In the Heart of the Sea

In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was attacked by something no one could believe: a whale of enormous size and will, with an almost human sense of revenge. This real-life disaster at sea inspired Melville's Moby-Dick. But the novel told only half the story. "In the Heart of the Sea" reveals the horrifying consequences of the encounter, when the surviving crew were pushed to the limit and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Facing storms, hunger, panic, and despair, the men come to doubt even their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, while the captain tries to find his bearings on the open sea and his first mate remains determined to conquer the great whale.