In the Heart of the Sea – By Nathaniel Philbrick

Subtitled, ‘The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex’, this book is the incredible true story of a whaling ship that was sunk by an angry whale in 1819, leaving the crew adrift for three months.  Having been the inspiration for Moby Dick, this is the tale of a crew that became the hunted when a large whale repeatedly rammed the boat, ultimately sinking it.  The men were then left to survive in life boats for more than 90 days.  The measures taken by those who ultimately lived through the ordeal are gruesome and hard to imagine.  

The book is thoroughly entertaining for the amazement of the story alone, but also for the history it provides on the whaling industry and what it entailed in the early 1800s. 

At 10 hours or 320 pages, it is a mid-length book that is well worth your time.