“Whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off — then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.”
Mostly an account of the maniacal captain Ahab’s quest for vengeance on a giant white sperm whale, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale also presents itself as a vast almanac of sea faring, fishing and general whale knowledge. A momentous text that could only be achieved by a writer who had spent numerous years at sea themselves, giving the work a remarkably personal quality and depth.
Written in 1851, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is one of the most unique books of all time and has solidified itself as one of America’s quintessential epic novels.
