A dangerous voyage on the high seas! A megalomaniac captain! Lots and lots of information about whales!
That's right: It's time for Boston Public Radio's Book Club — the "Moby-Dick" edition.
Co-hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan, author Alex Beam, and BPR producer Amanda McGowan chatted with listeners about Herman Melville's classic novel and teased out the themes that still resonate today.
For Beam, the story is a reminder of humanity's shared lot, with an ominous message for societies captained by reckless leaders.
"It's the ship of humanity, right?" Beam said of the book's ship, the Pequod.
"All of us are on this voyage together, and we're going to die in this terrible whirlpool, brought down by the leader of a faith we don't actually believe in," he said.
