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Unique ElementsHistorical ContextHistorical ContextDetailed 19th Century Historical MapDetailed 19th Century Historical Map
Moby Dick; or, The Whale by American author Herman Melville is a book of literary fiction first published in 1851 in London, England.
A true book of worth, a classic that lives in an era of timeless distinction. Early books emit an excellence unlike any from modern times. You will not be dissatisfied with this works, Literary Fiction at its finest.
Sneak Peak
‘Overhearing Starbuck, the panic-stricken crew instantly ran to the braces—though not a sail was left aloft. For the moment all the aghast mate’s thoughts seemed theirs; they raised a half mutinous cry. But dashing the rattling lightning links to the deck, and snatching the burning harpoon, Ahab waved it like a torch among them; swearing to transfix with it the first sailor that but cast loose a rope’s end. Petrified by his aspect, and still more shrinking from the fiery dart that he held, the men fell back in dismay…’
Synopsis
In part, Moby Dick tells the tale of a terrifyingly alluring maniac who waged an abominable battle against a being that was as colossal, perilous, and incomprehensible as the ocean itself. The book can be considered as a part of the author’s lifelong reflection on America and can be seen as more than just an adventure tale or an encyclopaedia of whaling lore and tradition. Moby Dick is a serious examination of character, faith, and the nature of perception that is also written with a lovely sense of redemptive comedy.
A Stunning Reprint
At Fresh Ink Publishers we take every step possible to ensure the original integrity of this book has been upheld to its highest standard. This means that the texts in this story are unedited and unchanged from the original authors publication, preserving its earliest form for your indulgence. This title will make an excellent gift to the classic fiction buff in your life or a fantastic addition to your current collection. We are ready to ship this book off to you today at lightning speed, so you will find yourself indulging in this title without delay.
Title DetailsOriginal 1597 textOriginal 1597 textLiterary fictionLiterary fictionSize 5 x 8 inSize 5 x 8 inMatte CoverMatte CoverWhite PaperWhite Paper
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Michael Williams (verified owner) –
Moby Dick by Herman Melville, accompanied by King Lear by W. Shakespeare and the Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag, was a monthly reading for a book club. Obviously, Moby Dick was the centerpiece of the dining, with its sheer volume compared to the others, and a myriad of topics it unraveled. Chapter 96, the Try-Works was one of the most intense chapters. While describing oil-extraction operation from sperm, Ismael observed that "Like a plethoric burning martyr, or a self-consuming misanthrope, once ignited, the whale supplies his own fuel and burns by his own body", which reminded me the "Seven Steps Verse or Quatrain of Seven Steps 七步詩 allegedly ciphered by 曹植, Cao Zhi, i.e., "People burn the beanstalk to boil beans, / The beans in the pot cry out. / We are born of the selfsame root, / Why should we hound each other to death with such impatience?" Ismael also ascertained that "the truest of all men was the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53), …, and Ecclesiastes is the fine hammered steel of woe. "All is vanity." ALL.", which followed "But that night, in particular, a strange (and ever since inexplicable) thing occurred to me… Uppermost was the impression, that whatever swift, rushing thing I stood on was not so much bound to any haven ahead as rushing from all havens astern. A stark, bewildered feeling, as of DEATH, came over me." Alas, Ahab should have heeded that.
Shakespearean influences can be found everywhere in the book. As can be noted, the Parsee's self-fulfilling prophecies sounded like those weird ones by the witches in Macbeth. Another interesting part of the book was Chapter 54, The Town-Ho's Story, which seemed to be the most absorbing chapter. As a story within a story; or another layer of stories under such stories, probably this chapter may have many twists, tricks, and/or plots for this specific story. That is, I doubted that such an arguably good one happened to become the head of a mutiny, I held that he was meant to be the one who led such mutiny, a rebellious one in his nature. How about the bad guy who happened to trigger the feud led to the mutiny? He probably was a bad one, but it would be absurd to move the whole burden of such mutiny to an insolent one, not onto the desperado.
