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

In many ways, In the Heart of the Sea is a narrative of man's struggles with nature. The whaling endeavor itself was fraught with natural dangers and obstacles. Nantucket whalers had to contend with unpredictable storms, changing winds, the dangers of rounding Cape Horn, and other underwater dangers like coral reefs and rocks. Dangers also existed in hunting whales, where a panicked or surfacing whale could overturn or damage a whaleboat.