Moby Dick
Book Author Herman Melville
DescriptionMoby-Dick is a novel first published in 1851 by American author Herman Melville. The story tells the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale, Moby Dick, a white sperm whale of tremendous size and ferocity. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. Ahab intends to take revenge.
Considered the embodiment of American Romanticism,Moby-Dick is now often referred to as The Great American Novel and is one of the treasures of world literature. The first line of Chapter One—"Call me Ishmael."—is one of the most famous opening lines in American literature.
The story is based on the actual events around the whaleship Essex, which was attacked by a sperm whale while at sea and sank.