Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

Originally published in 1851, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a novel by American writer Herman Melville during the period of the American Renaissance. Sailor Ishmael tells the story of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaler the Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the white whale that on the previous whaling voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee.