Why Read Moby-Dick?
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $10.80
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Nathaniel Philbrick
About this listen
The New York Times best-selling author of seagoing epics now celebrates an American classic. Moby-Dick is perhaps the greatest of the Great American Novels, yet its length and esoteric subject matter create an aura of difficulty that too often keeps readers at bay. Fortunately, one unabashed fan wants passionately to give Melville's masterpiece the broad contemporary audience it deserves.
In his National Book Award- winning best seller, In the Heart of the Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick captivatingly unpacked the story of the wreck of the whaleship Essex, the real-life incident that inspired Melville to write Moby- Dick. Now, he sets his sights on the fiction itself, offering a cabin master's tour of a spellbinding novel rich with adventure and history.
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 Your Life, this remarkable little book will start conversations, inspire arguments, and, best of all, bring a new wave of readers to a classic tale waiting to be discovered anew.
©2011 Nathaniel Philbrick (P)2011 PenguinListeners also enjoyed...
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
-
-
Audio must have been fixed
- By Amazon Customer on 02-11-18
-
Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: William Hootkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel. Melville said himself that he wanted to write "a mighty book about a mighty theme" and so he did. It is a story of one man's obsessive revenge-journey against the white whale, Moby-Dick, who injured him in an earlier meeting. Woven into the story of the last journey of The Pequod is a mesh of philosophy, rumination, religion, history, and a mass of information about whaling through the ages.
-
-
Excellent, EXCELLENT reading!
- By Jessica on 02-18-09
By: Herman Melville
-
Away Off Shore
- Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his first book of history, Away Off Shore, New York Times best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals the people and the stories behind what was once the whaling capital of the world. Beyond its charm, quaint local traditions, and whaling yarns, Philbrick explores the origins of Nantucket in this comprehensive history. From the English settlers who thought they were purchasing a "Native American ghost town" but actually found a fully realized society, the story of Nantucket is a truly unique chapter of American history.
-
-
There once were some (wo)men in Nantucket...
- By Darwin8u on 02-03-19
-
Second Wind
- A Sunfish Sailor, an Island, and the Voyage That Brought a Family Together
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 1992 (eight years before the publication of In the Heart of the Sea), Nat Philbrick was in his late 30s, living with his family on Nantucket, feeling stranded and longing for the thrill of victory of a national sailing championship he had won 15 years earlier. Was it a midlife crisis? It was certainly a watershed for the journalist turned stay-at-home dad, who impulsively decided to throw his hat into the ring, or water, again.
-
-
Great Book for Fellow Sailor
- By Nathan on 04-12-23
-
The Last Stand
- Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer's Last Stand, the June 1876 battle has been equated with other famous last stands, from the Spartans' defeat at Thermopylae to Davy Crockett at the Alamo.
-
-
A filtered rehash for these more enlightened times
- By Isaac Newtonium on 05-16-17
-
Mayflower
- A Story of Courage, Community, and War
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims is much more than the well-known tale of piety and sacrifice; it is a 55-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound.
-
-
Fascinating book about a little-understood time
- By John M on 02-04-07
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
-
-
Audio must have been fixed
- By Amazon Customer on 02-11-18
-
Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: William Hootkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel. Melville said himself that he wanted to write "a mighty book about a mighty theme" and so he did. It is a story of one man's obsessive revenge-journey against the white whale, Moby-Dick, who injured him in an earlier meeting. Woven into the story of the last journey of The Pequod is a mesh of philosophy, rumination, religion, history, and a mass of information about whaling through the ages.
-
-
Excellent, EXCELLENT reading!
- By Jessica on 02-18-09
By: Herman Melville
-
Away Off Shore
- Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his first book of history, Away Off Shore, New York Times best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals the people and the stories behind what was once the whaling capital of the world. Beyond its charm, quaint local traditions, and whaling yarns, Philbrick explores the origins of Nantucket in this comprehensive history. From the English settlers who thought they were purchasing a "Native American ghost town" but actually found a fully realized society, the story of Nantucket is a truly unique chapter of American history.
-
-
There once were some (wo)men in Nantucket...
- By Darwin8u on 02-03-19
-
Second Wind
- A Sunfish Sailor, an Island, and the Voyage That Brought a Family Together
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 1992 (eight years before the publication of In the Heart of the Sea), Nat Philbrick was in his late 30s, living with his family on Nantucket, feeling stranded and longing for the thrill of victory of a national sailing championship he had won 15 years earlier. Was it a midlife crisis? It was certainly a watershed for the journalist turned stay-at-home dad, who impulsively decided to throw his hat into the ring, or water, again.
