Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World

Whaling shanty Wearing Whaling Grounds (Wings of a Gull)

Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea, talks about his interest in the whaleship Essex and the history of whaling on Nantucket. Hear more about Philbrick's historical interests and other works he has written.

Into the Deep producer talks about life on the set of America, Whaling & the World. Hear more about Burns' background and other films he has produced for American Experience.

Acoustic recordings of whale vocalizations. Hear the sounds of humpbacks, rights and sperm whales.

The history of the American whaling industry from its 17th-century origins in drift-and-shore whaling off the coast of New England and Cape Cod, through the golden age of deep ocean whaling, and on to its demise in the decades following the American Civil War.

Chart the rapid rise and precipitous decline of the American whaling industry, which powered the start of the industrial revolution and laid the groundwork for a global economy in the 18th and 19th centuries. 3/20/2012