"White Jacket" written by Herman Melville (best
known for his classic whaling novel) was first published in 1850 and is considered
to be a semi-biographical book, written from Melville's own personal
experiences while returning home to the Atlantic Coast from the South Seas with
the American Navy on a man-o'-war vessel. In the note preceding the novel,
Melville states, "In the year 1843 I shipped as 'ordinary seaman' on board
of a United States frigate then lying in a harbor of the Pacific Ocean. After
remaining in this frigate for more than a year, I was discharged from the
service . . ." //ir
