Herman Melville: The First Voyage

The novel tells the story of a young American sailor who tries to maintain his romantic innocence in the face of harsh conditions aboard ship and the horrors of the Liverpool dens. Still on land, the young man dreams of a life at sea: I don't care! The very word conjured up images of a black, sea-worn vessel with high, comfortable timbers and leaning masts and boom. The author credits the book to his brother Thomas, who sailed as a sailor to China.