White Jacket; Or, The World on a Man-of-War

by Herman Melville

"White-Jacket; Or, The World on a Man-of-War" by Herman Melville is a novel published in 1850. Drawing from Melville's service aboard a U.S. Navy frigate, this work delivers a fierce critique of American naval life. The story follows a sailor whose homemade white jacket becomes both his identity and his curse, leading to near-fatal encounters at sea. Melville's graphic descriptions of flogging helped abolish the practice in the Navy, making this his most politically charged work and a precursor to "Moby-Dick."