The Book Prize Index

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

Nathaniel Philbrick

In 1819, the 238-ton Essex set sail from Nantucket on a routine voyage to hunt whales. Fifteen months later, the Essex was rammed and sunk by an enraged sperm whale.

HistoryAmerican History · medium confidenceAmerican History81 signalsLlm Classifier: American History -> American HistoryOpen Library: nyt:expeditions-disasters-and-adventures=2015-04-12 -> Nature & EnvironmentOpen Library: History -> HistoryTravel, Exploration & PlaceNatural History & Animals

Award History

1 wins · 2 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
National Book Award for NonfictionMajor2000WinnerSecondary source
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History2000FinalistSecondary source
View all award history (2)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • Nantucket58%

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    38 / 100 academic

    Serious trade

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 62%.