Ahab's rolling sea : a natural history of Moby-Dick
(Book)

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Published
Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2019.
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Status
Central - Adult Nonfiction
508.3162 KING
1 available
Westover - Adult Nonfiction
508.3162 KING
1 available

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LocationCall NumberStatus
Central - Adult Nonfiction508.3162 KINGAvailable
Westover - Adult Nonfiction508.3162 KINGAvailable

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Published
Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2019.
Format
Book
Physical Desc
430 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 24 cm
Language
English

Notes

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 365-413) and index.
Description
A revelation for Moby-Dick devotees and neophytes alike, Ahab's Rolling Sea is a chronological journey through the natural history of Melville's novel. From white whales to whale intelligence, giant squids, barnacles, albatross, and sharks, Richard J. King examines what Melville knew from his own experiences and the sources available to a reader in the mid-1800s, exploring how and why Melville might have twisted what was known to serve his fiction. King then climbs to the crow's nest, setting Melville in the context of the American perception of the ocean in 1851--at the very start of the Industrial Revolution and just before the publication of On the Origin of Species. King compares Ahab's and Ishmael's worldviews to how we see the ocean today: an expanse still immortal and sublime, but also in crisis. And although the concept of stewardship of the sea would have been entirely foreign, if not absurd, to Melville, King argues that Melville's narrator Ishmael reveals his own tendencies toward what we would now call environmentalism. Featuring a coffer of illustrations and an array of interviews with contemporary scientists, fishers, and whale watch operators, Ahab's Rolling Sea offers new insight not only into a cherished masterwork and its author but also into our evolving relationship with the briny deep--from whale hunters to climate refugees. -- Publisher's description.

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

King, R. J. (2019). Ahab's rolling sea: a natural history of Moby-Dick . University of Chicago Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

King, Richard J.. 2019. Ahab's Rolling Sea: A Natural History of Moby-Dick. University of Chicago Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

King, Richard J.. Ahab's Rolling Sea: A Natural History of Moby-Dick University of Chicago Press, 2019.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

King, Richard J.. Ahab's Rolling Sea: A Natural History of Moby-Dick University of Chicago Press, 2019.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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