August 1

August 1 is the birthday of the great Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer and poet, known for his masterpiece, Moby-Dick (1851). He enjoyed early success with Typee (1846), a travel adventure, but his popularity quickly waned. He was a forgotten figure when he died in 1891. Moby Dick’s tale of the wandering Ishmael, the obsessed Captain Ahab and the enigmatic white whale explores many fundamental themes, including the nature of good and evil and the existence of God. When the book was published, Melville wrote to Nathaniel Hawthorne, “I have written a wicked book, and feel spotless as the lamb.”