Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an epic sea-story of Captain Ahab's voyage in pursuit of Moby Dick, a great white whale and is considered one of the Great American Novels and a leading work of American Romanticism. Narrated by Ishmael the story follows the voyage of the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab who sole mission is revenge on Moby Dick, a ferocious white whale which had destroyed Ahab's ship and severed his leg at the knee. Herman Melville was an American writer of novels, short stories and poetry. Melville was a schoolteacher for a short time and a seaman. On his first voyage he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. His first book, Typee, was an account of that time and became a bestseller and Melville became known as the "man who lived among the cannibals." Public indifference to Moby-Dick put an end to his career as a popular author. It was not until the "Melville Revival" in the early 20th century that his work won recognition.