-
-
Great Book for Fellow Sailor
- By Nathan on 04-12-23
-
The Last Stand
- Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer's Last Stand, the June 1876 battle has been equated with other famous last stands, from the Spartans' defeat at Thermopylae to Davy Crockett at the Alamo.
-
-
A filtered rehash for these more enlightened times
- By Isaac Newtonium on 05-16-17
-
Mayflower
- A Story of Courage, Community, and War
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims is much more than the well-known tale of piety and sacrifice; it is a 55-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound.
-
-
Fascinating book about a little-understood time
- By John M on 02-04-07
-
Moby-Dick as Philosophy
- Plato - Melville - Nietzsche
- By: Mark Anderson
- Narrated by: Randal Schaffer
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moby-Dick as Philosophy is at base a chapter-by-chapter commentary on Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. The commentary form of the audiobook subserves a higher end, the presentation of an ideal of the type "philosopher". Superimposing portraits of Plato, Melville, and Nietzsche - the thinkers themselves, their ideas, and their lives - it generates a composite image from the overlaying and interblending of figures. At a higher level still, the audiobook is a meditation on the nature of philosophy and its relation to wisdom and the relation of creative artistry to both.
-
-
Terrible Narration
- By Linda on 12-28-18
By: Mark Anderson
-
Travels with George
- In Search of Washington and His Legacy
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Does George Washington still matter? Best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick argues for Washington’s unique contribution to the forging of America by retracing his journey as a new president through all 13 former colonies, which were now an unsure nation. Travels with George marks a new first-person voice for Philbrick, weaving history and personal reflection into a single narrative.
-
-
Fun listen but too much about slavery
- By Paul W. Brazis on 09-19-21
-
Bunker Hill
- A City, a Siege, a Revolution
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the opening volume of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick turns his keen eye to pre-Revolutionary Boston and the spark that ignited the American Revolution. In the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party and the violence at Lexington and Concord, the conflict escalated and skirmishes gave way to outright war in the Battle of Bunker Hill. It was the bloodiest conflict of the revolutionary war, and the point of no return for the rebellious colonists.
-
-
Another Fantastic Story by Philbrick
- By Rick on 09-30-13
-
Sea of Glory
- America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea, and no one writes more eloquently about that watery wilderness than Nathaniel Philbrick. In his best-selling In the Heart of the Sea, Philbrick probed the nightmarish dangers of the vast Pacific. Now, in an epic sea adventure, he writes about one of the most ambitious voyages of discovery the Western world has ever seen - the US Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842.
-
-
A good solid voyage of discovery
- By Ken Sundermeyer on 06-18-05
-
King Philip's War
- The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict
- By: Eric B. Schultz, Michael J. Tougias, Nathaniel Philbrick - foreword
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At once an in-depth history of this pivotal war and a guide to the historical sites where the ambushes, raids, and battles took place, King Philip's War expands our understanding of American history and provides insight into the nature of colonial and ethnic wars in general. Through a careful reconstruction of events, including first-person accounts, and by providing information on the exact locations of more than 50 battles, King Philip's War is useful as well as informative.
-
-
Indian Good; White Man Bad
- By Gary M. Hale on 06-04-21
By: Eric B. Schultz, and others
-
The Iliad & The Odyssey
- By: Homer
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little is known about the Ancient Greek oral poet Homer, the supposed 8th century BC author of the world-read Iliad and his later masterpiece, The Odyssey. These classic epics provided the basis for Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and formed the backbone of humane education through the birth of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity.
-
-
Worth the price, worth the time
- By Sam on 12-31-04
By: Homer
-
Alison Larkin Presents: Moby Dick and Two Poems by Herman Melville
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Jonathan Epstein
- Length: 25 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Melville’s epic tale of one man versus a great white whale will delight Melville devotees as well as those who have yet to sail on this adventure in this mesmerizing new recording read by Jonathan Epstein. The mountain whose whale-like shape first gave Melville the idea of writing Moby Dick rests in the Berkshire Hills, Massachusetts, a short drive away from The Alison Larkin Presents recording studio. At the end of the recording, Larkin interviews Jonathan Epstein and recording engineer Galen Wade about the experience recording the great novel.
