Customer Reviews

Moby Dick or, the Whale

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4 star:		(2)
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Call me Horseman. Some years ago I took a job managing a group of editors at a corporation. In order to make a point and to check out my qualifications to manage him, half seriously - half jokingly, one of these individuals asked whether I had ever read MOBY DICK by Herman Melville. Surprised by the question and what it had to do with my qualifications, I forthrightly answered in the negative. Very quickly the editor said, "Well, get back to me when you have and we'll talk." I went out that very day, bought the book and discovered what I have come to believe is, arguably, the greatest novel ever written. I just completed another reading of this wonderful book and found it as intriguing and enchanting as ever.

But what is so great about a book about whales? Aren't some of Melville's statements and observations dead wrong according to modern whale experts?
Doesn't it drag on and on in boring writing that has no appeal today?

Remember that most of us usually encounter MOBY DICK as students in high school or early in college. As such it's difficult to remain truly objective in our views. The major mistake that most readers of MOBY DICK make is looking at the book as some sort of a scientific or zoological treatise on whales. Yes, Melville based much of the book on actual personal experience and on the accounts of others. But the beauty of this book lies almost totally in its wordsmithing. Melville is the master of putting together sentences, paragraphs and chapters that beautifully and eloquently draw the reader into his world. The author employs an extensive palette of words to paint a picture and to express a message about life. In the latter there is no greater allegory of life than Melville's masterwork.

And isn't that what reading a book like this is supposed to be about? One does not read LES MISERABLE to get an engineer's view of the network of Paris' sewers; neither does he read A TALE OF TWO CITIES to learn about the mechanics of the guillotine.

MOBY DICK, then, is more than a story about whales and whalemen. It is, in the end, a statement about the destructiveness of out-of-control obsessions and of vengeance run amok. It is a masterpiece that speaks to every man or woman in whatever walk of life they might pursue. Indeed, every one of us has chased or is chasing our own white whale or whales. And the truths taught here haven't changed much in over 150 years. As such MOBY DICK is as applicable to today's society and its concerns as it must have been to Melville's antebellum nineteenth century America.

In short, if you're looking for a quick, entertaining read, try one of the Harry Potter books. But if you're looking for an experience or statement...

THE HORSEMAN

Readers say it's far too long, the cetacean history is tedious, who the heck cares how to best prep a harpoon line? Well if you're one of those folks who likes a good harpoon-prep scene, you're in for a treat. If not, you might learn something, and, failing that, the singular dexterity with which the author lays the words on the page will not only awe you but carry you into the very whale boat. You will feel in your guts the rush of the sleigh ride, you will breathe the sea air and taste the mist, you will feel the salt hardening on your hands and face. Don't like any of that? Unless there's no place you'd rather be than your rocker, this is escapism as good as it comes. And don't even get me started on timeless themes, unforgettable characters and a plot as fine as they come....

Melville's Moby Dick tells the story of Captain Ahab and his unwaivering obsession with finding and slaying a gigantic white whale of almost mythical proportions. Throughout the story, the reader is emersed into life on board the whaling ship, the Pequod, told through the eyes of Ishmael.

The story goes from Ishmael's befriending of Queequeg to their trip to Nantucket where they are hired for whaling on the Pequod. They eventually learn that Ahab's agenda runs further than the usual run of the mill whaling expedition; he wants to find and kill the great white whale, Moby Dick. In response, the crew of the Pequod are coaxed and almost hypnotized into joining his dangerous hunt for the reward of a gold coin. Will the crew and their driven captain succeed or will their own greed and stubbornness yield an unfortunate fate?

In my opinion, the early and end chapters are the best part as well as Father Mapple's sermon. While the tone and setting established by Melville certainly pulls you into the world of whaling, the middle chapters are full of side stories, whale lectures, and transcedentalist self indulgence which grows a bit old after a while. There is even some racial intonation: characters such as Queequeg, Daggoo and Tashtego at times are subject to racial commentary by Ishmael (who at times can be mistaken for what I believe to be Melville writing through himself). But, wheher Melville is a racist is honestly neither here nor there.

The book can be interpreted in alot of ways such as the tragic consequences of man's greed or the relationship to God and man and nature. In fact, everytime I ponder it, a new interpretation emerges. Perhaps, that is the book's real beauty.

There is really no other book like it. Some chapters for instance are literally a sentence long. Others don't seem to end. Melville even changes his style from time to time within the book. I guess, in the end, you not only read it, but also experience the book for what it is. A memorable read which anyone who finishes it should be awarded a medal for. Save a part of this country's history and read it.

