'Ahoy there! This is the Pequod, bound round the world.'

In Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab is an eerily compelling madman who focuses his distilled hatred and suffering (and that of generations before him) into the pursuit of a creature as vast, dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself. More than just a novel of adventure, this is a haunting social commentary populated with some of the most enduring characters in literature. Written with wonderfully redemptive humour, Moby Dick is a profound and timeless inquiry into character, faith and the nature of perception.

Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design.

Why Novel North Recommends

'Reading Moby Dick, you feel as though you've accomplished something more than reading a classic, you feel as though you yourself have been transported, that you've embarked on an epic voyage and returned changed because of it.  An experience which stays with you.

It’s an incredible feat. Profound and humorous. Epic in scale and uncompromising in detail. An adventure classic.’

Author : Herman Melville 

Edition : Penguin Clothbound Classic, Hardback, 720 pages

ISBN : 9780141199603

Weight: 845g
Dimensions: 204 x 138 x 46mm

WINNER OF THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION
WINNER OF THE NIB LITERARY AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE FOR NONFICTION

When Rebecca Giggs encountered a humpback whale stranded on her local beach in Australia, she began to wonder how the lives of whales might shed light on the condition of our seas. How do whales experience environmental change? Has our connection to these fabled animals been transformed by technology? What future awaits us, and them? And what does it mean to write about nature in the midst of an ecological crisis?

In Fathoms: the world in the whale, Giggs blends natural history, philosophy, and science to explore these questions with clarity and hope. In lively, inventive prose, she introduces us to whales so rare they have never been named; she tells us of the astonishing variety found in whale sounds, and of whale 'pop' songs that sweep across hemispheres. She takes us into the deeps to discover that one whale's death can spark a great flourishing of creatures. We travel to Japan to board whaling ships, examine the uncanny charisma of these magnificent mammals, and confront the plastic pollution now pervading their underwater environment.

In the spirit of Rachel Carson and John Berger, Fathoms is a work of profound insight and wonder. It marks the arrival of an essential new voice in narrative nonfiction and provides us with a powerful, surprising, and compelling view of some of the most urgent issues of our time.

Why Novel North Recommends

‘Fathoms is fascinating in scope and moving in detail. It’s about our relationship with whales, but also our relationship with our surroundings and environment and it’s a book my thoughts often return to.’

Author : Rebecca Giggs

Edition : Scribe Publications, Hardback, 368 pages

ISBN : 9781911617839

Published : 12th November 2020

Weight: 594g

Dimensions: 234 x 153 x 30mm

An Illustrated Tour of the Night Sky

What We See in the Stars Kelsey Oseid is a richly illustrated guide to the myths, histories, and science of the celestial bodies of our solar system, with stories and information about constellations, planets, comets, the northern lights, and more.

Combining art, mythology, and science, What We See in the Stars is a tour of the night sky through more than a hundred magical pieces of original art, all accompanied by text that weaves related legends and lore with scientific facts.

This beautifully packaged book covers the night sky's most brilliant features such as constellations, the moon, the bright stars, and the visible planets, as well as less familiar celestial phenomena like the outer planets, nebulae, and deep space. Adults seeking to recapture the magic of youthful stargazing, younger readers interested in learning about natural history and outer space, and those who appreciate beautiful, hand-painted art will all delight in this charming book.Author : Kelsey Oseid

Edition : Pan Macmillan, Hardback, 160 pages

ISBN : 9780752266510

Published : 5th October 2015

Weight: 620g
Dimensions: 210 x 210 x 18mm

Whales are among the largest, most intelligent, deepest diving species to have ever lived on our planet. We have hunted them for thousands of years and scratched their icons into our mythologies. They simultaneously fill us with waves of terror, awe and affection - yet we know hardly anything about them.

Whales tend to only enter our awareness when they die, struck by a ship or stranded in the surf. They evolved from land-roaming, dog-like creatures into animals that move like fish, breathe like us, can grow to 300,000 pounds, live 200 years and roam entire ocean basins. Yet despite centuries of observing whales, we know little about their evolutionary past.

Palaeontologist Nick Pyenson takes us to the ends of the earth and to the cutting edge of whale research as he searches for the answers to some of our biggest questions about these graceful giants. His rich storytelling takes us deep inside the Smithsonian's unparalleled fossil collection, to frigid Antarctic waters, and to the arid desert of Chile, where scientists race against time to document the largest fossil whalebone site on earth.

Spying on Whales is an illuminating story of scientific discovery that brings readers closer to the most enigmatic and beloved animals of all time.

Author : Nick Pyenson 

Edition : Harper Collins, Paperback, 336 pages

ISBN : 9780008244507

Weight: 300g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 25mm