Moby-dick; or, the whale is an epic sea-story of captain ahab's voyage in pursuit of moby dick, a great white whale and is considered one of the great american novels and a leading work of american romanticism. narrated by ishmael the story follows the voyage of the whaleship pequod, commanded by captain ahab who sole mission is revenge on moby dick, a ferocious white whale which had destroyed ahab's ship and severed his leg at the knee. herman melville was an american writer of novels, short stories and poetry. melville was a schoolteacher for a short time and a seaman. on his first voyage he jumped ship in the marquesas islands. his first book, typee, was an account of that time and became a bestseller and melville became known as the "man who lived among the cannibals." public indifference to moby-dick put an end to his career as a popular author. it was not until the "melville revival" in the early 20th century that his work won recognition.