One of the most widely-read and respected books in all American literature, ""Moby Dick"" is the saga of Captain Ahab and his unrelenting pursuit of Moby Dick, the great white whale who maimed him during their last encounter. A novel blending high-seas romantic adventure, symbolic allegory, and the conflicting ideals of heroic determination and undying hatred, ""Moby Dick"" is also revered for its historical accounts of the whaling industry of the 1800s.