Nathaniel Philbrick

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, 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 history of Nantucket, 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, with whom he has two children. They moved to Nantucket in 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. 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. Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery: the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842. New York: Viking, 2001. 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. 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. Why Read Moby Dick? New York: Viking, 2010. Bunker Hill: a City, a Siege, a Revolution. New York: Viking, 2013. Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution New York: Viking, 2016. 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.