-
-
Absolutely outstanding
- By Mary Katherine Worth on 03-05-21
By: Herman Melville
-
Unruly
- The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Unruly, David Mitchell explores how early England’s monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects’ destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky bastards who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits.
-
-
Hugely Entertaining (If You Like English History)
- By Jean Ogg on 10-09-23
By: David Mitchell
-
The Lumumba Plot
- The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination
- By: Stuart A. Reid
- Narrated by: Michael Boatman
- Length: 18 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was supposed to be a moment of great optimism, a cause for jubilation. The Congo was at last being set free from Belgium—one of seventeen countries to gain independence in 1960 from ruling European powers. At the helm as prime minister was charismatic nationalist Patrice Lumumba. Just days after the handover, however, the Congo’s new army mutinied, Belgian forces intervened, and Lumumba turned to the United Nations for help in saving his newborn nation from what the press was already calling “the Congo crisis.”
-
-
Somewhere between a bio and a hatchet job
- By Buretto on 12-27-23
By: Stuart A. Reid
-
The Iliad of Homer
- By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
-
-
Vandiver never disappoints
- By Machteacher on 07-23-13
By: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
-
Melville in Love
- The Secret Life of Herman Melville and the Muse of Moby-Dick
- By: Michael Shelden
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Herman Melville's epic novel, Moby-Dick, was a spectacular failure when it was published in 1851, effectively ending its author's rise to literary fame. Because he was neglected by academics for so long, and because he made little effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about Melville, and even less about what he called his "wicked book". Scholars still puzzle over what drove Melville to invent Captain Ahab's mad pursuit of the great white whale.
-
-
intriguing
- By Jean on 06-18-16
By: Michael Shelden
-
North and South
- North and South Trilogy, Book 1
- By: John Jakes
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 30 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two strangers, young men from Pennsylvania and South Carolina, meet on the way to West Point.... Thus begins this brilliant novel of antebellum America, spanning three generations and chronicling the lives and loves of two great family dynasties. The Hazards and the Mains are brought together in bonds of friendship and affection that neither jealousy nor violence can shatter - until a storm of events sunders the nation and brings the cataclysm of war!
-
-
Captivating novel of the Civil War
- By 9S on 01-12-13
By: John Jakes
Critic reviews
"Gracefully written [with an] infectious enthusiasm…” (New York Times Book Review)
“In this cogent and passionate polemic for Melville’s masterpiece, Philbrick... combines a critical eye and a reader’s adoration to make a case for Moby-Dick... Less lit-crit and more readers’ guide, this tome will remind fans why they loved the book in the first place, and whet the appetites of trepid potential readers.” (Publishers Weekly)
"A slim celebration of the elements of a literary masterpiece…Philbrick is an enthusiastic salesman for a sometimes daunting novel.” (Kirkus)
Related to this topic
-
The Smoky God or A Voyage to the Inner World
- Esoteric Classics: Occult Fiction
- By: Willis George Emerson
- Narrated by: Shea Taylor
- Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Smoky God is a classic tale from the genre of hollow Earth or subterranean literature. A once-favorite tale of Amazing Stories publisher Ray Palmer, The Smoky God is the (purportedly true) tale of two Norwegian fishermen Jens and Olaf Jansen, who sailed their fishing vessel into the inner Earth in the year 1829. While in the center of the Earth, they find an entire society and meet a race and of advanced giants.
-
-
great story
- By Rodney C Kilgore on 07-25-21
-
Gould's Book of Fish
- By: Richard Flanagan
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once upon a time that was called 1828, before all the living things on the land and the fishes in the sea were destroyed, there was a man named William Buelow Gould, a convict in Van Dieman's Land who fell in love with a black woman and discovered too late that to love is not safe. Silly Billy Gould, invader of Australia, liar, murderer, forger, fantasist, was condemned to live in the most brutal penal colony in the British Empire, and there ordered to paint a book of fish. Once upon a time, miraculous things happened....
-
-
Wonderful, Funny & Oh So Well Written!
- By cowgirl877 on 06-23-17
By: Richard Flanagan
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
-
-
Audio must have been fixed
- By Amazon Customer on 02-11-18
-
Melville in Love
- The Secret Life of Herman Melville and the Muse of Moby-Dick
- By: Michael Shelden
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Herman Melville's epic novel, Moby-Dick, was a spectacular failure when it was published in 1851, effectively ending its author's rise to literary fame. Because he was neglected by academics for so long, and because he made little effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about Melville, and even less about what he called his "wicked book". Scholars still puzzle over what drove Melville to invent Captain Ahab's mad pursuit of the great white whale.
