I finished reading this book yesterday. My version has 377 pages. The White Whale does not show up until page 357. Most of the book is spent on excruciating details of the types of whales, ships and whalers. Everything from which whale is best for what type of oil to which artist of whaling scenes best captures the moment. Everything you wanted to know and many things you did not. I wondered, "Why is this book considered a classic?".
I see the value as a historical piece, detailing everything one would want to know about how to catch, skin, clean, make oil, and the like. You are schooled on the many professions that depended on the whaling business, how to outfit a ship, hire a crew, finance the voyage, etc. It increased my understanding of what that life was like at that time and at that place.
Interesting, yes. Readable for those of an era gone by, absolutely. A great piece of literature, no. The folks at Penguin books place it #1 on their list of ten greatest American novels. Eggheads. Stereotypically, they call it "a metaphor for America's post 9/11 foreign policy" Nope, not the version I read, not the country I live in.
I would recommend it to anyone who 1) lives in Nantucket and wants to learn about the history of the area 2) aspires to go into the whaling business 3) is interviewing for a job at Penguin books.
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