About the Author

Herman Melville (1819 - 1891) worked as a bank clerk, cabin boy and schoolteacher before embarking on the whalter Acushnet in 1841. Deserting the ship the following year, he made his way to Tahiti and Honolulu, eventually returning to the United States. Books based on his adventures were immediate successful, but his masterpiece Moby Dick was considered too complex. Frederick Busch is the author of many works of fiction. He teaches literature and fiction writing at Colgate University, USA.