First published in 1851, Herman Melville's compelling seafaring adventure, 'Moby Dick', was only recognized as a classic in the 20th century. The work comments on the brutality of the 19th century whaling industry and humanity's quest to conquer nature. It's the first western novel to feature same-sex marriage and it reflected on the injustices of hierarchy and slavery. Its environmental themes still resonate today, and its fractured structure and vivid portrayal of the natural world make it an early modernist masterpiece, one of America's greatest novels.