Moby Dick, or the Whale
Herman Melville
Read by Stewart Wills





Few things, even in literature, can really be said to be unique — but Moby Dick is truly unlike anything written before or since. The novel is nominally about the obsessive hunt by the crazed Captain Ahab of the book’s eponymous white whale. But interspersed in that story are digressions, paradoxes, philosophical riffs on whaling and life, and a display of techniques so advanced for its time that some have referred to the 1851 Moby Dick as the first “modern” novel. (Summary by Stewart Wills) (24 hr 37 min)
Chapters
Chapter 000: Etymology and Extracts | 29:13 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 001-002 | 23:56 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 003 | 34:53 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 004-007 | 27:10 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 008-009 | 29:36 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 010-012 | 19:28 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 013-015 | 23:08 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 016 | 35:18 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 017-021 | 42:49 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 022-025 | 27:25 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 026-027 | 19:20 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 028-031 | 25:00 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 032 | 36:58 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 033-035 | 38:11 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 036-040 | 42:17 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 041 | 26:29 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 042-044 | 43:36 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 045-047 | 37:09 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 048-050 | 38:29 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 051-053 | 27:05 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 054 | 54:14 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 055-058 | 37:09 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 059-063 | 38:45 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 064-067 | 37:05 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 068-071 | 34:21 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 072-073 | 24:34 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 074-077 | 30:27 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 078-080 | 24:03 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 081-082 | 36:45 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 083-086 | 37:38 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 087-088 | 40:31 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 089-091 | 33:56 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 092-096 | 42:47 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 097-100 | 43:25 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 101-104 | 40:03 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 105-108 | 37:07 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 109-113 | 41:00 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 114-118 | 25:57 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 119-123 | 32:43 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 124-127 | 32:40 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 128-132 | 42:23 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 133 | 24:58 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 134 | 22:48 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Chapter 135 and Epilogue | 35:01 | Read by Stewart Wills |
Reviews
A Must "Read". PERIOD.





Duncansm
What can I say? The book is a classic that's still frequently referenced by everyone from your next-door neighbor to tenured professors, so it's of course helpful to have read it and most certainly important to UNDERSTAND its content. The fact that it's FREE on Librivox is AWESOME because - yes - it's a VERY LENGTHY (sometimes discouragingly so) novel and many START reading but don't finish. With someone reading it TO YOU...There's no excuse not to read the novel in its entirety. *** SUGGESTION: Keep pen/paper handy and be ready to rewind/replay often if you really want to understand Moby Dick. You're going to hear words and phrases you've never come across before, and will want to write them down in order to research their definitions/meanings. If you don't do this, you'll get much less out of the novel and may even become so discouraged that you stop "reading" altogether. That would be a shame. Happy listening!! ;-)
THANK YOU





Benjamin
This particular recording is probably my favourite piece of art in existence. Thanks so much for taking to time to record it and present it for free.
Thanks all!





John B. Stewart
Thank you to Librivox and Stewart Wills for bringing this to us free of charge. I have tried a number of free audio book apps but this is far and away the best. Loving Stewart's thoughtful and nuanced rendition of this, the Great American Novel. His NE tones are perfect for setting the scene. I tried reading this many years ago but somehow other things got prioritised and I never finished it and being high on the bucket list was determined to someday do so. Now that we are painting our house in Montreal in the South of France, I can listen to Stewart's dulcet tones and vicariously roll with Ismail Queeqeg and captain Ahab hunting the great white whale whilst splattering myself in paint. What a world we live in! John B. Stewart - Melbourne Australia
an epic book read brilliantly





Shelly
Thank you Mr Wills for undertaking a seemingly dauntless task and making it sound effortless. Moby Dick has been on my bucket list of reading for years but have never managed to get far. It strikes me as often Shakespearean in content and delivery and I would not have the fortitude to stick with the many educational digressions and footnotes if I read it. The charictarisations are remarkable if not over lengthy. I actually enjoyed much of the whaling information and history. I felt this contributed to the story which I think can be classed among the great epics of literature. I recommend any one who feels like giving up to stick with it.
One of the best public domain books. Excellent narrator.





Tony B.
Absolutely loved this audiobook. If it weren’t for this recording, I probably would have taken years longer to get to a book which has become an instant favorite. I read it alongside a digital kindle version, which was also free, and which I highly recommend, since the language is sometimes very dense and it can be easy to lose your place in one of Melville’s longer run-on sentences. That being said, this narrator does an excellent job at remaining lively, compelling and easy to understand throughout his reading of this entire tome. Thanks for a great experience!
A True Masterpiece!





Jill Goodrich
Masterfully written. Masterfully read. It was a privilege to set sail with the reader, Stuart Wills, as we voyaged through the realities and frailities of the human condition. We, all of us, are sailing through life aboard the 'Peaquod' admist stormy seas, swarms of sharks... and even the occasional white whale. Thank you Mr. Melville for charting the course!
Well worth a listen!





A LibriVox Listener
While Moby Dick may be a very long novel, it is certainly worth a listen! The descriptive imagery and individuality of each character's voice makes all of them, as well as the faithful Pequod, feel like old friends by the end.
Moby Dick





Timelord
Absolutely fantastic!! The reader was beyond excellent!! My greatest regret is that I waited this long to set sail into this epic story.