Published in 1823 and written out of dissatisfaction with the nautical life depicted by Sir Walter Scott in The Pirate (1822), The Pilot pioneered a new kind of sea adventure tale which drew on its author's experiences as a merchant seaman and Navy sailor. Set during the American Revolution, the novel features a character based on John Paul Jones.

A famous naturalist seeks a near-extinct species of bird found only on the rarest of lands in "Audubon in Atlantis." A young American on a European holiday finds himself storming an enchanted German castle in "The Catcher in the Rhine." The philosopher Sokrates plays a key role in the Athenian victory over the Spartans in "The Daimon." Centaurs take a sea voyage aboard "The Horse of Bronze" to a land where they encounter a strange and frightening...

An epic of action-filled excitement. Rescued from drowning, a pampered gentleman awakes in a special kind of hell. He's aboard the Ghost, a sealing schooner outbound for months of hunting. Wolf Larson, the devilish captain, a fiendish crew, the cruel sea, and unlikely love make this tale immortal.

Includes the author's major novels and short stories as they appeared in their original form. Each work is preceded by a short introduction that fixes it biographically and chronologically.

Beautifully designed, classic edition of Melville's original tale...discovered unfinished in the author's desk shortly after his death. Billy Budd, a cheerful, good looking sailor with a natural charisma and innocence that makes him popular with the crew, is aboard a British ship during the Napoleonic wars. His only physical defect is a stutter which grows worse when under intense stress. Budd arouses the antagonism of the ship's bitter master-at-arms,...

A collection of critical essays and commentary on Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.