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The Hunt for Moby-Dick

Writer Philip Hoare confronts our fascination with the ocean's mystery animal, the whale. He visits the whaling ports of New England and draws a parallel with the war on terror.

Acclaimed writer Philip Hoare confronts our fascination with one of the most mysterious animals in the ocean, the whale.

Travelling in the footsteps of Ishmael, the narrator of Herman Melville's 'Moby-Dick', the great American novel, he visits the whaling ports of New England. New Bedford was once the richest city in the USA, and the island of Nantucket is where the whaling industry began.

Hoare searches for the truth behind the story of Moby-Dick and draws an eerie parallel between Captain Ahab's crazed pursuit of the great white whale and today's war on terror. He enters a world haunted by a bloody and violent past, and, in the three mile-deep waters of the Atlantic, has his own encounter with the legendary sperm whale.

1 hour, 15 minutes

Last on

Thu 30 Jul 200923:20

Credits

RoleContributor
PresenterPhilip Hoare
DirectorAdam Low
ProducerMartin Rosenbaum
Executive ProducerAnthony Wall

Broadcasts

  • Sat 20 Sep 200822:30
  • Sat 20 Sep 200822:45
  • Fri 10 Oct 200801:55
  • Thu 30 Jul 200923:20