first american edition of the author\'s masterpiece, one of the greatest works of imagination in literary history.as ishmael is drawn into captain ahab\'s obsessive quest to slay the white whale moby-dick, he finds himself engaged in a metaphysical struggle between good and evil. captain ahab as an eerily compelling madman focuses his distilled hatred and suffering and that of generations before him into the pursuit of a creature as vast, dangerous and unknowable as the sea itself.this title is a haunting social commentary populated with some of the most enduring characters in literature.initially discarded by critics and readers when published in 1851 in the 20th century moby dick was rediscovered and acknowledged as the greatest of all american novels.arguably the greatest single work in american literature, moby-dick was initially misunderstood by the critics and ignored by the public. nevertheless, herman melville’s permanent fame will always rest on the great prose epic of moby-dick, a book that has no equal in american literature for variety and splendor of style and for depth of feeling.