The New York Times bestselling author of seagoing epics now celebrates an American classic.
Moby-Dick is perhaps th... read full description
reviews
Feb 20, 2012
"To write timelessly about the here and now, a writer must approach the present indirectly. The story has to be about more than it at first seems.... So it is with MOBY-DICK, a novel about a whaling voyage to the Pacific that is also about America racing hell-bent toward the Civil War and so much more. Contained in the pages of MOBY-DICK is nothing less than the genetic code of America: all the promises, problems, conflicts, and ideals that contributed to the outbreak of a revolution in 177
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Dec 18, 2011
Renae
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As an English major in college, I was twice asked to read Moby Dick for classes and never could manage it. It's the only classic I could never finish.
Several years removed from those experiences, I hoped I could find a new reason to perhaps pick up Melville's novel and finally succeed where I hadn't in the past. Sadly, this was not the case.
Don't mistake me: Philbrick's book is well-written, thoroughly researched, and offers unique insights into Melville's life and the forc More...
Several years removed from those experiences, I hoped I could find a new reason to perhaps pick up Melville's novel and finally succeed where I hadn't in the past. Sadly, this was not the case.
Don't mistake me: Philbrick's book is well-written, thoroughly researched, and offers unique insights into Melville's life and the forc More...
Dec 17, 2011
Daryl
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For the first third of this short book, I was disappointed, as it didn't seem to add any great insights to my understanding of Moby-Dick or even, as the title and first chapter suggest it will do, to entice people to read Melville's novel (and the whole premise underlying the book, by the way, seems flawed, for if you're not inclined to read Moby-Dick, surely you'll not be inclined to read a book explaining why you should read it).
Philbrick really gets rolling with the chapter on Hawt More...
Philbrick really gets rolling with the chapter on Hawt More...
Nov 10, 2011
Tyler
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I am conflicted. I think Why Read Moby Dick? By Nathaniel Philbrick is an important book that everyone over the age of eighteen should read, but it is also a book that I wish was better than it is.
In my opinion Moby Dick is the most important novel ever written, but I have always had difficulty explaining why I feel this way. I am grateful to Philbrick for elegantly arguing that the novel transcends the time it was written in and has relevancy, even urgency, to those us living one hu More...
In my opinion Moby Dick is the most important novel ever written, but I have always had difficulty explaining why I feel this way. I am grateful to Philbrick for elegantly arguing that the novel transcends the time it was written in and has relevancy, even urgency, to those us living one hu More...
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Oct 12, 2011
Gabe
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Here is that rare piece of criticism that not only gives you a deeper appreciation for its subject, but also compels you to revisit it. In 127 pages, Philbrick makes his points succinctly, supporting them with some of the "Moby-Dick"'s best passages. Among them: Ishmael's emotional and philosophical center, the irreconcilability of heartless business and religion's idealized benevolence and the difference between Ahab's "urgent, soul-singed probing into the meaning of life" a
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Jun 05, 2011
Julie at All Ears
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This review is based on an Advanced Reader's Copy - thank you Penguin Books!
I recently finished reading Moby Dick which I enjoyed, but found occasionally off topic and meandering. So many people have described MB as the ultimate American novel. Although it was good, I wasn't positive that it deserved that accolade. Unlike Moby Dick, Nathaniel Philbrick's book Why Read Moby-Dick? is short - it's really a set of essays about various characters and features of the book. But in spite More...
I recently finished reading Moby Dick which I enjoyed, but found occasionally off topic and meandering. So many people have described MB as the ultimate American novel. Although it was good, I wasn't positive that it deserved that accolade. Unlike Moby Dick, Nathaniel Philbrick's book Why Read Moby-Dick? is short - it's really a set of essays about various characters and features of the book. But in spite More...
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Jan 12, 2012
Meghan
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This is a phenomenal reading of Moby Dick that unwinds important themes that my too-long-out-of-college brain missed. I worry, though, that people will read it and feel they have read the real thing. Yes, everybody should read Moby Dick. But for the love of god, save Philbrick's extended essay for afterward.
Some favorite sections:
"In our age, we all love whales and wish them nothing but the best, but you’ve got to hand it to this castrated, one-legged, fifty-eight-y More...
