Whaling was the oil business of its day. Nathaniel Philbrick More Quotes by Nathaniel Philbrick More Quotes From Nathaniel Philbrick Whatever you read, there's no better place to read than the cockpit or the berth of a boat. It's kind of like being in a womb. Nathaniel Philbrick betterplaceyouboat A survival tale peels away the niceties and comforts of civilization. Suddenly, all the technology and education in the world means nothing. I think all of us wonder while reading a survival tale, 'What would I have done in this situation? Would I have made it?' Nathaniel Philbrick technologyreadingeducationworld 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 liveyouhistoryway As an author of narrative history, I read a lot of history books. Nathaniel Philbrick readbookshistory-bookshistory The great lesson I get from 'Moby-Dick' is that when the times are bad, when there is great foreboding, there are still ways to go about living. It's through Ishmael that I find a kind of overall cosmic approach to a meaningful life in this meaningless world. Nathaniel Philbrick badgreatlifeworld Even though I hadn't read a word of it, I grew up hating 'Moby-Dick.' Nathaniel Philbrick hatingthoughevenup 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 storm-tossed 21st century. Nathaniel Philbrick bestmemanfuture 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 encyclopedic that space aliens could use it to re-create the whale fishery as it once existed on the planet Earth in the midst of the 19th century. Nathaniel Philbrick spaceculturebookhistory In the years to come, the combination of climate change and population growth could have a devastating effect on the planet and, needless to say, on humanity. Nathaniel Philbrick climate-changegrowthchangehumanity
