Rating: 
Summary: This is the worst book I have ever read
Review: This is the worst book ever written. Herman Melville wrote this book and then hid it himself because he was so ashamed of its lack of plot, tangled metaphors, idiotic characters, and ridiculously slow pacing. At the 'high point' of the book, when Billy Budd is hung, the reader feels only a wonderful sense of relief and a profound sense of joy in the knowladge that the book will be over soon. I would advise you not to waste your money on this book unless perhaps there is a national toilet paper shortage
Rating: 
Summary: Power and magnificence overcomes difficult writing
Review: This novella is difficult to read, with long and complex sentences and perhaps unnecessary diversions. But its power and depth reward the effort it takes to read it."Billy Budd" is an allegory of a young seaman who strikes and kills a superior officer when the officer's cruelty and treachery become unbearable. The focus of the story is the debate over whether to execute the seaman (Billy Budd) for his crime. With passionate and terrifying logic, Melville (through the voice of Captain Vere) demonstrates that human perfection is impossible - not because we humans are weak, but because perfection simply does not and cannot exist in this world. To make decisions based on our notion of "divine justice" is not only impractical and foolhardy, according to Melville, but even immoral. If you like to think of yourself as an idealist, then reading this book will leave some unanswered questions in your mind, possibly for the rest of your life. I first read this story more than thirty years ago, and it still affects the way I think about almost everything to this day.
Rating:
Summary: Power and magnificence overcomes difficult writing
Review: This novella is difficult to read, with long and complex sentences and perhaps unnecessary diversions. But its power and depth reward the effort it takes to read it. "Billy Budd" is an allegory of a young seaman who strikes and kills a superior officer when the officer's cruelty and treachery become unbearable. The focus of the story is the debate over whether to execute the seaman (Billy Budd) for his crime. With passionate and terrifying logic, Melville (through the voice of Captain Vere) demonstrates that human perfection is impossible - not because we humans are weak, but because perfection simply does not and cannot exist in this world. To make decisions based on our notion of "divine justice" is not only impractical and foolhardy, according to Melville, but even immoral. If you like to think of yourself as an idealist, then reading this book will leave some unanswered questions in your mind, possibly for the rest of your life. I first read this story more than thirty years ago, and it still affects the way I think about almost everything to this day.
Rating:
Summary: God Bless Billy Budd!
Review: This was required reading in college. I enjoyed it a lot and noticed a lot of religious symbolism in it, especially with the line "A chip of Billy is like a chip of the cross". Billy is a well-liked person except by Claggart. Captain Vere likes Billy but is forced to choose between his naval duties or bailing Billy Budd out. I think the sarcastic line uttered by Claggart "Handsome is as handsome does" inspired a line in Forrest Gump "Stupid is as stupid does" (If I went too into detail about the story, I'd be giving away a little too much!). A classic story!
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Summary: Billy Budd is an historic event
Review: While much has been said about the value of the work itself, Billy Budd is important not only as an allegory, but as a fictionalized account of an actual event in the 1840s. The real Billy Budd was Philip Spencer, the son of the Secretary of War at the time. Spencer left Union College after founding the first social greek letter society, Chi Psi. He signed on with a training ship, the Brig of War Somers. The Somers was overcrowded with young recruits and captained by a paranoid zealot. Midshipman Spencer was falsely accused of fomenting mutiny and ultimately hung from the yard arm rather than betray the fact that he was recruiting for his fraternity. The need for secrecy was particularly keen, since his own father was famous for his prosecution of the Masons based on alleged murder to prevent the masonic secrets from being disseminated. His hanging was not only against the law at the time, but also offended all sense of fairness. Following the investigation of his murder, it became emphatically clear that it was necessary to change the way the United States was to train its navy. The direct result was the founding of the United States Naval Academy, in whose museum Midshipman Spencer's sword is on display.
Rating:
Summary: a good book worth my time
Review: Yes, the book is rather slow. But I don'tenjoy books for plot, I enjoy them by how they are written. Billy Budd is a wonderfully written book where Melville uses the perfect wording to describe settings, characters,and events. IF you are looking for a book that has blood, guts, and other trash, then this isn't your book, but if you are looking for a fine peice of art then this is your book. And this book is more than just about gay guys, which a close-minded individual so hatefully put it, it can be seen about a commentary on humanity's jealousy and the extent he will go to to destroy the object of his jealousy.
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