Synopses & Reviews
Herman Melvilles masterpiece in a deluxe 150th anniversary edition, one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history
Over a century and a half after its publication, Moby-Dick still stands as an indisputable literary classic. It is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopedia of whaling lore and legend, Moby-Dick is a haunting, mesmerizing, and important social commentary populated with several of the most unforgettable and enduring characters in literature. Never losing its cultural prescence, Melvilles nautical epic has inspired many films over the years, including the upcoming adaptation of Nathanael Philbricks In the Heart of the Sea, starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Ben Wishaw, and Brendan Gleeson, and directed by Ron Howard. Written with wonderfully redemptive humor, Moby-Dick is a profound and timeless inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception. This Penguin Classics deluxe edition features a foreword by Nathaniel Philbrick and prints the Northwestern-Newberry edition of Melville's text, approved by the Center for Scholarly Editions and the Center for Editions of American Authors of the MLA.
For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Review
"I'm embarking on a 'classics year,' where I'm going to try to read a lot of those books that I know I should have read a long time ago. You know the ones those books that we can all quote from and make references to, even though we've never actually cracked open a copy. I started last year by finally reading Darwin's main books....Then, when I interviewed Stephen Pinker, he mentioned having recently enjoyed Moby-Dick and recommended it to me for the biology aspects. So I made the plunge. And you know what? It went quicker than I expected, and it's got some interesting observations about people beyond the obvious insights about obsession and vengeance. Doug Brown, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review)
Synopsis
"What's the use of elaborating what, in its very essence, is so short-lived as a modern book? Though I wrote the Gospels in this century, I should die in the gutter."
Herman Melville, in a letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1851
One hundred-fifty years have passed since Herman Melville wrote his masterpiece. Yet Moby-Dick endures as an indisputable literary classic that continues to speak to readers today. Join Captain Ahab, an eerily compelling madman, as he pursues an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. In his monomaniacal quest, Ahab focuses his distilled hatred and suffering and that of generations before him against one single creature, and pursues it relentlessly.
More than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopedia of whaling lore and legend, this is a haunting, mesmerizing, and important social commentary populated with several of the most unforgettable and enduring characters in literature. Written with wonderfully redemptive humor, Moby-Dick is a profound and timeless inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception.
Synopsis
A century and a half after its publication, Moby-Dick still stands as an indisputable literary classic. It is the story of an eerily compelling madman pursuing an unholy war against a creature as vast and dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. But more than just a novel of adventure, more than an encyclopedia of whaling lore and legend, Moby-Dick is a haunting, mesmerizing, and important social commentary populated with several of the most unforgettable and enduring characters in literature. Written with wonderfully redemptive humor, Moby-Dick is a profound and timeless inquiry into character, faith, and the nature of perception.
With an Introduction by Nathaniel Philbrick, author of the phenomenal bestseller In the Heart of the Sea.