Moby Dick


Moby Dick is a life-taking story. Moby Dick is an exciting adventure story about a man named Ishmael who wants to go out to sea. He's a very poor man and he finds this hotel and he shares a room with a hooper. Hoopers are people who kill whales. Ishmael becomes friends with the hooper. One day the two friends found a boat owner and they asked if they could go to sea with the captain of the ship. The owner said, "why should I let you go?" Then the hooper showed the owner a target and used a rock to show how he could aim. The owner was so amazed at how good the hooper's aim was that he told them they could come on the ship. He said they should be there the next day. Later that day a man came up to them and he told them that the captain only wanted to kill one thing - Moby Dick.

In another part of the book, the crew killed a whale and they made oil from the whale's blubber, or fat. Another time Ahab, the captain, and his crew saw another boat that had no oil and they lended them some oil. Captain Ahab asked the captain of the other crew if he had seen the great white... The other captain said she had not seen anything. Another time, Ahab's crew saw another boat and Ahab asked them the same question. The captain of the other crew said that he had seen him in the east. Ahab told the crew to head eastward.

This book was one of the most exciting books I have ever read. Before I read this book, I didn't really like reading at all. After I read this book, I totally changed my mind about reading. This book should be a great book if you like adventure and the sea. This book keeps you very interested and you always want to know about Moby Dick or Ahab's crew.

This book is similar to other books that tell adventure stories. Some of these are written by the same author who wrote Moby Dick. Some of the books are Treasure Island, Ten Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Peter Pan.

If you read this book, you will learn a lot about Moby Dick, Ishmael, the hooper, and Ahab. You will also learn what you do when you go out to sea and are hunting whales and living on a boat with your crew. I suggest this book for young and old readers of any ages. They might find the book interesting or find it a little boring. To me, I would think they wouldn't find it boring. It was a very exciting story.

Herman Melville, the author, shares many witty and serious insights about life and the foibles of human actions and beliefs in Moby Dick. It is not just about whaling, but a commentary in general about humanity. The description of whaling processes give the reader an insight into not only the methods of whaling, but the cruelty and savagery of killing such beautiful creatures. Even a person such as myself, who is against any whaling in this day and age, can appreciate Melville's commentary about whales, their personalities, their rights as fellow creatures to live on this planet!

Good product, good service, good value. Everything was done on time. Thanks for taking care of this well. I would recommend this to others without reservation.

This version is by far the best I've seen. The quality of the book is unsurpassed.

Obviously the book's a classic. However I thought this hard copy was going to be a (retro) small book like the one I read as a boy. This thing's huge like a medical dictionary.

First, let me tell say that I began this book with high hopes since it considered a masterpiece. However, not 100 pages into the book, I kept asking myself why this book is considered a masterpiece. After finishing it, I am still asking myself that very question. I don't have an answer since this book was certainly not worth the time and effort to read it.

I entitled this review "Call me Ahab" since after getting 300 pages into it, I became obsessed with finishing the book. I was not going to let the White Whale beat me. I was not going to let that fish cause me to put down the book (even though that is what I wanted to do). I was not reading this book because I was enjoying it. I merely finished it so that I could say that I finished it and the White Whale did not win.

There is a reason that the most famous line in the book is the first one. Of the 135 chapters, there are maybe 20-25 that are worth the reading. Of the 725 pages, maybe only 150-200 are worth reading. I was not too terribly concerned about knowing the anatomy of whales, the different types of whales, the skeletal system of whales, or knowing about whaling in general.

Throughout the book, you may read one chapter with some action only to be followed by 5 or 6 chapters of tangents that are not necessary to understand the story. This also happens within some of the chapters that have some action. In the middle of a chapter with some action, Melville may go off on some tangent for several paragraphs and then come back to the storyline.

If you like a story with nonessential information and an author that is entirely to verbose, then this book is for you. Also, if you have only one book and way too much time on your hands, this would be a good book. However, if you like a story that has some continuity to it and a good storyline, this is not the book for you.

I think that Melville's plan was to have his writing be the White Whale and the reader as Ahab to determine if his writing would cause the reader to become obsessed just to get through it. If this was his thinking, then it worked on me.

There are so many more books that are much, much better than this one. If you have many books that you want to read, read them first and always place this book at the back of the line and read it when you have no other books you would rather read.

Take my advice - read another book. If not, then be prepared to become obsessed with finishing it since that may be the only way you will get though it.

My apologizes to all those that I may have offended with this review.

Full of vivid desciptions and symbolism, this book has earned its reputation as a classic; however, this is actually the revised Moby Dick. The first draft was never read because Herman Melville burned it in a fire after inspiration from his neighbor Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote many classic short stories but the one that inspired Melville to completely rewrite a novel was "Young Goodman Brown". This is a very short story packed with hidden meaning....for starters the SEVENTH word is sunset which was not an accident. Anyway, this short story reveals itself many times in the style of Melville's Moby Dick and in fact a whole chapter is dedicated to answering Hawthorne.

Read Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne and then read chapter xcvi, THE TRY-WORKS. This will help you understand it Much better.