Moby-Dick: A Norton Critical Edition

I've read Moby Dick four times now over about 30 years. The first time as a much younger man I wasn't prepared for how strange it is and how broad in the mix of subject matter types, expecting more of a straight up adventure story from what's generally known about it from pop culture, and had admittedly mixed feelings. But each subsequent reading, about a decade apart, I've appreciated how great it is more and more and never more so than with this terrifically done Norton Critical Edition. I've read about a dozen Norton Critical Editions in the past couple years. They are squarely marketed at students and professors, and no doubt that's where Norton does most of their sales. But really they are a more valuable resource to someone like me, decades out of school without being able to rely on a diligent professor to provide the historical and critical background contained in the Norton editions. All of the Norton Critical Editions I've read have been valuable in providing that but to variable extents. What I've discovered is just how important Norton's choice of editor is for the value of the resulting Norton Critical Edition. A lazy editor seemingly just looking for a paycheck and putting in minimal effort (like Candide's, who didn't even bother translating any of the copious French in the critical essays) or has an ideological ax to grind of little interest to most readers (like the Don Quijote editor's way excessive focus on Islamic aspects to the exclusion of more universal themes) can make for a NCE with limited value added. But a super diligent editor who clearly shows passion for the book and a desire to share their love of it with readers can really make for a greatly enriched reading experience. Hershel Parker here with Moby Dick is that kind of editor (I'd also highlight Judith Hawley with Tristram Shandy). Parker's editorial footnotes in the text are completely comprehensive. I can't think of any reference that any reader might not get in the whole book that he didn't footnote to explain. The background and critical materials he chooses are voluminous -- 300 of the 700 pages -- and all informative and interesting. He takes a much different approach than any other NCE I've read so far, with almost no recent literary criticism. His distinct approach works very well. You get several essays by Parker himself with historical/biographical background. A wide selection of pre-Moby Dick critical reactions to Melville's earlier books (mostly outrage over Typee and Omoo's criticism of the devastation caused by Protestant missionaries). Texts of works that influenced Melville (I had no idea there was an actual article he read describing the destruction caused by a whale called "'Mocha Dick"). A large number of contemporary newspaper reviews of Moby Dick, majority negative but with a few that were early in seeing the genius. Melville's letters, many especially odd ones to Hawthorne (You wonder how Hawthorne responded in the lost letters to these oddly passionate outpourings!). Essays over multiple decades after 1851 tracing the rediscovery of Melville and Moby Dick and a Parker essay tying this intellectual history together. Only two excellent critical essays (and those written decades ago). And then a concluding selection of seven recent essays, six of them written specifically for the NCE, exploring different aspects of Moby Dick's 21sth century resonance in popular culture and other art forms. It's just an excellent 300 pages of added material that will add greatly to any reader's experience with Moby Dick.

THE CRITICAL EDITION As Melville scholar Hershel Parker says, "[f]or anyone who wants to know Herman Melville and 'Moby-Dick,' this third Norton Critical Edition is the fullest storehouse of factual riches, and, just as important, of incitements to the appreciative imagination" (xv). Edited by Parker, the NCE3 includes: 1) a preface and several essays by Parker, 2) annotation in the form of footnotes to the text, 3) a helpful glossary of nautical terms, 4) 158 pages of "Contexts" for the author and the novel, and 5) 128 pages of "Criticism," with reviews and assessments from 1851, to the 1920s revival, to today. THE READING COPY Everything above makes the NCE3 well worth reading if you are seriously interested in "Moby-Dick." Of course if used for a class, it may be mandatory for instructors and students. However, as a reading copy of the novel it is not ideal. The book is 706 pages, and of that only 410 pages are the text of the novel. The edition I recently read, the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition , is 625 pages long. So this text is only two thirds as long, and the typeface is only two thirds as large. Of course having the annotation handy as you read is a plus. On balance I would recommend another edition for a reading copy, and the NCE3 as a supplement.

"Moby-Dick," the Third Norton Critical Edition edited by Hershel Parker, the foremost Melville scholar, is a leviathan of a Melvillean treat and brings Melville into the 21st century. Melville wrote in "White Jacket..." " the books that prove most agreeable, grateful and companionable are those we pick up by chance here and there... those that pretend to little, but bound by much." There is so much added to this superb third edition of "Moby-Dick," including the splendid portrait of Ahab on the cover by Oleg Dobrovolski. In the well-written preface, Hershel Parker clearly indicates how the different Norton editions published in 1967, 2001 and 2017 addresses the times and issues of their publication dates. Parker describes why Melville means so much more to us today then he did to his contemporaries and how our vision of Melville has changed from 1967 such as global warming, the extinction of species and human overpopulation. Parker mentioned that Chapter 105 "... Will He Perish?" of Moby-Dick" is read differently today. No longer do we believe as Melville did "we account the whale immortal in his species." Of course the book contains the authoritative text pioneered by Parker and Harrison Hayford. In this case with numerous added notes. Then Hershel Parker has written a new chapter, "Glimpses of a Melville as a Performer." This section clearly shows the talented Melville as a debater, actor, raconteur, lecturer and a master storyteller thru the eyes of his contemporaries. One of my favorite chapters that appears in all editions deals with whaling and whale craft with nautical terms and the well-illustrated whaling industry section. There is so much new and important material in this third edition. Highly recommended is reading the "Melville Revival 1879-1927." In conclusion it was exciting to read the new rich material in this third edition. Anyone interested in Melville, "Moby-Dick" or reading this classic piece of literature for the first time, needs to have this latest edition on his or her bookshelf. The essays at the end by some of the outstanding Melville scholars are an enriching experience. Walter Bezanson, Harrison Hayford, Greil Marcus, Timothy Marr, Mary K. Bercaw Edwards, Wyn Kelley, Robert K. Wallace, Jonathan Letham and Robert Payne takes us on a voyage and comprehensively bring "Moby-Dick" into the 21st century by addressing the present generation. They cover such "Moby-Dick" topics as the character of Ishmael; the reading and rereading of the book; the "Moby-Dick" in popular culture; the surprising proliferation of "Moby-Dick" public reading marathons; its influence in the arts and even a discussion of the song of whales. This is truly a "mighty book" on "Moby-Dick." When you read this volume, you will have a whale of a time!

Excellent notes, superb critical apparatus, but the actual text of the novel is printed far too small. I shall need to buy the novel in a different format and use this critical edition as a handbook alongside it.

Shipping took a while; might be a combination of factors such as distance and/or covid-19 strain on the mail system. Book is really nice! Great to have a ton of supplementary material all in the same book. I recommend this edition for people who want to learn all those cool extra details and essays about the classics without going through a whole English course on it!

Norton Critical Editionの本は他に２冊を持ち、とても気に入っている（Paradise Lost, Frankenstein）。本文はもちろんいいし、注釈や膨大な参考資料（時代背景の説明、批評など）が素晴らしい。Moby Dickの残念なところは、紙の薄さ。ページの反対側の文字が丸見えで、ページが汚く、読みにくい。黒い部分の多いイラスタが見える本は時々あるけど、こんなに字が見えるのは初めてかも。正直がっかりした。ストーリ自体も内容も文句なしだが、出版の出来が悪いだけ。

This edition of Moby Dick is supposed to be great, but Norton Critical offers a sad edition of this great classic. The printing causes eye strain for me and the paper is so thin that I can read words from a page or two behind the page I’m currently reading. Seriously, consider purchasing Moby Dick from a different publisher.