Some favorite sections:
"In our age, we all love whales and wish them nothing but the best, but you’ve got to hand it to this castrated, one-legged, fifty-eight-y More...
Feb 20, 2012
Clara
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Philbrick fulfilled his purpose with this nifty book, at least with me: he made me want to read Moby Dick. I've tried to do so in the past and lost interest. I admit this, even though I'm an English major who was told all through college that this was one of the masterpieces of American literature (and American literature was my area of concentration). So Philbrick's feat is not an insignificant one.
He achieves this by providing context: 1) context to the America of the time during w More...
He achieves this by providing context: 1) context to the America of the time during w More...
Nov 01, 2011
Kathleen
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Whether or not you have read Moby Dick, this brief but thorough examination is filled with facts, opinions, and background material that can provide a compelling introduction to those who have not read it or a satisfying supplement to those who have. I've read Moby Dick, I've listened to the audio book, I've seen the movies, and I've argued with people who find it tedious and over-wrought. I, personally, love Moby Dick. This book, like its inspiration, is one I'll read again just to absorb the w
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Dec 29, 2011
Becky
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Page 61: "Melville's example demonstrates the wisdom of waiting to read the classics. Coming to a great book on your own after having accumulated essential life experience can make all the difference." I found this to be the case when I read Les Miserables for the first time after I was grown, had finished college, and was married. I truly treasured the insights I was able to gain through the reading which touched many of the things I had thought deeply about in the years since lea
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Feb 05, 2012
Becky
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Fabulous!
I finally read Moby-Dick less than three months ago, and was taken by the book's beautiful language as Ishmael tells the tale the Pequod and mad Ahab's pursuit of the whale, with the odd juxtaposition of the detailed information about whaling. So, I was curious what Nathaniel Philbrick would bring to the table.
This short book was enlightening. Philbrick succinctly discusses why Melville's masterpiece is a combination allegory for then and now and a history lesso More...
I finally read Moby-Dick less than three months ago, and was taken by the book's beautiful language as Ishmael tells the tale the Pequod and mad Ahab's pursuit of the whale, with the odd juxtaposition of the detailed information about whaling. So, I was curious what Nathaniel Philbrick would bring to the table.
This short book was enlightening. Philbrick succinctly discusses why Melville's masterpiece is a combination allegory for then and now and a history lesso More...
Nov 12, 2011
Gloriavirtutisumbra
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Wow. Spot on, kerpow! I personally have an odd relationship with Melville's Moby Dick, after spending at least 5 years on every new years eve resolving to resolve to read it... i always kept that resolution until the year i finally broke down and read it... and then read it again... and again. I knew i loved the narrator's voice, that i adored Queequeg, and that i could tell there was more to it than i was seeing on the surface. Philbrick nails all the little things i thought about but didn
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Nov 10, 2011
Rooney
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I had rather high expectations for this book, because, well, it's about my Desert Island Book**. Naturally, it was a let down, but not because of Philbrick's writing by any stretch because it was pretty awesome and passionate. The trouble is, I think, the book is largely intended for the plankton who haven't read Moby Dick (I kid! You're not plankton if you can read this!), and so for those who have read it, the aspects of the novel that Philbrick discusses-- Pequod as a sailing microcosm of Ame
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Feb 01, 2012
Mike
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Read this book! It is amazing. And to anyone who may be put off by the subject matter: It's only 100 pages. If you have read "Moby Dick" this book will make you want to read it again. If you have never read "Moby Dick," whether it's because it seemed too dense or too symbolist or too boring, this book may change your mind.
I've always loved "Moby Dick." But I've historically had a hard time convincing other people why they would too. Thankfully, a much s More...
I've always loved "Moby Dick." But I've historically had a hard time convincing other people why they would too. Thankfully, a much s More...
Jan 02, 2012
Bill
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What a brilliant thrill to read this loving companion to Melville's masterpiece! I received it as a Christmas present along with a nice edition of Moby Dick itself.
Philbrick is a masterful writer himself and helps us connect the fiction of Moby Dick with the real life people in and around Melville's life who helped create the skeleton of the novel. Historical events, settings from the day, stories from real whalers, and Melville's own monomaniacal focus on The Whale, all combining More...