-
-
intriguing
- By Jean on 06-18-16
By: Michael Shelden
-
Why Homer Matters
- By: Adam Nicolson
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adam Nicolson sees the Iliad and the Odyssey as the foundation myths of Greek - and our - consciousness, collapsing the passage of 4,000 years and making the distant past of the Mediterranean world as immediate to us as the events of our own time.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Jean on 05-04-15
By: Adam Nicolson
-
Spring and All: Facsimile Edition
- New Directions Pearls
- By: William Carlos Williams
- Narrated by: Sean Slater
- Length: 1 hr and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A beautiful facsimile of the 1923 original edition which is considered "one of the greatest poems of the twentieth century" by The New York Times. Spring and All is a manifesto of the imagination - a hybrid of alternating sections of prose and free verse that coalesce in dramatic, energetic, and beautifully cryptic statements of how language re-creates the world. Spring and All contains some of Williams' best-known poetry.
-
-
Classic!
- By Amazon Customer on 01-25-18
-
The Smoky God or A Voyage to the Inner World
- Esoteric Classics: Occult Fiction
- By: Willis George Emerson
- Narrated by: Shea Taylor
- Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Smoky God is a classic tale from the genre of hollow Earth or subterranean literature. A once-favorite tale of Amazing Stories publisher Ray Palmer, The Smoky God is the (purportedly true) tale of two Norwegian fishermen Jens and Olaf Jansen, who sailed their fishing vessel into the inner Earth in the year 1829. While in the center of the Earth, they find an entire society and meet a race and of advanced giants.
-
-
great story
- By Rodney C Kilgore on 07-25-21
-
Gould's Book of Fish
- By: Richard Flanagan
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once upon a time that was called 1828, before all the living things on the land and the fishes in the sea were destroyed, there was a man named William Buelow Gould, a convict in Van Dieman's Land who fell in love with a black woman and discovered too late that to love is not safe. Silly Billy Gould, invader of Australia, liar, murderer, forger, fantasist, was condemned to live in the most brutal penal colony in the British Empire, and there ordered to paint a book of fish. Once upon a time, miraculous things happened....
-
-
Wonderful, Funny & Oh So Well Written!
- By cowgirl877 on 06-23-17
By: Richard Flanagan
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
-
-
Audio must have been fixed
- By Amazon Customer on 02-11-18
-
Melville in Love
- The Secret Life of Herman Melville and the Muse of Moby-Dick
- By: Michael Shelden
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Herman Melville's epic novel, Moby-Dick, was a spectacular failure when it was published in 1851, effectively ending its author's rise to literary fame. Because he was neglected by academics for so long, and because he made little effort to preserve his legacy, we know very little about Melville, and even less about what he called his "wicked book". Scholars still puzzle over what drove Melville to invent Captain Ahab's mad pursuit of the great white whale.
-
-
intriguing
- By Jean on 06-18-16
By: Michael Shelden
-
Why Homer Matters
- By: Adam Nicolson
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adam Nicolson sees the Iliad and the Odyssey as the foundation myths of Greek - and our - consciousness, collapsing the passage of 4,000 years and making the distant past of the Mediterranean world as immediate to us as the events of our own time.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Jean on 05-04-15
By: Adam Nicolson
-
Spring and All: Facsimile Edition
- New Directions Pearls
- By: William Carlos Williams
- Narrated by: Sean Slater
- Length: 1 hr and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A beautiful facsimile of the 1923 original edition which is considered "one of the greatest poems of the twentieth century" by The New York Times. Spring and All is a manifesto of the imagination - a hybrid of alternating sections of prose and free verse that coalesce in dramatic, energetic, and beautifully cryptic statements of how language re-creates the world. Spring and All contains some of Williams' best-known poetry.
-
-
Classic!
- By Amazon Customer on 01-25-18
-
The Iliad & The Odyssey
- By: Homer
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little is known about the Ancient Greek oral poet Homer, the supposed 8th century BC author of the world-read Iliad and his later masterpiece, The Odyssey. These classic epics provided the basis for Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and formed the backbone of humane education through the birth of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity.
