Books with title Moby Dick: or The Whale

Moby-Dick: The classic novel Moby-Dick is an 1851 novel by Herman Melville. The story tells the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whaling ship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale, Moby-Dick, a white whale of tremendous size and ferocity. Comparatively few whaling ships know of Moby-Dick, and fewer yet have encountered him. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. Ahab intends to exact revenge.

"Call me Ishmael," Moby-Dick begins, in one of the most recognizable opening lines in Western literature. The narrator, an observant young man setting out from Manhattan, has experience in the merchant marine but has recently decided his next voyage will be on a whaling ship. On a cold, gloomy night in December, he arrives at the Spouter-Inn in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and agrees to share a bed with a then-absent stranger. When his bunk mate, a heavily tattooed Polynesian harpooner named Queequeg, returns very late and discovers Ishmael beneath his covers, both men are alarmed, but the two quickly become close friends and decide to sail together from Nantucket, Massachusetts on a whaling voyage.In Nantucket, the pair signs on with the Pequod, a whaling ship that is soon to leave port. The ship’s captain, Ahab, is nowhere to be seen; nevertheless, they are told of him — a "grand, ungodly, godlike man," who has "been in colleges as well as 'mong the cannibals," according to one of the owners. The two friends encounter a mysterious man named Elijah on the dock after they sign their papers and he hints at troubles to come with Ahab. The mystery grows on Christmas morning when Ishmael spots dark figures in the mist, apparently boarding the Pequod shortly before it sets sail that day.The ship’s officers direct the early voyage while Ahab stays in his cabin. The chief mate is Starbuck, a serious, sincere Quaker and fine leader; second mate is Stubb, happy-go-lucky and cheerful and always smoking his pipe; the third mate is Flask, short and stout but thoroughly reliable. Each mate is responsible for a whaling boat, and each whaling boat of the Pequod has its own pagan harpooneer assigned to it. Some time after sailing, Ahab finally appears on the quarter-deck one morning, an imposing, frightening figure whose haunted visage sends shivers over the narrator. One of his legs is missing from the knee down and has been replaced by a prosthesis fashioned from a sperm whale's jawbone.Includes a biography of the author

One of the most widely-read and respected books in all American literature, Moby Dick is the saga of Captain Ahab and his unrelenting pursuit of Moby Dick, the great white whale who maimed him during their last encounter. A novel blending high-seas romantic adventure, symbolic allegory, and the conflicting ideals of heroic determination and undying hatred, Moby Dick is also revered for its historical accounts of the whaling industry of the 1800s. @greatwhitetale Call me Ishmael. You could call me something else if you want, but since that’s my name, it would make sense to call me Ishmael. Captain obsessed with finding a whale called Moby Dick. Sounds like the meanest VD ever, if you ask me. Sorry. Old joke. Couldn’t resist. From Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less

Moby-Dick is considered the great American novel. It has withstood the test of time and has seen its reputation grow with each passing year. The story is narrated by Ishmael the only surviving sailor of a disastrous wailing expedition. Captain Ahab sets off to hunt down the great white whale, Moby-Dick. Ahab is looking for revenge! On his previous voyage Ahab lost his leg to Moby-Dick. One of the greatest adventure stories ever told! With twelve period interior illustrations you won’t find in other editions.one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world—D. H. Lawrence...fertile fancy, ingenious construction, playful learning, and an unusual power of enchaining the interest...—London Morning AdvertiserOf all the extraordinary books from the pen of Herman Melville this is out and out the most extraordinary. —London John Bullin point of richness and variety of incident, originality of conception, and splendor of description, surpasses any of the former productions of this highly successful author—Harper’s New Monthly Magazine

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (1851) is a novel by Herman Melville considered an outstanding work of Romanticism and the American Renaissance. A sailor called Ishmael narrates the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaler Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, a white whale which on a previous voyage destroyed Ahab's ship and severed his leg at the knee. Although the novel was a commercial failure and out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891, its reputation as a Great American Novel grew during the 20th century. William Faulkner confessed he wished he had written it himself, and D. H. Lawrence called it "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world", and "the greatest book of the sea ever written". "Call me Ishmael" is one of world literature's most famous opening sentences.

An exhilarating whaling yarn, an apocalyptic theodicy, a tragic confessional, and a profound allegory, Moby Dick encompasses all that it means to be human—from the physical and metaphysical to the spiritual and emotional. Full of strange wisdom and wild digressive energy, it’s a singular literary performance universally regarded as one of the great American novels.

"There is a whale in the sea, as white as a ghost, and it haunts me. Sometimes, when I'm afloat in sleep, like a drowned sailor, he swims towards me--a nightmare all in white, jaws gaping, and I wake up screaming and salt-water wet with sweat. Somewhere out there in the bottomless oceans lives Moby Dick, a great white winter of a whale, and I shiver still at the thought of him." In vivid and compelling language, the award-winning author Geraldine McCaughrean retells Herman Melville's classic story of the obsessed Captain Ahab and his relentless hunt for the great white whale, Moby Dick. Together with Starbuck, the mate; Queequeg, the harpoonist; the sinister crewman Fedallah; and the innocent narrator, Ishmael, Ahab travels the oceans of the world in pursuit of the elusive monster, braving waves like strips of volcanoes and lightning like the visitation of angels. McCaughrean's text is beautifully complemented by Victor Ambrus's evocative pictures of ships and the sea and of the white monster, Moby Dick, a creature as vast and dangerous as the sea itself. Children and young adults will be thrilled and captivated by this wonderful adventure tale.

Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title―offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords.This edition of Moby-Dick includes a Foreword, Biographical Note, and Afterword by R.L. Fisher.When a wandering sailor looking to be hired onto a whaling ship finds himself on the Pequod, little does he know the dire fate that awaits him and his crewmates. For the ship's captain, Ahab, is slowly going insane. Having lost a leg in an ill-fated harpoon attack against a fearsome white whale many years before, Ahab vows his revenge against Moby Dick--a vow that has become Ahab's deadly obsession.After many months at sea, Moby Dick is spotted, and Ahab engages the crew in relentless pursuit. Ahab will stop at nothing to kill the beast...even if it means his own death--and the death of all his crew.Can Ahab be stopped before it is too late? Or will the Pequod--and all its crew--perish in the silent depths of the sea...?