Moby Dick was first published in America in 1851.

As if to strike a quick terror into them, by this time being the first assailant himself, Moby Dick had turned, and was now coming for the three crews. Ahab's boat was central; and cheering his men, he told them he would take the whale head-and-head, — that is, pull straight up to his forehead, — a not uncommon thing; for when within a certain limit, such a course excludes the coming onset from the whale's sidelong vision. But ere that close limit was gained, and while yet all three boats were plain as the ship's three masts to his eye; the White Whale churning himself into furious speed, almost in an instant as it were, rushing among the boats with open jaws, and a lashing tail, offered appalling battle on every side; and heedless of the irons darted at him from every boat, seemed only intent on annihilating each separate plank of which those boats were made.

- Excerpt from Chapter 134 of Moby Dick

Although now a revered American classic, Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, was not well received when Harper & Brothers first published it in 1851. Full of symbolism and figurative language, Moby Dick tells the story of the crazed and vengeful Captain Ahab and his quest to catch the Great White Whale that had cost him one of his legs in an earlier battle. The epic novel was influenced by Melville's own adventures as a harpooner on a whaling boat in the South Seas. Melville joined a ship's crew as cabin boy when he was 19 and later set sail aboard a whaler. He was jailed in Tahiti for mutiny, but escaped and wandered the South Seas for several years. Melville settled in Massachusetts after his adventures, turning to writing and working as a customs inspector. Melville was already a successful author when he wrote Moby Dick, with two popular novels and a number of popular short stories to his credit. Moby Dick, however, sold poorly when it was first published. During Melville's lifetime, fewer than 4,000 copies of the novel were sold. Today, however, the novel is recognized as Melville's greatest work, and Melville himself is counted among the greatest of American authors.

Xpeditions
Beluga Whales in the Ice (K-2) helps young students learn about how beluga whales survive in icy arctic and sub-arctic waters and why they sometimes need to migrate. Students view and sketch photographs of ice at different stages of thickness, look at pictures of belugas and discuss how belugas' bodies are adapted to life in the ice. They conclude by writing and illustrating paragraphs about how belugas survive in the ice and where the whales go when the ice becomes too thick.

In Can Crittercam Help Protect Humpbacks? (6-8), students learn about humpback whales' bubblenet feeding behavior and how Crittercam is being used to investigate it underwater. They read and discuss a National Geographic News article about Crittercam. Safely worn by wildlife, Crittercams capture video, sound and other information, giving us rare views of the private lives of animals.

In Can You Hear a Whale? (6-8), students listen to the vocalizations of several whale species and the special sounds of distinct blue whale populations. They consider why different whale species make different sounds, and they learn about the ways scientists are able to record these sounds. They conclude by writing paragraphs as if they were scientists studying blue whale calls and describing their research process.

In Why Do Whales Make Sounds? (3-5), students learn about the vocalizations of several whale species and the special calls of different populations of blue whales. They are asked to learn snippet