Harper Collins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved essential classics. The young sailor Ishmael befriends a tattooed Polynesian harpooner named Queequeg & finds himself aboard the Pequod which is captained by the obsessive Captain Ahab. Not long after the voyage has begun Ahab tells the crew about his secret plot to hunt down the whale that crippled him on a previous voyage Moby Dick. The crew of the Pequod are also after as much sperm oil as their ship can carry & the account of the crews years-long pursuit of the White Whale is interspersed with detailed & encyclopaedic descriptions of a whalers life. Melville unites narrative virtuosity with a lifetime of sailing experience in perhaps the single most important classic of American literature. ...

Includes: THE TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED MOBY-DICK When Ishmael sets sail on the whaling ship Pequod one cold Christmas
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This is the Penguin English Library Edition" of " Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville. ' The frail gunwales bent in collapsed & snapped as both jaws like an enormous shears sliding further aft bit the craft completely in twain...' " Moby-Dick" is one of the most expansive feats of imagination in the whole of literature: the mad raging Shakespearean tale of Captain Ahab's insane quest to kill a giant white whale that has taken his leg & upon which he has sworn vengeance at any cost. A creation unlike any other this is an epic story of fatal monomania & the deepest dreams & obsessions of mankind. " The Penguin English Library"
- 100 editions of the best fiction in English from the eighteenth century & the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War."
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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)."

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When Donovan Hohn first heard the remarkable story of how 28 904 bath toys spilled into the Pacific en route to the US from China & have been washing up along beaches throughout the world ever since he decided to find out more & assumed he would interview a few oceanographers talk to some beachcombers & read up on Arctic science & geography. But questions can be like ocean currents: wade in too far & they carry you away. Setting out on a series of journeys to track the renegade rubber ducks Moby-Duck is an adventure into the heart of the sea through science myth the global economy & some of the worst weather imaginable & the riveting story of an accidental odyssey which pulled Hohn into the secretive world of shipping conglomerates the daring terrain of Arctic researchers the lunatic risks of maverick sailors & the shadowy domain of Chinese toy factories. With each new discovery Hohn learns of another loose thread & with each successive chase he comes closer to understanding where his castaway quarry comes from (and where it is heading...). In the grand tradition of Tony Horwitz & David Quammen Moby-Duck is a compulsively readable narrative of whimsy & curiosity for anyone who is interested in obsession travel plastic & that great American novel Moby-Dick. ...

Mock the Week is back with the perfect gift for anyone interested in Life the Universe & childish smut. Whether you're eight* or eighty* this is the only guide to life that you'll ever need.
Includes:: Bad Things to Hear in a Maternity Ward: ' In an attempt to empathise with my wife I want you to ram this pineapple up my backside.' Unlikely Greetings Cards: Sorry to hear about your mother. (On the plus side you can afford that new house now.) Bad Things to Shout During Sex: ' Did you hear that? Did they just say England are 81 for 5?' Unlikely Things to Read on a Gravestone: Fell asleep on 16 August 2004. Unfortunately whilst driving a truck on the M5. Unlikely School Report Cards: Dear Mr & Mrs Johnson Boris is a very popular & intelligent boy who should go far just as long as he's not put in charge of anything complex. * Probably best not to give this book to an eight-year-old. ** Or an eighty-year-old for that matter.
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The future is a grim place in which the declining human population wanders drugged & lulled by electronic bliss. Its a world without art reading & children a world where people would rather burn themselves alive than endure. Even Spofforth the most perfect machine ever created cannot bear it & seeks only that which he cannot have
- to cease to be. But there is hope for the future in the passion & joy that a man & woman discover in love & in books hope even for Spofforth. A haunting novel reverberating with anguish but also celebrating love & the magic of a dream.
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Against all odds Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge... This thrilling final instalment of this ground-breaking trilogy promises to be one of the most talked-about books of the year. ...

The final book in the ground-breaking HUNGER GAMES trilogy. Against all odds Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. & what's worse President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family not her friends not the people of District 12. ...

This is the final book in the ground-breaking Hunger Games" trilogy. Against all odds Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that shes made it out of the bloody arena alive shes still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. & what worse President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss family not her friends not the people of District 12." ...