Philbrick is a masterful writer himself and helps us connect the fiction of Moby Dick with the real life people in and around Melville's life who helped create the skeleton of the novel. Historical events, settings from the day, stories from real whalers, and Melville's own monomaniacal focus on The Whale, all combining More...
Dec 04, 2011
Jodi
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I hated the book Moby-Dick. But if I had listened to this first, I might have felt very differently. In fact, this book should be required listening before Moby-Dick is undertaken. I think it puts many things in perspective. It answers a lot of questions about why we read the book still. About what we should be thinking about. About what we should be talking about. It almost, not quite, makes me want to pick up the book and read it again. Philbrick is so enthused by the book that he reads his ow
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Nov 17, 2011
I don't get this, what is this lightweight stuff about the greatest tome in American Literature. This book kind of makes Moby Dick sound like reading Jane Austen, which is fun and enlightening, but it is not deeply and soul wrenchingly disturbing.
Two good essays on Moby Dick:
1. Roberto Bolano's short piece from Between Parenthesis
2. William Vollaman's essay "Melville's Magic Mountain" from Expelled from Eden
so eh,
Should peo More...
Two good essays on Moby Dick:
1. Roberto Bolano's short piece from Between Parenthesis
2. William Vollaman's essay "Melville's Magic Mountain" from Expelled from Eden
so eh,
Should peo More...
Dec 03, 2011
James
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I came to Why Read Moby-Dick excitedly because I have the yen to reread Melville's novel and hope to next year. I thought Philbrick might provide me with new interpretive keys to inform my reread. I don't think he did. He downplays interpretation, in fact, encouraging the reader to consider it in naturalistic terms. He plainly states that the white whale isn't a symbol. It's what it seems to be: an aggressive sperm whale who happens to be an albino. Any meaning assigned to him beyond that
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Oct 20, 2011
Description from publisher: http://bit.ly/p7tfUa
"Philbrick skillfully navigates Melville's world and illuminates the book's humor and unforgettable characters-finding the thread that binds Ishmael and Ahab to our own time and, indeed, to all times. A perfect match between author and subject, Why Read Moby-Dick? gives us a renewed appreciation of both Melville and the proud seaman's town of Nantucket that Philbrick himself calls home. Like Alain de Botton's How Proust Can Change More...
"Philbrick skillfully navigates Melville's world and illuminates the book's humor and unforgettable characters-finding the thread that binds Ishmael and Ahab to our own time and, indeed, to all times. A perfect match between author and subject, Why Read Moby-Dick? gives us a renewed appreciation of both Melville and the proud seaman's town of Nantucket that Philbrick himself calls home. Like Alain de Botton's How Proust Can Change More...
Jan 07, 2012
Phil
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I can understand why anyone would be daunted by the thought of reading Moby Dick. Students in high school and college, who are compelled to read it, can sneak a peak at Cliff Notes (or something similar) and find out what every chapter is about. But who other than the most committed want to pick it up again?
Philbrick's small book is not exactly a "vademecum;" each chapter addresses and clarifies a number of difficult and interesting issue. Consequent, someone even vaguely cur More...
Philbrick's small book is not exactly a "vademecum;" each chapter addresses and clarifies a number of difficult and interesting issue. Consequent, someone even vaguely cur More...
Nov 29, 2011
Larry
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Nathanial Philbrick writes about the sea. In In the Heart of the Sea he wrote about the tragedy of the whale ship Essex, which was sunk by an angry sperm whale. Only 5 of its crew survived the aftermath, and resorted to eating their comrades to do so. If this sounds familiar, Herman Melville knew about the Essex tragedy, met the captain of the Essex, and incorporated parts of the story into Moby-Dick. Philbrick has crafted a highly readable, short analysis of Moby-Dick, what makes it great, what
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Jan 17, 2012
Igolder
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Pros: many lovely passages from "Moby-Dick", biographical info, excerpts from Hawthorne correspondence
Cons: the rest
Is this book going to convince anyone to read Moby-Dick for the first time? I doubt it. Moby-Dick deserves a better booster than this book. Moby-Dick is my favorite book and I think about it all the time but if I had to make a list of the top 50 things it was "about," the Civil War would not be on there. The Civil War? Really? In the sources secti More...
