Why Read Moby-dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick

Why Read Moby-dick?

Nathaniel Philbrick

Penguin Publishing Group · Print & ebook · September 24, 2013

A Nonfiction pick for readers exploring Why Read Moby-dick?.

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Who it’s for
A serious, readable way into Melville’s orbit, with enough context to keep the conversation lively.
Genres
Books & Reading, American Lit Crit, 19th-Century Literary Criticism
Published
Penguin Publishing Group, September 24, 2013

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For younger readers: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, The Highest Tide, Mawson in Antarctica

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About this book

A “brilliant and provocative” (The New Yorker) celebration of Melville’s masterpiece—from the bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea, Valiant Ambition, and In the Hurricane's Eye One of the greatest American novels finds its perfect contemporary champion in Why Read Moby-Dick?, Nathaniel Philbrick’s enlightening and entertaining tour through Melville’s classic.

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As he did in his National Book Award–winning bestseller In the Heart of the Sea, Philbrick brings a sailor’s eye and an adventurer’s passion to unfolding the story behind an epic American journey. He 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. An ideal match between author and subject, Why Read Moby-Dick? will start conversations, inspire arguments, and make a powerful case that this classic tale waits to be discovered anew. “Gracefully written [with an] infectious enthusiasm…”—New York Times Book Review

Why It Works

A serious, readable way into Melville’s orbit, with enough context to keep the conversation lively.

Come here for

  • Moby-Dick lens, not homework
  • New England literary footing

Expect

  • layered literary framing
  • reference-friendly, not fussy

Where it sits

American Lit Crit71%
19th-Century Literary Criticism59%
Books & Reading48%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • American Lit Crit
  • Books & Reading
  • 19th-Century Literary Criticism
Authors
Nathaniel Philbrick
Publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
Published
September 24, 2013
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
American Lit Crit