-
-
Worth the price, worth the time
- By Sam on 12-31-04
By: Homer
-
Mark Twain
- A Life
- By: Ron Powers
- Narrated by: Ron Powers
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mark Twain founded the American voice. His works are a living national treasury: taught, quoted, and reprinted more than those of any writer except Shakespeare. His awestruck contemporaries saw him as the representative figure of his times, and his influence has deeply flavored the 20th and 21st centuries.
-
-
Buy the Book
- By W.Denis on 10-22-05
By: Ron Powers
-
He Held Radical Light
- The Art of Faith, the Faith of Art
- By: Christian Wiman
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Christian Wiman explores the relationships between art and faith, death and fame, heaven and oblivion. Above all, He Held Radical Light is a love letter to poetry, filled with moving, surprising, and sometimes funny encounters with the poets Wiman has known.
By: Christian Wiman
-
Nostromo
- By: Joseph Conrad
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 16 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the great adventure novels of our language creates a most engaging central character, Nostromo. A picturesque man of action and popular hero, Nostromo lives to be "well-spoken of" by the citizens of Costaguana, the mythical South American banana republic where the story takes place. Around this figure, Conrad spins a story of revolution, politics, and racial conflict as complex as Nostromo, the man whose greatest enemy is himself.
-
-
Wow!
- By Amazon Customer on 07-11-03
By: Joseph Conrad
-
Jack London
- An American Life
- By: Earle Labor
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jack London was born a working class, fatherless Californian in 1876. In his youth, he was a boundlessly energetic adventurer on the bustling West Coast - an oyster pirate, a hobo, a sailor, and a prospector by turns. He spent his brief life rapidly accumulating the experiences that would inform his acclaimed best-selling books The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea-Wolf.
-
-
Glad I chose this
- By SherryH on 04-14-19
By: Earle Labor
-
On Elizabeth Bishop
- By: Colm Tóibín
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this book novelist Colm Tóibín offers a deeply personal introduction to the work and life of one of his most important literary influences - the American poet Elizabeth Bishop. Ranging across her poetry, prose, letters, and biography, Tóibín creates a vivid picture of Bishop while also revealing how her work has helped shape his sensibility as a novelist and how her experiences of loss and exile resonate with his own.
-
-
ELIZABETH BISHOP
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 05-19-16
By: Colm Tóibín
-
Figuring
- By: Maria Popova
- Narrated by: Natascha McElhone
- Length: 21 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Figuring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries - beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, who catalyzed the environmental movement.
-
-
Stunning
- By Laura on 03-12-19
By: Maria Popova
-
Between Man and Beast
- An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure that Took the Victorian World By Storm
- By: Monte Reel
- Narrated by: Bob Walter
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1856 Paul Du Chaillu marched into the equatorial wilderness of West Africa determined to bag an animal that, according to legend, was nothing short of a monster. When he emerged three years later, the summation of his efforts only hinted at what he'd experienced in one of the most dangerous regions on earth. Armed with an astonishing collection of zoological specimens, Du Chaillu leapt from the physical challenges of the jungle straight into the center of the biggest issues of the time.
-
-
Extraordinary book! Masterpiece.
- By BVerité on 04-23-13
By: Monte Reel
-
How to Survive the Titanic
- The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay
- By: Frances Wilson
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the terrifying, chaotic night of April 14, 1912, while the Titanic was sinking, Bruce J. Ismay, the ship's owner, made a decision that would save his life - and end it. Ismay boarded a lifeboat meant for women and children, and within days became The Most Talked-of Man in the World. Branded a coward, he became a flesh-and-blood embodiment of Joseph Conrad's legendary eponymous character, Lord Jim.
-
-
Not especially uplifting, but quite good
- By Anonymous User on 04-18-12
By: Frances Wilson
-
In the Kingdom of Ice
- The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: The North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of "Arctic Fever." The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship.
-
-
Superb tale that unravels at an iceburg's pace
- By Mel on 03-19-15
By: Hampton Sides
-
The Sea Wolf
- By: Jack London
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jack London worshiped strong and virtuous heroes, and his stories give great weight to the inevitable triumph of good over evil. His telling of the adventures of Humphrey van Weydon in The Sea Wolf is in keeping with this theme of moral man. His powerful and gripping saga of van Weydon's capture by a seal-hunting ship and the ensuing tangles with its dreaded captain, Wolf Larsen, makes this a classic American tale of peril and victory.
-
-
I won the lottery!
- By Bill on 08-11-17
By: Jack London
-
I Am Dynamite!
