One of the greatest novels in American literature — now in a beautiful premium hardback edition, original and unabridged. Perfect for gifting and for the bookshelf you build a library around.
"Call me Ishmael."
So begins one of the most famous opening lines in fiction. Herman Melville's Moby Dick is the immortal story of Captain Ahab, his obsessed pursuit of the great white whale that took his leg on the Pequod's previous voyage — and the reflective sailor Ishmael, whose voice carries us through a journey of madness, faith, and the wild unknowability of the sea.
Through Ahab's mad quest, Melville raises some of literature's most enduring questions: about man versus nature, about the limits of obsession, about fate and the human struggle. Ishmael's vantage point creates an almost out-of-body reading experience as he observes the extremes of human passion play out on a doomed ship.
Witty, thrilling, and philosophically alive, Moby Dick is by turns adventure novel, encyclopedia, sermon, and tragedy. A book to be read slowly, returned to, and treasured.
About this edition
The Penguin Select Classics edition presents the complete, unabridged text of Melville's masterpiece in a premium hardbound collector's binding — a beautifully produced edition designed to be kept, displayed, and gifted.
About the author
Herman Melville (1819–1891) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. Born in New York City and orphaned by his father's death at a young age, he signed on as a sailor at eighteen and spent years at sea — voyages that would later shape his fiction. Moby Dick was published in 1851 to mixed reception in his lifetime; today it stands as one of the towering achievements of world literature. His other works include Typee, Bartleby, the Scrivener, and the posthumously published Billy Budd.
