The sailor Ishmael gets employed at the whaling ship The Pequod, which is steered by the eccentric captain Ahab. The captain is obsessed with the giant white whale Moby Dick and his mad hunt on the dangerous animal brings all the crew’s lives in danger.Herman Melville (1819-1891) was an American author whose books were based on his own experiences as a sailor. Today Herman Melville is world famous for his novel "Moby Dick" but in his time the novel was ill received and quickly forgotten. Not until many years after Herman Melville's death did "Moby Dick" get rediscovered and today it is considered one of the greatest classics in American literature.