Moby-Dick

Worth the effort. Nothing like it. You cannot match the language or the vision in any other story. Do not quit.

Purchase this for my grandson. He said he likes this book. Fast delivery.

Most people know that Moby Dick is about Captain Ahab’s obsession concerning the white whale that took his leg on an earlier voyage. That said, the voyage of the Pequod is the subject of less than half this book. The whale, himself, refrains from swimming onstage until the final three chapters.Much of the rest is Ishmael (the narrator) philosophizing about Melville’s interests: the classics, zoology, scripture, the seafaring life, and how a ship on a worldwide voyage becomes, to those who crew it, a world unto itself. Be aware that Melville delighted in sending his readers reaching for their dictionaries and, occasionally, inventing words out of thin air.There are several Kindle editions of this public-domain work. Be sure to sample before you buy, and make certain the formatting agrees with you. I docked a star on this one because the illustrations and Melville’s footnotes could have been rendered better.

The story seemed fine, it is a very long-winded tale about whaling, and whaling byproducts.

I enjoyed this book. It is great depiction of whaling in the 1850's. Melville is writing from experience. I feel this is tow books in one. The first is documentation and the second is an emotional rollercoaster. The finale is just epic. I did loose track of the hunt for Moby Dick during Melville's talking about the features of whales, the process of getting oil, running the ship, and figuring out where you are out in the sea.