For me, 'Moby-Dick' is more than the greatest American novel ever written; it is a metaphysical survival manual - the best guidebook there is for a literate man or woman facing an impenetrable unknown: the future of civilization in this… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
When I was at Brown, I wanted to write the great American novel, but I was too scared to take a creative course. I signed up for one, got in, and just didn't have the courage to go. I was… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
In the years to come, the combination of climate change and population growth could have a devastating effect on the planet and, needless to… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
“A Puritan believed it was necessary to venture back to the absolute beginning of Christianity, before the church had been corrupted by centuries of… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
People think I live here on Nantucket and just gaze at the ocean, getting my inspiration. Not so. I work in my basement and… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
“No matter how much the inhabitants might try to hide it, there was a savagery about this island, a bloodlust and pride that bound… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
“Living in the here and now, we are awash with sensations of the present, memories of the past, and expectations and fears for the… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
“In a letter hastily written to a friend in London, Cushman saw only doom and disaster ahead. “Friend, if ever we make a plantation… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
If you live on Nantucket, you can't avoid its history, and 'Moby Dick' is the way most of us get into Nantucket's history. — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
As an author of narrative history, I read a lot of history books. — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
“Odd things happen in a battle, and the human heart has strange and gruesome depths and the human brain still stranger shallows;” — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
“The sperm whales' network of female-based family unit resembled, to a remarkable extent, the community the whalemen had left back home on Nantucket. In… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
Instead of being a page-turner, 'Moby-Dick' is a repository of American history and culture and the essentials of Western literature. The book is so… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
“Melville's example demonstrates the wisdom of waiting to read the classics. Coming to a great book on your own after having accumulated essential life… — Nathaniel Philbrick Copy Share Image
