Nathaniel Philbrick Popular Books

Nathaniel Philbrick Biography & Facts

Nathaniel Philbrick (born June 11, 1956) is an American author of history, winner of the National Book Award, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His maritime history, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, is based on what inspired Herman Melville to author Moby-Dick, won the 2000 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was adapted as a film in 2015. Early life and education Philbrick was born on June 11, 1956, in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Marianne (Dennis) and Thomas Philbrick, an English professor. He grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Philbrick attended Linden Elementary School and graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He earned a BA in English from Brown University and an MA in American literature from Duke University, where he was a James B. Duke Fellow. Philbrick was Brown University's first Intercollegiate All-American sailor in 1978. The same year, he won the Sunfish North Americans in Barrington, Rhode Island. Career Following graduate school, Philbrick worked as an editor at Sailing World magazine for four years and then as a freelancer for a number of years, during which time he was the primary caregiver for his two children while writing and editing several books about sailing, including The Passionate Sailor, Second Wind and Yaahting: A Parody. In 1994, he published his first book about the island's history, Away Off Shore, followed in 1998 by a study of the Nantucket's native legacy, Abram’s Eyes. He is the founding director of Nantucket's Egan Maritime Institute and is a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association and a leading authority on the history of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Personal life Philbrick is married to Melissa Douthart Philbrick, former executive director of Remain Nantucket. They have two children, Jennie and Ethan. In 1986, they moved to Nantucket, Massachusetts., He has lived in Nantucket, Massachusetts, since 1986. Works Nonfiction Yaahting: A Parody. 1984. The Passionate Sailor. Contemporary Press, 1987. Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890. Penguin, 1993. ISBN 978-0143120124 Abram's Eyes: The Native American Legacy of Nantucket Island. Mill Hill Press, 1998. Second Wind: A Sunfish Sailor's Odyssey. Mill Hill Press, 1999. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. Penguin, 1999. ISBN 0-14-100182-8 Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery: the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. New York: Viking, 2001. ISBN 067003231X OCLC 52086279 Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex. Putnam Juvenile, 2002. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. New York: Viking, 2006. ISBN 0-670-03760-5 OCLC 62766154 The Mayflower and the Pilgrims' New World: The Story of Plymouth Colony for Young Readers. Putnam Juvenile, 2006. The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. New York: Viking, 2010. ISBN 0670021725 OCLC 456171728 Why Read Moby Dick? New York: Viking, 2010. ISBN 978-0670022991 Bunker Hill: a City, a Siege, a Revolution. New York: Viking, 2013. ISBN 0-670-02544-5 OCLC 818953755 Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution New York: Viking, 2016. ISBN 978-0525426783 In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown, 2018. Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy, New York: Viking, 2021. ISBN 978-0525562177 Adaptations In the Heart of the Sea is the basis of the Warner Bros. motion picture of the same name, directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Ben Wishaw, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, and Tom Holland, released in December 2015. The book also inspired a 2001 Dateline special on NBC as well as the 2010 two-hour PBS American Experience film "Into the Deep" by Ric Burns. Bunker Hill has been optioned by Warner Bros. for feature film adaptation with Ben Affleck attached to direct. In 2016, screenwriter Aaron Stockard (The Town, Gone Baby Gone) was signed to the project. See also Frank Philbrick Rodman Philbrick Stephen Philbrick References Sources Kakutani, Michiko (June 3, 2010). "The Last Stand? Yes. The Last Word? Never". The New York Times. Barcott, Bruce (June 10, 2010). "Men on Horseback". review. New York Times Sunday Book Review. Percelay, Bruce (May 25, 2010). "Beyond Nantucket with Nathaniel Philbrick". N Magazine. External links Official website Appearances on C-SPAN American Merchant Marine Museum Little Bighorn, Large Legend, Roger D. McGrath, The Wall Street Journal, 18 June 2010 New York Times interview, Nathaniel Philbrick: By the Book, May 26 2016. Discover the Nathaniel Philbrick popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Nathaniel Philbrick books.

Best Seller Nathaniel Philbrick Books of 2024

  • Away Off Shore synopsis, comments

    Away Off Shore

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    A book about a tiny island with a huge history, from the New York Times bestselling author of Valiant Ambition and In the Hurricane's Eye.“For everyone who loves Nan...

  • Bunker Hill synopsis, comments

    Bunker Hill

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    The bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea, Mayflower, and In the Hurricane's Eye tells the story of the Boston battle that ignited the American Revolution, in thi...

  • A Greek Tragedy synopsis, comments

    A Greek Tragedy

    Jeanne Carstensen

    A cross between Sheri Fink's Five Days at Memorial and Rachel Slade’s Into the Raging Sea, the gripping and harrowing true story of the largest shipwreck of the biggest refugee cri...

  • A Terrible Glory synopsis, comments

    A Terrible Glory

    James Donovan

    In June of 1876, on a desolate hill above a winding river called "the Little Bighorn," George Armstrong Custer and all 210 men under his direct command were annihilated by almost 2...

  • Valiant Ambition synopsis, comments

    Valiant Ambition

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    A New York Times BestsellerWinner of the George Washington PrizeA surprising account of the middle years of the American Revolution and the tragic relationship between George Washi...

  • Second Wind synopsis, comments

    Second Wind

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    A charming memoir of midlife by the bestselling author of Mayflower and In the Hurricane's Eye, recounting his attempt to recapture a national sailing championship he'd won at twen...

