"Moby Dick or The Whale" by Herman Melville is much more than an adventure story. It is nothing less than an examination of the place of humans in the Universe that can be read on multiple levels.

If you have seen the 1956 movie, you know the plot and spectacular ending. But this is not a modern novel, and Melville's ambition was much greater than a simple adventure story. He encompassed the world of the early 1850s. The endless sea becomes a stand-in for the Infinite, and the quest for the white whale becomes the human struggle against powers far beyond man's ken.

The book is based on Melville's own experiences as a whaler in the 1840s and includes many details about that life, including how to butcher a sperm whale. In many ways the book is surprisingly modern. For instance, it envisions a society where race does not exist. Ishmael, the narrator, becomes a close friend of the Polynesian harpooner Queequig in the first chapter. Their friendship is almost a love affair despite their different cultural and religious practices. The book portrays the culture in New Bedford, the heart of the sperm whale oil industry, as color blind.

He included short chapters on many aspects of the pursuit including a discussion of the various cultural meanings of the color white and individual chapters on many of the Pequod's crew members. One of the most interesting is a chapter on "Ancient Whales" which sounds surprisingly modern, given that it was written eight years before the publication of "On the Origin of Species".

The one major fault with the book is that it has no female characters or outlook. That is partly because most of the book takes place on a 19th Century whaling vessel, but even in the opening chapters in New Bedford and Nantucket women play at best a minimal role. Despite this, "Moby Dick" is a unique work and an American classic that is well worth reading.