Esoteric nautical and whaling terms and extensive exposition made reading this a bit of a slog, but I cannot say one bit of it was "unnecessary". I was slowly sucked into the world of 19th century whaling. Thank goodness for the glossary and helpful illustrations of the Penguin Classics edition. By the final chapters, everything I learned was put to use as Melville beautifully and precisely conveyed the fateful, concluding action of the story.

Overall, a clear classic. An American myth of obsession and arrogance.