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> Moby-Dick, Second Edition (Norton Critical Editions) |
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Author:
Herman Melville
By W. W. Norton & Company
Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.3
EAN: 9780393972832
ISBN: 0393972836
Label: W. W. Norton & Company
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 768
Publication Date: 2001-10
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Studio: W. W. Norton & Company |
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Product Description
For this Sesquicentennial Norton Critical Edition, the Northwestern-Newberry text of Moby-Dick has been generously footnoted to include dozens of biographical discoveries, mainly from Hershel Parker's work on his two-volume biography of Melville. A section of "Whaling and Whalecraft" features prose and graphics by John B. Putnam, a sample of contemporary whaling engravings, as well as, new to this edition, an engraving of Tupai Cupa, the real-life inspiration for the character of Queequeg. Evoking Melville's fascination with the fluidity of categories like savagery and civilization, the image of Tupai Cupa fittingly introduces "Before Moby-Dick: International Controversy over Melville," a new section that documents the ferocity of religions, political, and sexual hostility toward Melville in reaction to his early books, beginning with Typee in 1846. The image of Tupai Cupa also evokes Melville's interest in the mystery of self-identity and the possibility of knowing another person's "queenly personality" (Chapter 119). That theme (focused on Melville, Ishmael, and Ahab) is pursued in "A Handful of Critical Challenges," from Walter E. Bezanson's classic centennial study through Harrison Hayford's meditation on "Loomings" and recent essays by Camille Paglia and John Wenke. In "Reviews and Letters by Melville," a letter has been redated and a wealth of new biographical material has been added to the footnotes, notably to Melville's "Hawthorne and His Mosses." "Analogues and Sources" retains classic pieces by J. N. Reynolds and Owen Chase, as well as new findings by Geoffrey Sanborn and Steven Olsen-Smith. "Reviews of Moby-Dick" emphasizes the ongoing religious hostility toward Melville and highlights new discoveries, such as the first-known Scottish review of The Whale. "Posthumous Praise and the Melville Revival: 1893-1927" collects belated, enthusiastic praise up through that of William Faulkner. "Biographical Cross-Light" is Hershel Parker's somber look at what writing Moby-Dick cost Melville and his family. From Foreword through Selected Bibliography, this Sesquicentennial Norton Critical Edition is uniquely valuable as the most up-to-date and comprehensive documentary source for study of Moby-Dick.
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horrible kindle version, 2010-01-15
It is like if it were scanned from book with a very bad recognision of the text. Is not posible to read it because many words are formed by incorrect caracters. I think Amazon should take kindle version out of the market and return the money.
Awesome, 2010-02-13
Finally. I finished reading this book last night. It's not so daunting a task if one reads only several chapters a day, for no more than an hour at a time. The voice the author chooses to use throughout is quite different from anything else I've encountered. It's not Shakespearean; it's Melvillian. The story is majestic, sonorous, tragic, and well worth your time to read. You will not be disappointed. But do read it from a BOOK, not some electronic gadget or audio recording. The edition I read was the volume in the "Great Books of the Western World", published by Britannica.
Occasionally gruelling, but deeply rewarding., 2010-01-31
I somehow managed to get through seven years of English higher education without once picking this book up. I wasn't deliberately avoiding it either, it just never came up. (Of course, I do have a bit of a prejudice against American literature, so that might have been part of the reason.) In any case, I'm kind of glad, because it allowed me to discover this book on my own.
My first impression of this book was that, to my immense surprise, the first chapter is very funny. I admit, it's not clutching-my-chest, oh-God-I-can't-breathe funny. It's definitely not the moronic Family Guy/Will Farrell style of funny so many people are enamored of these days. But there is a powerful wry wit in Ishmael's voice, and although it's not the main focus of the book, it never entirely disappears.
Before you start to doubt my honesty (or sanity) I will confirm most of the dreadful things you have heard about this book. There are entire chapters devoted to obscure aspects of nineteenth century whaling. Depending on your frame of mind, these can be mildly interesting or crushingly dull and obstructing the main story. The narrator occasionally wanders off on some theological/philosophical ramble which, again, can sometimes grow annoying.
Despite all of this, I deem this book eminently worth reading. Yes, it is probably the definitive novel of man vs. nature; and yes, it shows the defiance and resilience of the American spirit; and yes, it's a powerful picture of the venomous strength of hubris. But frankly, forget all that, what captured my attention, and what I hope will interest you, is the characters.
Melville births an amazing variety of characters in this novel, each of whom lives, breathes and struts across the stage of these pages. Stubb, the second mate, drolly jokes even while shouting orders to a boat crew chasing and stabbing a beast two hundred times their size. Fedallah, the Indian harpooneer of the captain's, gives grimly encouraging prophecies, something like the witches of Macbeth.
Even the minor characters gleam with life: the ship's cook scolding the sharks shredding the whale chained to the boat, the carpenter complaining as the peg he crafted for Ahab snaps, the ship-keeper Pip, whose sanity snaps when he's left alone adrift for hours in the endless sea.
And of course there's Ahab himself, maniacally pursuing this one creature literally around the entire globe in vengeance for the injuries done him. He is both grand, and, at heart, utterly mad. He shows the best of human resilience and industry and the worst of human hatred and obsession. He hides away in his cabin for much of the story, but when he is present, he utterly dominates the story through sheer force of personality.
If you were forced to read this for class, I hope that did not ruin the book for you. If you haven't read it yet, go pick it up now. Yes, there are parts which are plodding drudgery, but the rest of the book more than redeems them.
Go whale hunting today.
Moby-Dick review, 2009-12-30
What can you say? It's Moby-Dick. The Barnes and Noble edition of Moby-Dick comes with a handy dictionary for all of us landlubbers and Carl F. Howde's footnotes flesh-out the Melville's esoteric references.
Great Kindle Edition, 2010-02-27
It was interesting to read the number of reviews on Melville's work, credentials unknown, as a piece of literature. There is no question or debate about whether this book is one of the great classics of American literature, or literature in general, of all time. There just isn't. So the 1-star or 2-star, or even 5-star reviews of the book as literature are not actually pertinent. It's like a debate about whether the Hope diamond is a really big jewel, or Handel's Messiah is an important piece of music. You may or may not like or appreciate Melville's work as a reader, but the only way to really find out is to read it. As far as this edition for the Kindle, it has a working table of contents and very readable formatting, and I recommend it as an addition to your classic Kindle library.
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