American author, born in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 11, 1956. He is the son of Marian Dennis and Thomas Philbrick. He graduated from Taylor Aldredese High School, received a BA in English from Brown University, and a Ph.D. in American literature from Duke University. He lives in Nantucket, Massachusetts with his wife, CEO Melissa Douthart Philbrick. He worked for four years in naval journals, as well as working as a freelancer for a few years, before writing alone. Among his most prominent writings is the book, In the Heart of the Sea, which was transferred to the cinema screen in 2014 with the treatment of Charles Leavitt cinematography and directed by Ron Howard.