Herman Melville

White-Jacket Herman Melville

Part autobiography and part epic fiction, White-Jacket is a moving tribute to wanderlust by one of the great writers of the sea. Based on Melville's experiences aboard the USS United States from 1843 to 1844 as it sailed the Pacific and made the homeward voyage around Cape Horn, the story details the harsh and brutal realities of service in the US Navy at that time. White-Jacket is both a sea adventure and a harrowing social critique, and the vessel at its heart becomes a microcosm of America itself, shining a perceptive light on the social divisions and injustices of the time. Herman Melville was an American poet, essayist, short story writer, and novelist. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick, which has been hailed as one of the literary masterpieces of both American and world literature.