Why Read Moby-Dick?

Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick came to be from the writing of In the Heart of the Sea, a history of the shipwreck of the Essex (the inspiration for Moby Dick). Why Read Moby-Dick, then, like the movie Adaptation is to Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief, if she had made the film herself. Philbrick's book is really more of a lengthy essay in chapter form and comes out at a slim 131 pages. It's his thoughts on the book, it's pivotal scenes and his theories on the meaning of the book. While those theories are interesting, they are light on analysis and citation. Perhaps Why Read Moby-Dick would work better as a readers' companion to In the Heart of the Sea than as a critical analysis of Melville's novel. I chose to read Why Read Moby-Dick to see what arguments Philbrick uses to encourage reluctant readers to pick up the novel. I did this, though, as an avid lover of the novel. I don't need to be convinced to pick it up and sadly, having read through Philbrick's long plot summary stripped of the woodcuts and Melville's humor, I'm not sure I would want to pick it up based solely on his recommendation. Why Read Moby-Dick will appeal mostly to Philbick fans and perhaps Melville fans who are more rabid in their devotion than I am and need to have a copy to complete their collection. Read via NetGalley

One man's appreciation of one of his favorite books. Recommended reading after one has tackled Moby Dick.

I I was able to get the eBook on loan from the LA Public Library. The eBook availability isn't always the greatest, but I got lucky in this case. Here is the description from Amazon.com. I read it in about 2 hours on this Thanksgiving Eve, taking a break from other tasks and simply luxuriating in the process of reading a book. I would describe this as a "pre-bbok" if there is such a beast in literature. By reading this short treatise, you are being prepared for the larger task of facing "The White Whale" which could describe the book itself as well as its namesake. Moby-Dick has defeated many readers, but perhaps with this introduction others might attempt it again, or for the first time, and discover some of the magic it has to offer.

For the first third of this short book, I was disappointed, as it didn't seem to add any great insights to my understanding of Moby-Dick or even, as the title and first chapter suggest it will do, to entice people to read Melville's novel (and the whole premise underlying the book, by the way, seems flawed, for if you're not inclined to read Moby-Dick, surely you'll not be inclined to read a book explaining why you should read it). Philbrick really gets rolling with the chapter on Hawthorne, and from there on out, he offers something of a "greatest hits" from the novel with the occasional juicy historical or interpretive nugget thrown in. For historical perspective and biography, Walker and Delbanco are better (though Philbrick's book about the relevant sinking of the whaleship Essex is fantastic), but for a quick trip down memory lane if you're already a fan of Moby-Dick, this book is a couple of lazy afternoon hours well-spent. If you haven't read Melville's book, I have trouble imagining that this slim volume will provide much enticement, but skip to the chapters titled "Unflinching Reality" and "Ahab's Last Stand" for some of the more convincing arguments.