Nathaniel Philbrick

Nathaniel Philbrick was born on June 11, 1956, in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father, Thomas Philbrick, was an English professor. He attended Linden Elementary School and graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh. He pursued higher education, earning a BA in English from Brown University, where he was also the university’s first Intercollegiate All-American sailor in 1978 and won the Sunfish North Americans in Barrington, Rhode Island the same year. He then went on to receive an MA in American Literature from Duke University, where he was a James B. Duke Fellow.

After completing his graduate studies, Philbrick dedicated four years to working as an editor at ‘Sailing World’ magazine. He then transitioned to a freelance career, primarily focusing on writing and editing several books centered on sailing, while also acting as the primary caregiver for his two children. In 1994, he published ‘Away Off Shore,’ his first book focusing on the history of Nantucket. This was followed by ‘Abram’s Eyes’ in 1998, which explored Nantucket’s native legacy. He is a founding director of Nantucket’s Egan Maritime Institute and holds a position as a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association, establishing himself as an authority on the history of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Philbrick’s career reached a significant milestone with his maritime history, “In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex,” which was published in 1999. This book not only won the 2000 National Book Award for Nonfiction but also served as the inspiration for Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick.” The book was later adapted into a major film in 2015, directed by Ron Howard. His work “Bunker Hill” was also optioned by Warner Bros. for a feature film adaptation, with Ben Affleck attached to direct, and screenwriter Aaron Stockard signed to the project in 2016.