LEVIATHAN or,The Whale.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated 1st edn. [Complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE/NFINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,matt,wrap-around pale sand background with colour pictorial artwork illustration reproduction to dw/dj,with capitalised,black-lettered part-title and b other black-lettered remainder of ttile with grey-lettered author name; spine/backstrip with capitalised,black-lettered part-title as front but white-lettered remainder of title,grey-lettered author name (as front's) and publisher's brown illustrated colophon to foot of same,rear panel of dw/dj with continuation of colour illustration of the common whale with critics' black+grey lettered reviews for author's 'England's Lost Eden' title. Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks,tears or splits present. Top+fore-edges bright,crisp,generally clean without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright, crisp,unblemished,sharp-cornered,original plain dark green cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettering and gilt outline of a whale to spine/backstrip,a green+silver headband and immaculate reproduction illustrations of whale species' illustrated endpapers. UK,8vo HB+dw/dj, illustrated,st edn,1-453pp [paginated] includes a Prologue, XV (15) chapters,profuse illustrated with historical contemporary b/w illustration reproductions,b/w illustrations and modern contemporary b/w photographs throughoutthe text,a 6pp Bibliography,Picture Credits, Acknowledgements and an Index; plus [unpaginated] half-title,a b/w thumbnail whale illustrated title page,a dedication,a Contents list/table,an epigram [John Milton, 'Paradise Lost',quoted in title page of the first,English edition of 'Moby-Dick'] with a thumbnail b/w photograph of a whale object d'art illustrated frntis to its reverse. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional,and particularly internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its age 15-year-old age. It really is an exceptional, exemplary example for its cleanliness,brightness and lack of detracting faults. An extraordinary journey into the underwater world of the whale. Moby Dick is a book made mythic by its whale; but the reverse is also true. After Melville published his book in 1851, no one saw whales in quite the same way again. Melville created a modern myth out of an already legendary beast. But what is the true nature of the whale? Why does it fascinate us? All his life, Philip Hoare has been obsessed with these creatures, from the huge skeletons in London's Natural History Museum to adult encounters with the wild animals themselves. Whales haunt him, as they seem to elide with dark fantasies of sea-serpents and other antediluvian monsters that swim in our collective unconscious. In 'Leviathan', he seeks to locate and identify that obsession. Why do these strange,beautiful,and mysterious animals so vividly inhabit and have a hold on our collective imaginations? Is it a symbol of Edenic innocence in a time of threatened species and climate change? Or an older emblem of evil, the grotesque fish which swallowed Jonah? Travelling around the globe in search of the whale, Philip Hoare sheds light on our perennial fascination with the strange creatures of the sea,whose nature remains tantalizingly undiscovered. Philip Hoare is the author of several books, including `Serious Pleasures: The Life of Stephen Tennant'; `Noel Coward: A Biography'; `Oscar Wilde's Last Stand'; `Spike Island' and `England's Lost Eden'. He lives in Hoxton, London, and Southampton, and each summer visits Cape Cod, where, as a member of the Center for Coastal Studies, he undertakes twice-daily expeditions to watch its whales. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **