Journey to the heart of the sea with this larger-than-life classic. Regarded as the Great American Novel, Moby Dick is the ultimate tale of seeking vengeance. Narrated by the crew member Ishmael , this epic whaling adventure follows the crew of the Pequod , as its captain, Ahab , descends deeper and deeper into madness on his quest to find and kill the white whale that maimed him . Beyond the surface—of ship life, whaling, and the hunt for the elusive Moby Dick—are allegorical references to life, and even the universe, in this masterpiece by Herman Melville. Complete and unabridged , this newly designed edition features an introduction by American literature scholar Christopher McBride and a timeline of the life and times of Herman Melville . Essential volumes for the shelves of every classic literature lover, the Chartwell Classics series includes beautifully presented works and collections from some of the most important authors in literary history. Chartwell Classics are the editions of choice for the most discerning literature buffs.   Other titles in the  Chartwell Classics Series  include:  The Essential Tales & Poems of Edgar Allen Poe ; The Essential Tales of H.P. Lovecraft ; The Federalist Papers ; The Inferno ; The Call of the Wild and White Fang ; Emma ; The Odyssey ; Pride and Prejudice ; Grimm’s Fairy Tales ; The Alchemist ; The Great Gatsby ; The Secret Garden ; Anne of Green Gables ; The Phantom of the Opera ; The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital ; The Republic ; Frankenstein ; Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ; The Picture of Dorian Gray ; Meditations ; Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass ; A Tales of Two Cities ; Beowulf ; The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ; Little Women ; Wuthering Heights ; Peter Pan ; Persuasion ; Aesop’s Fables ; The Constitution of the United States and Selected Writings ; Crime and Punishment ; Dracula ; Great Expectations ; The Iliad ; Irish and Fairy Folk Tales ; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ; The War of the Worlds ; and The Time Machine and The Invisible Man .