Delbanco does a great job of placing Melville in the time and place in which he lived, and shows how his personal milieu contributed to his ideas and his fiction and poetry. Particularly interesting is Melville's personal struggle with his desire to believe in God, and recent findings in his day and age which pointed to a lack of God's existence.

The sections of this books center around Melville's major works, Moby-Dick, "Bartelby: The Scrivner," and Billy Budd. Delbanco shows with exacting detail why these stories not only stand the test of time, but also stand as some of the greatest literary creations in American history.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves Melville's writing, or anyone who doesn't understand why they should love Melville's writing.