Nathaniel Philbrick (born June 11, 1956) is an American author of history, winner of the National Book Award, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His maritime history, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, which tells the true story that inspired Melville's Moby-Dick, won the 2000 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was adapted as a film in 2015. Personal life Nathaniel 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 and has lived in Nantucket, Massachusetts since 1986. Philbrick is married to Melissa Douthart Philbrick, former Executive Director of Remain Nantucket. They have two children, Jennie and Ethan. He is a leading authority on the history of the island of Nantucket. Education 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 After graduate school, Philbrick worked for four years as an editor at Sailing World magazine. He then worked 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 1986, Philbrick moved to Nantucket with his wife Melissa and their two children. 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. 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