Captain Ahab has an all-consuming obsession: to exact revange on the great white whale that ripped off his leg in a previous encounter. The scars run deep. Ahab's "torn body and gashed soul bled into one another", rendering him mad. But as master of the Pequod he is determined to be master of his destiny. Party to this single-minded pursuit are Ahab's assorted crewmen, including Starbuck, the First Mate torn between following orders and scuttling an ill-conceived venture; Queequeg, the tattoed Polynesian harpooner; and the narrator, Ishmael, who introduces himself in one of the most famous openings in literature. The novel charts an indirect course, tacking furiously to incorporate a host of diverting subplots, thought-provoking ideas and enterraining asides, all the while heading remordelessly to the epic confrontation between Ahab and his nemesis. Moby Dick is both a classic seafaring tale by a writer who lived and breathed such ocean-going escapades, and a profound exploration of the nature of good and evil. Richly textured and multi-layered, Melville's magnum opus ranks among the foremost works of American fiction, one of the greatest novels in the English language.