On a previous voyage, a mysterious white whale had ripped off the leg of a sea captain named Ahab. Now the crew of the Pequod, on a pursuit that features constant adventure and horrendous mishaps, must follow the mad Ahab into the abyss to satisfy his unslakeable thirst for vengeance. Narrated by the cunningly observant crew member Ishmael, Moby Dick is the tale of the hunt for the elusive, omnipotent, and ultimately mystifying white whale—Moby Dick.
On its surface, Moby Dick is a vivid documentary of life aboard a nineteenth-century whaler, a virtual encyclopedia of whales and whaling, replete with facts, legends, and trivia that Herman Melville had gleaned from personal experience and scores of sources. But as the quest for the whale becomes increasingly perilous, the tale works on allegorical levels, likening the whale to human greed, moral consequence, good, evil, and life itself. Who is good? The great white whale who, like Nature, asks nothing but to be left in peace? Or the bold Ahab who, like scientists, explorers, and philosophers, fearlessly probes the mysteries of the universe? Who is evil? The ferocious, man-killing sea monster? Or the revenge-obsessed madman who ignores his own better nature in his quest to kill the beast?
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"I kind of thought that Moby Dick would be a dry serious tale of obsession given all the right minded sober praise that it has received over the years. Still I found myself swept up in this brilliantly oddball tale that had me burst out laughing on more than one occasion. The Captain...the captain well it was great to finally meet him when he did appear still I couldn't help thinking that, although a brilliantly portrayed character with a literary brogue to die for, he played a surprisingly sparse (although clearly central) role in this tale....just me?"
— Colin (5 out of 5 stars)
" Didn't quite understand the obsession with the white whale. "
— Kim, 2/20/2014" I'm not sure who could or would ever rate this book at less than five stars. I mean, seriously, come on people. Get your priorities straight. "
— Emily, 2/19/2014" I even liked the boring parts... :) "
— Trevor, 2/19/2014" I had to read this book in high school in 1964 and hated it. About 20 years later I read it again and was captured by it. I think it took me that long recognize the beauty of the language and the descriptive clarity. I still think we could do without the whale anatomy chapters though. "
— Ed, 2/19/2014" IF YOU START, MAKE A COMMITMENT TO KEEP GOING; I'D SKIP THE WHALE PROCESSING SECTION; WELL WORTH WHILE TO FINISH. READ IT DURING COLLEGE.COULDN'T READ IN HIGH SCHOOL BUT COLLEGE WAS A GOOD TIME TO READ MELVILLE. "
— Donna, 2/18/2014" Can't seem to finish this one entirely, even after it being a required reading for two different classes....oops. "
— Karen, 2/18/2014" I finally read this book this summer. It was on my "bucket list" of books to read. I loved it. I think it's a book that people of the 21st century should read. "
— David, 2/17/2014" it teachs us leadership can really determine the outcome of a voyage. it also teaches about the job of whaling. narrator is a nut, pov is all over the place, but it really is a beautiful American story. Just read this for book club and enjoyed it. "
— Justin, 2/16/2014Herman Melville (1819–1891) was born in New York City. Family hardships forced him to leave school for various occupations, including shipping as a cabin boy to Liverpool in 1839—a voyage that sparked his love for the sea. A shrewd social critic and philosopher in his fiction, he is considered an outstanding writer of the sea and a great stylist who mastered both realistic narrative and a rich, rhythmical prose. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumously published novella Billy Budd.
Norman Dietz is a writer, voice-over artist, and audiobook narrator. He has won numerous Earphones Awards and was named one of the fifty “Best Voices of the Century” by AudioFile magazine. He and his late wife, Sandra, transformed an abandoned ice-cream parlor into a playhouse, which served “the world’s best hot fudge sundaes” before and after performances. The founder of Theatre in the Works, he lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.