- A Life of Nietzsche
- By: Sue Prideaux
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nietzsche wrote that all philosophy is autobiographical, and in this vividly compelling, myth-shattering biography, Sue Prideaux brings listeners into the world of this brilliant, eccentric, and deeply troubled man, illuminating the events and people that shaped his life and work. I Am Dynamite! is the essential biography for anyone seeking to understand history's most misunderstood philosopher.
-
-
Fascinating; tragic
- By Cineaste21 on 12-30-18
By: Sue Prideaux
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Germán Gijón
- Length: 21 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Narra la travesía del barco ballenero Pequod, comandado por el capitán Ahab, junto a Ismael y el arponero Queequeg en la obsesiva y autodestructiva persecución de un gran cachalote blanco. Demonio del mar o símbolo de la belleza, Moby Dick es el personaje principal de una historia fascinante de aventuras, en las que se mezclan el bien y el mal.
By: Herman Melville
-
Moby Dick: or the Whale
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Mark Nelson
- Length: 23 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moby-Dick is widely considered to be the Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story details the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whale ship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale: Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. And Ahab intends to take revenge.
-
-
Solid narration of a timeless classic
- By G.T. on 05-20-12
By: Herman Melville
-
Moby-Dick as Philosophy
- Plato - Melville - Nietzsche
- By: Mark Anderson
- Narrated by: Randal Schaffer
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moby-Dick as Philosophy is at base a chapter-by-chapter commentary on Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. The commentary form of the audiobook subserves a higher end, the presentation of an ideal of the type "philosopher". Superimposing portraits of Plato, Melville, and Nietzsche - the thinkers themselves, their ideas, and their lives - it generates a composite image from the overlaying and interblending of figures. At a higher level still, the audiobook is a meditation on the nature of philosophy and its relation to wisdom and the relation of creative artistry to both.
-
-
Terrible Narration
- By Linda on 12-28-18
By: Mark Anderson
-
Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: William Hootkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel. Melville said himself that he wanted to write "a mighty book about a mighty theme" and so he did. It is a story of one man's obsessive revenge-journey against the white whale, Moby-Dick, who injured him in an earlier meeting. Woven into the story of the last journey of The Pequod is a mesh of philosophy, rumination, religion, history, and a mass of information about whaling through the ages.
-
-
Excellent, EXCELLENT reading!
- By Jessica on 02-18-09
By: Herman Melville
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
-
-
Audio must have been fixed
- By Amazon Customer on 02-11-18
-
Away Off Shore
- Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his first book of history, Away Off Shore, New York Times best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals the people and the stories behind what was once the whaling capital of the world. Beyond its charm, quaint local traditions, and whaling yarns, Philbrick explores the origins of Nantucket in this comprehensive history. From the English settlers who thought they were purchasing a "Native American ghost town" but actually found a fully realized society, the story of Nantucket is a truly unique chapter of American history.
-
-
There once were some (wo)men in Nantucket...
- By Darwin8u on 02-03-19
-
Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Germán Gijón
- Length: 21 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Narra la travesía del barco ballenero Pequod, comandado por el capitán Ahab, junto a Ismael y el arponero Queequeg en la obsesiva y autodestructiva persecución de un gran cachalote blanco. Demonio del mar o símbolo de la belleza, Moby Dick es el personaje principal de una historia fascinante de aventuras, en las que se mezclan el bien y el mal.
By: Herman Melville
-
Moby Dick: or the Whale
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Mark Nelson
- Length: 23 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moby-Dick is widely considered to be the Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story details the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whale ship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale: Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. And Ahab intends to take revenge.
-
-
Solid narration of a timeless classic
- By G.T. on 05-20-12
By: Herman Melville
-
Moby-Dick as Philosophy
- Plato - Melville - Nietzsche
- By: Mark Anderson
- Narrated by: Randal Schaffer
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moby-Dick as Philosophy is at base a chapter-by-chapter commentary on Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. The commentary form of the audiobook subserves a higher end, the presentation of an ideal of the type "philosopher". Superimposing portraits of Plato, Melville, and Nietzsche - the thinkers themselves, their ideas, and their lives - it generates a composite image from the overlaying and interblending of figures. At a higher level still, the audiobook is a meditation on the nature of philosophy and its relation to wisdom and the relation of creative artistry to both.
