[WT Sharpe]

One last thing I'll say about Moby Dick, and this by no means dampens my earlier criticisms of the work: The book contains some of the greatest quotations of all time; quotes that continue to find new life in other stories.

Who can forget Startrek II: The Wrath of Khan, when Khan says of Captain Kirk: "He tasks me, and I shall have him! I'll chase him round the Moons of Nibia, and round the Antares Maelstrom, and round perdition's flames before I give him up!"

Captain Ahab (Moby Dick): "I'll follow him around the Horn, and around the Norway maelstrom, and around perdition's flames before I give him up."

Or the scene from that same film when Khan realized his number was up but he was determined to strike at Kirk one last time: "You can't get away. From hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

Captain Ahab: "Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee."

And as for opening lines, perhaps only Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities has a more well-known one. Even so, I know of no three-word opening that's more instantly recognizable than "Call me Ishmael." Someone could argue that they know of another even better-known book that starts with "In the beginning," but to be sure, that's only the beginning of that sentence.

As I indicated earlier, if Reader's Digest had been around in Melville's day, this would have been a much more enjoyable book to read.