duke University. Nathaniel is married to Melissa Douthart Philbrick, the Executive Director of Remain Nantucket, and he is a leading authority on the history of the island.
On May 8, 2000 Viking Press published a non-fiction book written by Nathaniel, “In the Heart of the Sea” which won the 2000 National Book Award for Nonfiction. The book which retells the story of the “Essex” an American whaleship, from Nantucket, Massachusetts, which was attached by a sperm whale in the Pacific Ocean, in 1820. After the ship sinks the remaining crew attempts to sail to South America in the ships whaleboats. Suffering from starvation and dehydration, most of the crew died before the survivors were rescued in February 1821.
Today the book is being adapted into a feature film by director Ron Howard, starring Chris Hemsworth, Ben Whishaw, and Cillian Murphy. In retelling the story of the crew’s ordeal, Philbrick utilizes the written accounts of surviving 14 year old cabin boy Thomas Nickerson, who’s story was lost until 1960 but was not authenticated until 1980, and 23 year old Owen Chase, the ship’s first mate.
“I turned around and saw him about one hundred rods [500 m or 550 yards] directly ahead of us, coming down with twice his ordinary speed of around 24 knots (44 km/h), and it appeared with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect. The surf flew in all directions about him with the continual violent thrashing of his tail. His head about half out of the water, and in that way he came upon us, and again struck the ship.” —Owen Chase
Ron Howard’s ‘In The Heart Of The Sea’ will be in theaters March 2015, the official trailer has just been released by Warner Bros and Village Roadshow Pictures.