The original ' Great American Novel' Herman Melville's Moby-Dick" is a masterful study of obsession. This " Penguin Classics" edition contains an introduction by Andrew Delblanco with explanatory commentary by Tom Quirk. ' Call me Ishmael.' So begins Herman Melville's masterpiece one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history. As Ishmael is drawn into Captain Ahab's obsessive quest to slay the white whale Moby-Dick he finds himself engaged in a metaphysical struggle between good & evil. More than just a novel of adventure more than an paean to whaling lore & legend " Moby-Dick" is a haunting social commentary populated by some of the most enduring characters in literature; the crew of the Pequod from stern Quaker First Mate Starbuck to the tattooed Polynesian harpooner Queequeg are a vision of the world in microcosm the pinnacle of Melville's lifelong meditation on America. Written with wonderfully redemptive humour " Moby-Dick" is a profound poetic inquiry into character faith & the nature of perception. Based on the Northwestern University Press edition this " Penguin Classics" edition
Includes:: a critical introduction by Andrew Delbanco as well as valuable explanatory notes maps illustrations & a glossary of nautical terms. Herman Melville is now regarded as one of America's greatest novelists. Much of the material for his novels was drawn from his own experience as a seaman aboard whaling ships. He wrote his masterpiece " Moby-Dick" in 1851 & died in 1891. If you enjoyed " Moby-Dick" you may like Miguel de Cervantes' " Don Quixote" also available in " Penguin Classics". " After reading " Moby-Dick" you will have enhanced your sense of wonder you will have increased the size of your universe". (E. M. Forster). " One of the strangest & most wonderful books in the world... It moves awe in the soul". (D. H. Lawrence)."