What is the setting of In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick?

In the Heart of the Sea begins and ends on Nantucket Island, which is just off the coast of New England in the Atlantic. In these parts of the book, Philbrick sets up the narrative by describing Nantucket, a thriving whaling port at the time, and the whaling business. He also ends the book here as he describes what happened to the survivors of the tragedy.

The bulk of the book, however, takes place on the open water, in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the Atlantic, Philbrick narrates how the ship was knocked down, their provisioning stops, and the dangers of rounding Cape Horn at the bottom of South America. Most of the story occurs in the Pacific Ocean.