  • Travels with George synopsis, comments

    Travels with George

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“Travels with George . . . is quintessential Philbricka lively, courageous, and masterful achievement.” The Boston Globe Does George Washington still ...

  • Revolutionary Surgeons synopsis, comments

    Revolutionary Surgeons

    Per-Olof Hasselgren

    Revolutionary Surgeons offers an integrated picture of surgeons as political and military leaders of the American Revolution.Prominent surgeons participated in political activities...

  • George Washington and the Irish synopsis, comments

    George Washington and the Irish

    Niall O'Dowd

    Discover the untold story of the vital role the Irish played in the American Revolution.George Washington changed the world and saved democracy by defeating the British during the ...

  • Disasters at Sea synopsis, comments

    Disasters at Sea

    Liz Mechem

    A fully illustrated collection of the most thrilling shipwrecks of all time!Experience the mystery and wonder of the bottom of the sea with over sixty accounts of shipwreck catastr...

  • Mayflower synopsis, comments

    Mayflower

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    "Vivid and remarkably fresh...Philbrick has recast the Pilgrims for the ages."The New York Times Book ReviewFinalist for the Pulitzer Prize in HistoryNew York Times Book Review Top...

  • The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale synopsis, comments

    The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale

    Thomas Nickerson, Owen Chase, Thomas Philbrick & Nathaniel Philbrick

    The gripping firsthand narrative of the whaling ship disaster that inspired Melville’s MobyDick and informed Nathaniel Philbrick’s monumental history, In the Heart of the Sea ...

  • Sea of Glory synopsis, comments

    Sea of Glory

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    "A treasure of a book."David McCulloughThe harrowing story of a pathbreaking naval expedition that set out to map the entire Pacific Ocean, dwarfing Lewis and Clark with its discov...

  • Completely Mad synopsis, comments

    Completely Mad

    James R. Hansen

    From the New York Times bestselling author of The First Man comes a sweeping saga involving two extraordinaryand extraordinarily differentadventurers who h...

  • The Fever of 1721 synopsis, comments

    The Fever of 1721

    Stephen Coss

    The “intelligent and sweeping” (Booklist) story of the crucial year that prefigured the events of the American Revolution in 1776and how Boston’s smallpox epidemic was at the cente...

  • The American Spirit synopsis, comments

    The American Spirit

    David McCullough

    A New York Times BestsellerA timely collection of speeches by David McCullough, the most honored historian in the United Stateswinner of two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Book Awar...

  • In the Heart of the Sea synopsis, comments

    In the Heart of the Sea

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    From the author of Mayflower, Valiant Ambition, and In the Hurricane's Eyethe riveting bestseller tells the story of the true events that inspired Melville's MobyDic...

  • The Mayflower Papers synopsis, comments

    The Mayflower Papers

    Various Authors, Nathaniel Philbrick & Thomas Philbrick

    The most important personal accounts of the Plymouth Colony, the key sources of Nathaniel Philbrick's New York Times bestseller Mayflower National Book Award winner Nathaniel Phil...

  • The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex synopsis, comments

    The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex

    Owen Chase & Kenneth Kamler

    The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex is the harrowing narrative of an unfortunate vessel’s calamitous encounter with a great white whale, and the crew’s perilous fight for survival...

  • The Pirate King synopsis, comments

    The Pirate King

    Sean Kingsley & Rex Cowan

    The incredible story of the “Robin Hood of the Seas,” who absconded with millions during the Golden Age of Piracy and who harbored an even greater secret.Henry Avery of Devon pilla...

  • The Last Stand synopsis, comments

    The Last Stand

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    "An engrossing and tautly written account of a critical chapter in American history." Los Angeles Times Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Hurricane's Eye, Pulitzer Prize final...

  • How the Irish Won the American Revolution synopsis, comments

    How the Irish Won the American Revolution

    Phillip Thomas Tucker

    When the Continental Congress decided to declare independence from the British empire in 1776, ten percent of the population of their fledgling country were from Ireland. By 1790, ...

  • Those Turbulent Sons of Freedom synopsis, comments

    Those Turbulent Sons of Freedom

    Christopher S. Wren

    The myth and the reality of Ethan Allen and the muchloved Green Mountain Boys of Vermonta “surprising and interesting new account…useful, informative reexamination of an oftenmisun...

  • A Land As God Made It synopsis, comments

    A Land As God Made It

    James Horn

    The definitive history of the Jamestown colony, the crucible of American history Although it was the first permanent English settlement in North America, Jamestown is too often ove...

  • The Company synopsis, comments

    The Company

    Stephen Bown

    NATIONAL BESTSELLERA thrilling new telling of the story of modern Canada's origins.The story of the Hudson's Bay Company, dramatic and adventurous and complex, is the story of mode...

  • The First Thanksgiving synopsis, comments

    The First Thanksgiving

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    The real story of the First Thanksgiving from the New York Times bestselling author Nathaniel PhilbrickOne of America’s most acclaimed historians takes on the nation’s First Thanks...

  • The City of the Sultan synopsis, comments

    The City of the Sultan

    Miss Pardoe

    Excerpt: "Seagulls were flying past us in clouds, and sporting like domestic birds about the vessel, while many of the adjoining roofs were clustered with them; the wildduck an...