-
-
Terrible Narration
- By Linda on 12-28-18
By: Mark Anderson
-
Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: William Hootkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel. Melville said himself that he wanted to write "a mighty book about a mighty theme" and so he did. It is a story of one man's obsessive revenge-journey against the white whale, Moby-Dick, who injured him in an earlier meeting. Woven into the story of the last journey of The Pequod is a mesh of philosophy, rumination, religion, history, and a mass of information about whaling through the ages.
-
-
Excellent, EXCELLENT reading!
- By Jessica on 02-18-09
By: Herman Melville
-
In the Heart of the Sea
- The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819 the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with 20 crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than 90 days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, and disease and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival.
-
-
Audio must have been fixed
- By Amazon Customer on 02-11-18
-
Away Off Shore
- Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his first book of history, Away Off Shore, New York Times best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals the people and the stories behind what was once the whaling capital of the world. Beyond its charm, quaint local traditions, and whaling yarns, Philbrick explores the origins of Nantucket in this comprehensive history. From the English settlers who thought they were purchasing a "Native American ghost town" but actually found a fully realized society, the story of Nantucket is a truly unique chapter of American history.
-
-
There once were some (wo)men in Nantucket...
- By Darwin8u on 02-03-19
-
Moby-Dick Or, the Whale
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stewart Wills
- Length: 24 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"It is the horrible texture of a fabric that should be woven of ships' cables and hawsers. A Polar wind blows through it, and birds of prey hover over it." So Melville wrote of his masterpiece, one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history. In part, Moby-Dick 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 encyclopaedia of whaling lore and legend, the book can be seen as part of its author's lifelong meditation on America.
By: Herman Melville
-
Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: William Hootkins
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Not bad at all!
- By S. Barrett on 07-20-06
By: Herman Melville
-
Moby Dick
- (Classic Drama)
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: F. Murray Abraham
- Length: 2 hrs and 46 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ishmael, the narrator, tells of the adventures of Captain Ahab in his relentless quest to seek revenge on the white whale that bit off his leg. Full of allegory and symbolism, Moby Dick is an epic tragedy of tremendous dramatic power and narrative drive. This large-scale adaptation, recorded in America, skilfully reproduces the unique mixture of adventure, myth, history, and philosophy in Melville's epic tale.
-
-
excellent radio drama!
- By Jack Frasier on 05-22-18
By: Herman Melville
-
Moby-Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 21 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Labeled variously a realistic story of whaling, a romance of unusual adventure and eccentric characters, a symbolic allegory, and a drama of heroic conflict, Moby Dick is first and foremost a great story. It has both the humor and poignancy of a simple sea ballad, as well as the depth and universality of a grand odyssey.
-
-
I Had No Idea Melville Was So Funny
- By Dave on 05-09-12
By: Herman Melville
-
Alison Larkin Presents: Moby Dick and Two Poems by Herman Melville
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Jonathan Epstein
- Length: 25 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Melville’s epic tale of one man versus a great white whale will delight Melville devotees as well as those who have yet to sail on this adventure in this mesmerizing new recording read by Jonathan Epstein. The mountain whose whale-like shape first gave Melville the idea of writing Moby Dick rests in the Berkshire Hills, Massachusetts, a short drive away from The Alison Larkin Presents recording studio. At the end of the recording, Larkin interviews Jonathan Epstein and recording engineer Galen Wade about the experience recording the great novel.
-
-
Absolutely outstanding
- By Mary Katherine Worth on 03-05-21
By: Herman Melville
-
Bunker Hill
- A City, a Siege, a Revolution
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the opening volume of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick turns his keen eye to pre-Revolutionary Boston and the spark that ignited the American Revolution. In the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party and the violence at Lexington and Concord, the conflict escalated and skirmishes gave way to outright war in the Battle of Bunker Hill. It was the bloodiest conflict of the revolutionary war, and the point of no return for the rebellious colonists.
-
-
Another Fantastic Story by Philbrick
- By Rick on 09-30-13
What listeners say about Why Read Moby-Dick?
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Albert
- 12-26-11
Excellent background info
What did you love best about Why Read Moby-Dick??
In writing Moby Dick, Melville reflected his times, the 1950's, as tensions were growing in the country that soon lead to the Civil War. The story, and his characters, embody basic truths about the human condition, and about society, that have meaning for us today, over 150 years later.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
The author gives us a lot of information about Melville's personal life, and about the sacrifices he (and his family) made to complete the book. Of course, he discuses the book, too, but I would have liked additional commentary about the story, itself, the symbolism and the characters.
Any additional comments?
