Melville's first novel was based on his experiences in French Polynesia. Tommo and Toby, tired of an abusive life on the whaling ship, decide to hide on an island. They soon discover the Typees, who bring them into their village with kindness, despite being cannibals. Contrasting the idyllic life of the natives with the corrupting influence of civilization, Typee gives early evidence of Melville's genius.

White-Jacket; or, The World in a Man-of-War is the fifth book by American writer Herman Melville, first published in London in 1850. The book is based on the author's fourteen months service in the United States Navy, aboard the frigate USS "Neversink" (actually the USS United States). From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Redburn: His First Voyage is the fourth book by the American writer Herman Melville, first published in London in 1849. The book is semi-autobiographical and recounts the adventures of a refined youth among coarse and brutal sailors and the seedier areas of Liverpool. Melville wrote Redburn in less than ten weeks. While one scholar describes it as "arguably his funniest work," scholar F.O. Matthiessen calls it "the most moving of its author's books before Moby-Dick". From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Set on a Mississippi steamer on April Fool's Day and populated by a series of shape-shifting con men, The Confidence-Man is a challenging metaphysical and ethical exploration of antebellum American society.