Herman Melville

"Call me Ishmael." Thus begins one of the most famous journeys in literature-the voyage of the whaling ship Pequod and its embattled, monomaniacal Captain Ahab. Ishmael quickly learns that the Pequod's captain sails for revenge against the elusive Moby Dick, a sperm whale with a snow-white hump and mottled skin that destroyed Ahab's former vessel and left him crippled. As the Pequod sails deeper through the nights and into the sea, the divisions between...

Stung by the critical reception and lack of commercial success of his previous books, Herman Melville became obsessed with the difficulties of communicating his vision to readers. That sense of isolation lies at the heart of these later works. "Billy Budd, Sailor" is the story of an innocent young man unable to defend himself against a wrongful accusation. The other selections include "Bartleby," "The Encantadas," "Benito Cereno," and "The Piazza."...