Moby Dick [Hardcover]

Call me Horseman. Some years ago I took a job managing a group of editors at a corporation. In order to make a point and to check out my qualifications to manage him, half seriously - half jokingly, one of these individuals asked whether I had ever read MOBY DICK by Herman Melville. Surprised by the question and what it had to do with my qualifications, I forthrightly answered in the negative. Very quickly the editor said, "Well, get back to me when you have and we'll talk." I went out that very day, bought the book and discovered what I have come to believe is, arguably, the greatest novel ever written. I just completed another reading of this wonderful book and found it as intriguing and enchanting as ever.

But what is so great about a book about whales? Aren't some of Melville's statements and observations dead wrong according to modern whale experts?

Doesn't it drag on and on in boring writing that has no appeal today?

Remember that most of us usually encounter MOBY DICK as students in high school or early in college. As such it's difficult to remain truly objective in our views. The major mistake that most readers of MOBY DICK make is looking at the book as some sort of a scientific or zoological treatise on whales. Yes, Melville based much of the book on actual personal experience and on the accounts of others. But the beauty of this book lies almost totally in its wordsmithing. Melville is the master of putting together sentences, paragraphs and chapters that beautifully and eloquently draw the reader into his world. The author employs an extensive palette of words to paint a picture and to express a message about life. In the latter there is no greater allegory of life than Melville's masterwork.

And isn't that what reading a book like this is supposed to be about? One does not read LES MISERABLE to get an engineer's view of the network of Paris' sewers; neither does he read A TALE OF TWO CITIES to learn about the mechanics of the guillotine.

MOBY DICK, then, is more than a story about whales and whalemen. It is, in the end, a statement about the destructiveness of out-of-control obsessions and of vengeance run amok. It is a masterpiece that speaks to every man or woman in whatever walk of life they might pursue. Indeed, every one of us has chased or is chasing our own white whale or whales. And the truths taught here haven't changed much in over 150 years. As such MOBY DICK is as applicable to today's society and its concerns as it must have been to Melville's antebellum nineteenth century America.

In short, if you're looking for a quick, entertaining read, try one of the Harry Potter books. But if you're looking for an experience or statement...

THE HORSEMAN

Readers say it's far too long, the cetacean history is tedious, who the heck cares how to best prep a harpoon line? Well if you're one of those folks who likes a good harpoon-prep scene, you're in for a treat. If not, you might learn something, and, failing that, the singular dexterity with which the author lays the words on the page will not only awe you but carry you into the very whale boat. You will feel in your guts the rush of the sleigh ride, you will breathe the sea air and taste the mist, you will feel the salt hardening on your hands and face. Don't like any of that? Unless there's no place you'd rather be than your rocker, this is escapism as good as it comes. And don't even get me started on timeless themes, unforgettable characters and a plot as fine as they come....

Melville's Moby Dick tells the story of Captain Ahab and his unwaivering obsession with finding and slaying a gigantic white whale of almost mythical proportions. Throughout the story, the reader is emersed into life on board the whaling ship, the Pequod, told through the eyes of Ishmael.

The story goes from Ishmael's befriending of Queequeg to their trip to Nantucket where they are hired for whaling on the Pequod. They eventually learn that Ahab's agenda runs further than the usual run of the mill whaling expedition; he wants to find and kill the great white whale, Moby Dick. In response, the crew of the Pequod are coaxed and almost hypnotized into joining his dangerous hunt for the reward of a gold coin. Will the crew and their driven captain succeed or will their own greed and stubbornness yield an unfortunate fate?

In my opinion, the early and end chapters are the best part as well as Father Mapple's sermon. While the tone and setting established by Melville certainly pulls you into the world of whaling, the middle chapters are full of side stories, whale lectures, and transcedentalist self indulgence which grows a bit old after a while. There is even some racial intonation: characters such as Queequeg, Daggoo and Tashtego at times are subject to racial commentary by Ishmael (who at times can be mistaken for what I believe to be Melville writing through himself). But, wheher Melville is a racist is honestly neither here nor there.

The book can be interpreted in alot of ways such as the tragic consequences of man's greed or the relationship to God and man and nature. In fact, everytime I ponder it, a new interpretation emerges. Perhaps, that is the book's real beauty.

There is really no other book like it. Some chapters for instance are literally a sentence long. Others don't seem to end. Melville even changes his style from time to time within the book. I guess, in the end, you not only read it, but also experience the book for what it is. A memorable read which anyone who finishes it should be awarded a medal for. Save a part of this country's history and read it.