I was fascinated to learn about Melville's close friendship with Nathaniel Hawthorne and how Hawthorne's gentle influence caused Melville to completely rewrite (and improve) Moby Dick. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to deepen their understanding of this great novel.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jeffrey Ard
- 06-25-21
Excellent Book!
Very well written and fills you with excitement to read Moby-Dick. Loved Into the Heart of the Sea and reading Mayflower by him now. Phenomenal author and love his works and love the flow of this book as he gives history as well as understanding of the characters in the story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kathleen Valentine
- 11-02-11
A wonderful book about a wonderful book
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 wide variety of information it contain. I especially loved the authors background material on the relationship between Melville and his hero, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Like the author I am a former Pennsylvanian, now a New Englander and I was struck, also, by his discussion of the steel mills in his native Pittsburgh (I remember them well) and the way in which Melville foreshadowed the changing face of American industry. Just a wonderful work!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- EV
- 05-21-15
Short book about a long one
I'm usually clamoring for brevity, and Philbrick delivers in spades. I'm still wondering what's missing. It's a brilliant book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Pradheepa
- 12-02-11
Sincere and persuasive
Nathaniel Philbrick admits that Moby Dick is not an easy read and his sincerity is one reason why his passion and enthusiasm for Moby Dick could be contagious. He provides a solid argument for why one should still attempt to read / listen to Moby Dick, a little at a time. I was thinking of buying a book titled 'Moby Duck' about little yellow plastic ducks, ocean pollution and the environment. It is on my wish list. I wondered whether reading Moby Dick was a prerequisite for enjoying 'Moby Duck' and why I would be interested in reading about a man obsessed with killing a whale. So, I listened to Nathaniel Philbrick's 'Why read Moby Dick?'. It was quite persuasive. I think I will dip into Moby Dick sometime. It certainly made me want to listen to Nathaniel Philbrick's books about seafarers and storms.
A good listen overall.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tad Davis
- 11-09-11
Good introduction to the book
If you're planning to read (or listen to) "Moby Dick," you might want to give this short audiobook a try first. It's a useful audio introduction; it will clue you in to at least some of what Melville was trying to do and what his life circumstances were when he undertook to write the book. (I never knew, for example, that his first draft was a more conventional whaling yarn, and that it was only after meeting Nathaniel Hawthorne that he began to re-envision the story as a much darker, more cosmic tale.)
Philbrick does a good job describing his own thoughts and the basic facts of the case. He's much less effective as a narrator when he's reading passages from the novel, which happens quite a bit: if you've experienced Anthony Heald, Frank Muller, or one of the other outstanding narrators of the book on Audible, it will be hard at times to hear Philbrick going through the same material. It's not that he's really BAD, it's just that his straight-ahead delivery is very much at odds with the flights of language so common in Melville.
Still, as I said, it's a useful introduction; it has a lot to say about Melville, whaling, mid-nineteenth-century America, the Bible, Shakespeare, and literature in general. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in "Moby Dick."
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Brian
- 01-11-17
In a word: FABULOUS
Though not nearly as articulate as the author. So far have "Audibilized" 3 Philbricks and plan on them all.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ryan
- 08-30-16
This should be placed in every copy of Moby-Dick, or the Whale as a preface to inspire readers to read on!
Nathaniel Philbrick's masterpiece "Heart of the Sea" was filled with Melville's quotes and through that book the reader understood the author's love of Moby-Dick. This book brings it all home and more. Philbrick is the perfect person to help current & future readers better understand this "American Bible" of literature and inspire (yea, give permission) to read on!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Texas Mama
- 02-06-23
A good appetizer or dessert for the novel
No stunning revelations, here or wildly original scholarship. However, Philbrick’s gloss is solid, and his writing is exquisite. I read this after finishing the novel and enjoyed the opportunity to see a highlight reel and get a taste of another’s interpretations and insights. He also applies biographical details and texts from Melville’s life to deepen your reading.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Darwin8u
- 10-20-12
A beautiful love letter to an amazing novel
A nice series of loose essays exploring Moby-Dick (don't forget the fierce harpooned-like hyphen), Melville's life and Melville's relationship with the shy Hawthorne. It is a good but way-too-way short look at the annihilation of writing perhaps the greatest of American novels. WRM-D? is a beautiful love letter to an amazing novel and one of America greatest wandering, stoic poets; born 50 years too soon to recognize the joy or satisfaction of seeing his own pages being cut in 20th Century and the Modern world.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
18 people found this helpful