Moby-dick; or, the whale is a novel by american writer herman melville, published in 1851 during the period of the american renaissance. sailor ishmael tells the story of the obsessive quest of ahab, captain of the whaler pequod, for revenge on moby dick, the white whale which on an earlier voyage destroyed his ship and severed his leg at the knee. the novel was a commercial failure and out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891, but during the 20th century, its reputation as a great american novel was established. william faulkner confessed he wished he had written it himself, and d. h. lawrence called it "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world", and "the greatest book of the sea ever written". "call me ishmael" is among world literature's most famous opening sentences.