Meaning of "take" at the beginning of a sentence

Question

I couldn't understand the mechanism of a sentence from the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall:

when it comes to grabbing a spotlight and persuading people to do things they’d rather not, Fisher could put a televangelist to shame (well, as much as that’s possible). Take this classic Fish tale that Krakauer tells about a rafting trip Fisher made into the Copper Canyons in the mid-1980s.

My problem is with the second sentence Take this classic.... I can't understand the usage of the verb "take" at the beginning and so the rest of the sentence confuses me.

Answer 1

It means

You, reader, take this classic tale...

which is an imperative or "command" or "suggestion."

The meaning of take here is that of consider as an example.

(See Merriam-Webster definition 18b.)

Answer 2

Take in this context sets up an example of Fisher's persuasiveness. You could read it as "Take, for example, this classic Fish tale...."

Answer 3

Is that a partial sentence? "Take this classic Fish tale that Krakauer tells about a rafting trip Fisher made into the Copper Canyons in the mid-1980s" is a fragment that should probably be followed up by something like "which illustrates the principle of manipulation on the weak-minded"

Take is inviting the reader to take this example as if the author is 'giving' it to you as a gift. It's like a transactional prepositional phrase in this usage.