Cons: the rest
Is this book going to convince anyone to read Moby-Dick for the first time? I doubt it. Moby-Dick deserves a better booster than this book. Moby-Dick is my favorite book and I think about it all the time but if I had to make a list of the top 50 things it was "about," the Civil War would not be on there. The Civil War? Really? In the sources secti More...
Jan 29, 2012
Tucker
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Shockingly, this short and sweet book made me want to read an intimidating 135 chapter tome written 160 years ago. Nathan Philbrick skillfully ties the plot and themes of Moby Dick to its author, to American history, and to the darkness of the human condition we all experience. I was especially impressed by the quality of the deluge of florid quotations from 'Moby Dick.' I still anticipate a harrowing adventure when I finally and eventually read MD, but from Nathaniel Philbrick I feel secure in
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Dec 14, 2011
Amanda
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A great little book (only 133 pages, and quite small in size!) that does an admirable job in explaining why one should tackle the great white whale. I had to read Moby Dick for a 400-level American Lit class in undergrad, and Mr. Philbrick touches on a lot of the things I learned over the course of the class.
Moby Dick is a great book, full of killer storytelling, and one of literature's most magnetic characters, in the obsessive Ahab. But it is also an exceptional snapshot of life, e More...
Moby Dick is a great book, full of killer storytelling, and one of literature's most magnetic characters, in the obsessive Ahab. But it is also an exceptional snapshot of life, e More...
Oct 26, 2011
Steven
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I have read Moby Dick 2 times and can't seem to let go of it. I actually can't think of any other books that keep calling me back like this. Philbrick's book is a quick read and sort of a teaser to return to the book with some fresh ideas to ponder during the read.
Philbrick calls Moby Dick America's bible and I think he is on to something. Reading it reminds me a bit of studying Torah. The story is there, but the real meat of the book is in the reader's development of the underlyi More...
Philbrick calls Moby Dick America's bible and I think he is on to something. Reading it reminds me a bit of studying Torah. The story is there, but the real meat of the book is in the reader's development of the underlyi More...
Jan 27, 2012
Ingrid Lola
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I liked this. Because it was written in a conversational tone and written for a wide audience, it was much easier to read than most literary criticism. It does give away the end of Moby Dick, though, so if you don't want to know the end maybe skip this one or wait to read it until after you've actually read Moby Dick.
Despite the title, I don't think this is the kind of book to read if you actually want to be convinced to read Moby Dick. It's better as a companion read to the book to c More...
Despite the title, I don't think this is the kind of book to read if you actually want to be convinced to read Moby Dick. It's better as a companion read to the book to c More...
Feb 10, 2012
Rick
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I enjoyed reading Philbrick's book which is an appreciation and also an analysis of Moby Dick. I read Moby Dickin high school -it was required. I am glad that I read it but I doubt that I would have the strength to reread it. Still Philbrick's enthusiasm made me want to take another run at the Great white whale. Given all that goes on I find it very difficult to plow through the long and frequently long winded masterpieces of the 19th century. Wish I could get into them I feel less a reader beca
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Feb 16, 2012
Nicole
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From the moment I started reading Nathaniel Philbrick’s latest book, Why Read Moby-Dick?, I felt as if I had met Herman Melville’s biggest fan and he proceeded to whisper in my ear for one hundred-twenty-seven exciting and thought-provoking pages. There were fights with whales, comparisons to current and present political situations, analysis of Melvilles’s letters and contemplations of his relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne – who served as reluctant friend to Melville and unwitting mentor fo
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Dec 26, 2011
Jennifer
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Having only just nerved myself this year to finally face Melville's white whale - and having come out of the experience enlightened as to the phenomenon but not terribly moved - I was curious to hear Philbrick's arguments for the classic people (including this author) are most likely to advise you to skip half of when reading. Unfortunately, Philbrick offers not a single reason for me to read Moby Dick - he's too busy natting on about why he reads it, and summarizing the plot so that the next pe
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Nov 17, 2011
Kelly
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This was fine---as someone who teaches the novel every year and loves it more than any other text, I wasn't impressed with most of Philbrick's book. Perhaps it is better suited for those contemplating whether to read the novel or for those who have only read it once. I also thought Philbrick overused the word 'eerie' to describe Melville's seeming prescience. Twice in two pages means he's not that great of a writer and/or he had a bad editor. in short, fine for a layperson with general interest
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