Nathaniel Philbrick is the author of, "Why Read Moby Dick". In the interview he tells us that Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" is his favorite book of all time. At one point in the interview he says we should all read it because, "it's as close to being our American Bible as we have." He talks about the chapters that often times veer away from the plot line to explain things like; the inner workings of the ship or to give a biology lesson on whales. Philbrick appreciates these breaks from the immediate story, and calls them, "wormholes of metaphysical poetry that are truly revelatory." He also goes on to explain how "Moby Dick" is a book that needs to be read after you have some life experience under your belt. You cannot fully appreciate the story if you've never seen or been through what the characters are experiencing. Philbrick says that Melville got some of his inspiration from meeting the writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and reading his material, which had a dark side that Melville would later come to use in the book. He was also inspired by the writing of William Shakespeare, and used similar language patterns in "Moby Dick". Philbrick states that, "the level of the language is like no other,". It was interesting to hear someone talk about "Moby Dick" and have more to say than, "Whale Ho" or "There she blows!". Philbrick is obviously very learned in this department and it was nice to listen to him speak about what he really loves.
