Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale

First published in 1851, Herman Melville's classic novel Moby-Dick chronicles the adventures of Ishmael, a wandering merchant mariner who joins the crew of the whale ship Pequod. Ishmael soon discovers that the ship's commander, Captain Ahab, is in obsessive pursuit of Moby-Dick, a ferocious, giant white bull sperm whale who destroyed Ahab's ship and bit off his leg during a previous encounter. Filled with complex themes, symbolism and metaphor, Melville's novel was initially met with mixed reviews, but is now considered one of the great American novels.