Herman Melville wrote what would become America's greatest novel and died in obscurity, his obituary misspelling his name. In this first episode of our four-part Moby Dick series, we explore the dramatic life that shaped this masterpiece: Melville's privileged childhood shattered by his father's bankruptcy and death, his desperate turn to the sea, his years hunting whales in the Pacific, and his brief literary fame followed by crushing failure.

We dive deep into the brutal, dangerous world of 1840s whaling, an industry that lit the lamps of the world and killed one in five of its workers. And we examine the significant themes that make Moby Dick essential reading for anyone who's ever wondered what happens when obsession consumes a soul, when leaders stop caring about their followers, and when the universe seems indifferent to human suffering.

This is the story of a genius the world wasn't ready for and a book that had to wait decades for resurrection.