When I told one of my senior friends during mountain tracking last month that I was reading the Moby Dick, he suggested that the book should be read as a good business novel. He observed that the characters could be better understood if we put the characters and situations in the book into a corporate setting or business context. Indeed the book itself is about crews in whaling business – risky, profitable, and overly-exploited -, hence business perspectives underlying in the story. How about the intense politics by and between Ahab and Starbuck? Ahab seemed to be worried about the possibility of a mutiny led by Starbuck should he had gone too far. In Chapter 109, Ahab showed his unexpected self-restraint when he was confronted with Starbuck about how to deal with leaking barrels. At the end of the day, he was just an executive hired by principal owners, i.e. Captain Bildad and Captain Peleg, of the ship. How about Captain Ahab's elite whaling troupe, led by the Parsee? We have seen secret elite groups or standing task forces within large corporations. Even their phone numbers are not listed on the company directory, those groups do jobs directly mandated by the highest executives behind the scene. Having gained confidence after a series of tugs-of-war with Starbuck and his crews, or just out of nervous impatience, Ahab went all out, with Pip as his sidekick. As Ahab seized initiatives, Starbuck yielded to Ahab's authority. Chapter 132 was the most hilarious one: As Ahab exhibited a kind of "When I was young" tirade, or "Latte is Horse..", a pun in Korean, Starbuck just came down to give Ahab flattery: "Oh, my captain! my Captain! noble soul! grand old heart, after all!" Although he knew what would come to him and his crew, he just followed his Fate, not stood against her, which is common in failling corporations.
Becky (verified owner) –
This great piece of literature is more than a novel, it is an epic poem, it is Shakespearean, its biblical references are sown into each page. I’ve recently purchased the new penguin deluxe edition of Moby Dick and just finished it. I am almost forty and the last time I read Moby Dick was in my early twenties. Reading it again now I truly appreciate how great of a novel this is. This is a book I can see myself reading once a year or ‘whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul’ I’ll pick up Moby Dick and take a voyage on the Pequod.
s (verified owner) –
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teehive (verified owner) –
the link to the audio book didn't work at all, and the linked site seems unavailable, i keep getting a google message that there is an error. so not sure what is up with that. but the ability to search the table of contents, to be able to find and read any chapter in the book whenever you want, is very good. it works. i had bought another "cheap" edition of m.d. when i first got my kindle, but not being able to access individual chapters made me dump it and search for another version. plus i love the cover, dim and gray as it is on kindle. the artist is a fantastic classic american illustrator/artist whose early 20th century artwork for m.d. fits the story. these are considered the classic, best illustrations of m.d., and they are awesome. not sure where any of them are in the text, found one tiny one, a third of a page, but i assume there's more of them included here. may have to seek out the hardcopy of this edition, to better appreciate the illustrations. hurry up with the color kindle!
i always go back and read a little of this book now and then, i alway have to have it with me…..it's such a beautifully written book, it's like each page is sheer poetry. it's the best written book ever, i think. only wish h.m. could know this. this book was a failure during his lifetime, and in his life, he was pretty desperate for some good news. he was such an astounding writer. when i originally read this book, it was a slog to get thru, no doubt. it wanders here and there, lots of (unasked for) pauses in the action for super boring details about other whale hunts and other things we can just google today. but this classic story hasn't aged and never will- it's a historical novel, based on a real event, and the story involves learning all about the customs, thoughts, actions, and highly un-p.c. goings on of the period. very, very interesting. we can't do anything about how they felt or acted back then, it's history, and it is good to know how these things went, horrible and cringeworthy as they are.
the characters, especially the captain, well, they are superbly written, and very real, having the emotions and reactions of flesh and blood people. sometimes people get obsessed about things- that's the captain, he's really obsessed, but he does have some reason to be pretty mad at the whale. he IS kinda selfish about his obsession, screwing up the lives of his whole crew (and the life of his wife) for a personal vendetta of his own, but in that sense, he's a pretty modern dude. there's still people around like this, you read about them in the news everyday. today they have different "crews" but still the same in alot of ways…….the story of "moby dick" is incredibly interesting, if you've never read it. and if you are looking for great literature, this is it.
some things are called "classics" for a reason.
Sam Ellison (verified owner) –
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Amazon Customer (verified owner) –
Exactly as described; no damage or defects, delivered quickly. One thing, though, the font’s a little small, so get out your reading glasses.
Amazon Customer (verified owner) –
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Travis Lee (verified owner) –
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Michael Williams (verified owner) –
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Amazon Customer (verified owner) –
These illustrated classic books are perfect for the reluctant reader. These were given to a 5th grader who can read fairly well but who does not enjoy reading. He liked these books because of the illustrations on almost every page. The storyline is very close to the original classic, even to the point of using the same language nuances. Not only did the 5th grader read them, but so did his brother who is 7 (and an advanced reader). Highly recommend!