9 best-selling adventure books like In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

Cover of In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

By: Nathaniel Philbrick

4.16

Format: 302 pages, Paperback

"With its huge, scarred head halfway out of the water and its tail beating the ocean into a white-w…

"There was a saying on the island: "[I]t is a pity to spoil a good mate by making him a master."

-Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

"Unable to sleep for the third night in a row, he continued to dwell obsessively on the circumstances of the ship's sinking. He could not get the creature out of his mind."

-Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

"Many of the so-called American characteristics,’ a chronicler of the [WW2 University of Minnesota starvation] experiment wrote, ‘—abounding energy, generosity, optimism—become intelligible as the expected behavior response of a well-fed people."

-Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

"How much of assumed national and personal character comes from the fact that we have never truly known need to the point of having our character tested? Willing conscientious objectors underwent controlled starvation and confirmed how quickly it impacts the initiative and generosity we like to think of as "American" characteristics."

-Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

If you liked the adventure plot in In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick , here is a list of 9 books like this:

Cover of 1776 by David McCullough

1. 1776

By: David McCullough

4.09

Format: 386 pages, Paperback

In this masterful book, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with … read more

Similar categories in David McCullough's 1776 book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • american history
  • history
  • historical
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"I lament the want of a liberal education. I feel the mist of ignorance to surround me - Nathanael Greene"

-David McCullough, 1776

"Indeed, bribery, favoritism, and corruption in a great variety of forms were rampant not only in politics, but in all levels of society."

-David McCullough, 1776

"It was a day and age that saw no reason why one could not learn whatever was required - learn vitally anything - by the close study of books."

-David McCullough, 1776

"as the Sword was the last resort for the preservation of our liberties, so it ought to be the first thing laid aside when those liberties are firmly established"

-David McCullough, 1776

Cover of In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides

2. In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette

By: Hampton Sides

4.27

Format: 454 pages, Hardcover

On July 8, 1879, Captain George Washington De Long and his team of thirty-two men set sail from San… read more

Similar categories in Hampton Sides's In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • american history
  • survival
  • biography
  • history
  • adventure
  • travel
  • historical
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"We live in weary suspense," DeLong wrote. "Wintering in the pack may be a thrilling thing to read about alongside a warm fire, but the actual thing is sufficient to make any man prematurely old."

-Hampton Sides, In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette

"When De Long arrived in California with Emma that May, he went straight down to the yard and feasted his eyes upon his new ship. He was smitten by the transformation that had taken place during his a…"

-Hampton Sides, In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette

Cover of Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson

3. Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

By: Erik Larson

4.05

Format: 323 pages, Paperback

September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resi… read more

Similar categories in Erik Larson's Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • american history
  • survival
  • biography
  • history
  • historical
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"Time lost can never be recovered...and this should be written in flaming letters everywhere."

-Erik Larson, Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

"People seemed to believe that technology had stripped hurricanes of their power to kill. No hurricane expert endorsed this view."

-Erik Larson, Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

"This is the story of Isaac and his time in America, the last turning of the centuries, when the hubris of men led them to believe they could disregard even nature itself."

-Erik Larson, Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

"No one ever remembered a nice day. But no one ever forget the feel of paralyzed fish, the thud of walnut-sized hail against a horse's flank, or the way a superheated wind could turn your eyes to burl…"

-Erik Larson, Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

Cover of The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

4. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

By: Erik Larson

4.00

Format: 464 pages, Hardcover

Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such… read more

Similar categories in Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • historical
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"I must confess a shameful secret: I love Chicago best in the cold."

-Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

"No one cared what St. Louis thought, although the city got a wink for pluck."

-Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

"How easy it was to disappear: A thousand trains a day entered or left Chicago."

-Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood. Daniel H. Burnham"

-Erik Larson, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Cover of Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier by Stephen E. Ambrose

5. Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier

By: Stephen E. Ambrose

4.22

Format: 592 pages, Paperback

'This was much more than a bunch of guys out on an exploring and collecting expedition. This was a … read more

Similar categories in Stephen E. Ambrose's Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • american history
  • biography
  • history
  • adventure
  • travel
  • historical
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"Anyone who has ever canoed on the upper Missouri River knows what a welcome sight a grove of cottonoods can be. They provide shade, shelter, and fuel. For Indian ponies, they provide food. For the Co…"

-Stephen E. Ambrose, Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier

Cover of The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger

6. The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea

By: Sebastian Junger

3.50

Format: 31 pages,

"Takes readers into the maelstrom and shows nature's splendid and dangerous havoc at its utmost". O… read more

Similar categories in Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • survival
  • biography
  • history
  • adventure
  • nonfiction
Cover of In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

7. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

By: Nathaniel Philbrick

4.16

Format: 302 pages, Paperback

"With its huge, scarred head halfway out of the water and its tail beating the ocean into a white-w… read more

Similar categories in Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • american history
  • survival
  • biography
  • history
  • adventure
  • travel
  • historical
  • maritime
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"There was a saying on the island: "[I]t is a pity to spoil a good mate by making him a master."

-Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

"Unable to sleep for the third night in a row, he continued to dwell obsessively on the circumstances of the ship's sinking. He could not get the creature out of his mind."

-Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

"Many of the so-called American characteristics,’ a chronicler of the [WW2 University of Minnesota starvation] experiment wrote, ‘—abounding energy, generosity, optimism—become intelligible as the exp…"

-Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

"How much of assumed national and personal character comes from the fact that we have never truly known need to the point of having our character tested? Willing conscientious objectors underwent cont…"

-Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Cover of Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

8. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

By: Alfred Lansing

4.44

Format: 282 pages, Hardcover

The harrowing tale of British explorer Ernest Shackleton's 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole, on… read more

Similar categories in Alfred Lansing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • survival
  • biography
  • history
  • adventure
  • travel
  • historical
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"We had seen God in His splendors, heard the text that Nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of man."

-Alfred Lansing, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

"Whatever his mood—whether it was gay and breezy, or dark with rage—he had one pervading characteristic: he was purposeful."

-Alfred Lansing, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

"[...] "Who the hell are you?" he said at last. The man in the center stepped forward. "My name is Shackleton" he replied in a quiet voice."

-Alfred Lansing, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

"There once was a mouse who lived in a tavern. One night the mouse found a leaky barrel of beer, and he drank all he could hold. When the mouse had finished, he sat up, twirled his whiskers, and looke…"

-Alfred Lansing, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Cover of Endurance by Patrick O'Brian, Frank A. Worsley

9. Endurance

By: Patrick O'Brian , Frank A. Worsley

3.95

Format: None pages, Paperback

You seriously mean to tell me that the ship is doomed?" asked Frank Worsley, commander of the Endur… read more

Similar categories in Patrick O'Brian's Endurance book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • survival
  • biography
  • history
  • adventure
  • travel
  • nonfiction

10. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

By: David Grann

3.96

Format: 256 pages, Hardcover

A grand mystery reaching back centuries. A sensational disappearance that made headlines around the… read more

Similar categories in David Grann's The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

11. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

By: Jon Krakauer

4.38

Format: 234 pages,

A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Kraka… read more

Similar categories in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

12. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

By: Candice Millard

4.24

Format: None pages,

At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Dou… read more

Similar categories in Candice Millard's The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

13. The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride

By: Daniel James Brown

3.59

Format: 464 pages,

In April of 1846, twenty-one-year-old Sarah Graves, intent on a better future, set out west from Il… read more

Similar categories in Daniel James Brown's The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

14. Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe

By: Laurence Bergreen

4.67

Format: 523 pages, Paperback

Ferdinand Magellan's daring circumnavigation of the globe in the sixteenth century was a three-year… read more

Similar categories in Laurence Bergreen's Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

15. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

By: Erik Larson

3.84

Format: None pages, Hardcover

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthrall… read more

Similar categories in Erik Larson's Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

16. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time

By: Dava Sobel , Neil Armstrong

3.72

Format: 294 pages, Hardcover

Anyone alive in the eighteenth century would have known that "the longitude problem" was the thorni… read more

Similar categories in Dava Sobel's Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Cover of Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton

17. Madhouse at the End of the Earth

By: Julian Sancton

4.27

Format: 354 pages, Hardcover

In August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail for a three-year expeditio… read more

Similar categories in Julian Sancton's Madhouse at the End of the Earth book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • survival
  • biography
  • history
  • adventure
  • travel
  • historical
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"Among the greatest threats future travelers to Mars are likely to face is an interplanetary version of winter over-syndrome. The unknown icescapes around the earth poles, particularly Antarctica, see…"

-Julian Sancton, Madhouse at the End of the Earth

"Cook referred to the symptoms collectively as polar anemia. Researchers today use the term winter over-syndrome. But it's essentially the same thing. A prevailing theory suggests it's a form of hypot…"

-Julian Sancton, Madhouse at the End of the Earth

"But in emphasizing the likelihood of a connection between winter over-syndrome and what is now known as seasonal effective disorder, a variation in mood that correlates with a dwindling of daylight h…"

-Julian Sancton, Madhouse at the End of the Earth

"Note: Dr. Lawrence Polinkis who analyzed clinical data from American men and women at Antarctica's Mcmurdo station Amundsen Scott's South Pole station posits specifically that the memory loss and oth…"

-Julian Sancton, Madhouse at the End of the Earth

Cover of The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides

18. The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook

By: Hampton Sides

4.51

Format: 408 pages, Hardcover

From New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides, an epic account of the most momentous voyage … read more

Similar categories in Hampton Sides's The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • biography
  • history
  • adventure
  • travel
  • historical
  • maritime
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
Cover of The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson

19. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

By: Erik Larson

4.24

Format: 565 pages, Hardcover

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal fi… read more

Similar categories in Erik Larson's The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • american history
  • history
  • historical
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"A house divided against itself cannot stand."

-Erik Larson, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

"Lincoln on a sofa was like a ship's mast on a barstool, poised in an uneasy equilibrium between relaxation and structural collapse."

-Erik Larson, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

"They were convinced that Britain, once confronted with the loss of Southern cotton, would ally itself with the Confederacy—the “cotton is king"

-Erik Larson, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

"South Carolina is too small for a Republic, and too big for an insane asylum. [James L. Petigru (1789-1863), following the state's vote to secede from the Union in 1860]"

-Erik Larson, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

Cover of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

20. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

By: David Grann

4.14

Format: 416 pages, Paperback

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklaho… read more

Similar categories in David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • american history
  • history
  • historical
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
"An Indian Affairs agent said, 'The question will suggest itself, which of these people are the savages?"

-David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

"The Osage elders sang the traditional songs for the dead, only now the songs seemed for the living, for those who had to endure this world of killing."

-David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Cover of The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

21. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

By: David Grann

4.19

Format: 331 pages, Hardcover

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a page-turning story o… read more

Similar categories in David Grann's The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder book and Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

  • survival
  • history
  • adventure
  • historical
  • nonfiction
  • audiobook

12 Best audiobook books like In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

Transform Your Habits

1776

David McCullough

4.09

Transform Your Habits

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette

Hampton Sides

4.27

Transform Your Habits

Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

Erik Larson

4.05

Transform Your Habits

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Erik Larson

4.00

View all the books

12 Best history books like The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger

Transform Your Habits

Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

Erik Larson

4.05

Transform Your Habits

Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Laura Hillenbrand

4.22

Transform Your Habits

Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier

Stephen E. Ambrose

4.22

Transform Your Habits

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

Piers Paul Read

4.13

View all the books

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