Articles

• “I know him not, and never will.” —Moby-Dick, Chapter 86, “The Tail”
  Herman Melville was refreshingly honest. Having written an entire book about sperm whales—and one particularly notable, noble beast—he had to...More Read more from “I know him not, and never will.” —Moby-Dick, Chapter 86, “The Tail”
• “Very Like a Whale” Editions of Moby-Dick
  Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick originally appeared in 1851 to little fanfare and even less renown. With a drab, darkish, dreary cover,...More Read more from “Very Like a Whale” Editions of Moby-Dick
• “My Yale College and My Harvard”: The Writing of Herman Melville’s Sea Works
  A WHALE-SHIP WAS MY YALE COLLEGE and my Harvard,” Herman Melville writes in Moby-Dick (ch. 24). Of course, it wasn’t...More Read more from “My Yale College and My Harvard”: The Writing of Herman Melville’s Sea Works
• “My Yale College and My Harvard”: The Writing of Herman Melville’s Sea Works
  “A whaleship was my Yale college and my Harvard,” Herman Melville writes in Moby-Dick (ch. 24). Of course, it wasn’t...More Read more from “My Yale College and My Harvard”: The Writing of Herman Melville’s Sea Works
• Moby-Dick and Nantucket’s Moby-Dick: The Attack on the Essex
  Like many another Nantucket story, the sinking of the Nantucket whaleship Essex would probably have enjoyed some enduring popularity even...More Read more from Moby-Dick and Nantucket’s Moby-Dick: The Attack on the Essex
• A Fine, Boisterous Something”: Nantucket in Moby-Dick
  For my mind was made up to sail in no other than a Nanrucket craft, because there was a fine,...More Read more from A Fine, Boisterous Something”: Nantucket in Moby-Dick
• Moby-Dick, The Monster Myth
  Before Melville, stories of demonic whales circled the globe. The whales that emerge from myths and fables often were not...More Read more from Moby-Dick, The Monster Myth
• Herman Melville and Nantucket
  Herman Melville wrote his classic novel Moby-Dick (1851) without having visited the island of Nantucket. The island and its whaling...More Read more from Herman Melville and Nantucket
• Herman Melville: Nantucket’s First Tourist?
  Sometime near sunset on Tuesday, 6 July 1852, the sidewheel steamer Massachu­setts churned into Nantucket harbor. Stand­ing on her deck...More Read more from Herman Melville: Nantucket’s First Tourist?
• Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick and the NHA’s Whaling Logs: Some Comparisons
  In 1998, the NHA initiated a project to index the Nantucket whaling logs held in its archives and to make...More Read more from Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick and the NHA’s Whaling Logs: Some Comparisons
• How does the crew of Melville’s Pequod compare to the typical crew of a Nantucket whaleship?
  Just as aboard the fictional Pequod, the crews of Nantucket whaleships were multiethnic. On the outside wall of the Nantucket...More Read more from How does the crew of Melville’s Pequod compare to the typical crew of a Nantucket whaleship?
• Of Melville, Tortoises, and the Galapagos
  The Galápagos Islands were a world ravaged by whalemen. One such whaleman was Herman Melville, who wrote of the islands...More Read more from Of Melville, Tortoises, and the Galapagos
• Pop Culture and Moby-Dick
  Moby-Dick is emblazoned in the canon of literature, art, opera, theater, film, and daily life. When did you first spot...More Read more from Pop Culture and Moby-Dick
• Short Lays on Greasy Voyages: Whaling and Venture Capital
  Jonas Peter Akins teaches at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut and, with Professor Tom Nicholas, is the author of the...More Read more from Short Lays on Greasy Voyages: Whaling and Venture Capital
• The Unemployable Herman Melville
  After all this time, we are still learning a little more about Herman Melville’s decision to sign on a whaleship...More Read more from The Unemployable Herman Melville
• Whaling Crew Diversity
  Melville gave his Pequod a diverse crew, mentioning 44 men from the U.S., northern and southern Europe, South America, Iceland,...More Read more from Whaling Crew Diversity