Gay Wilson Allen, Melville and His World, Thames & Hudson, 1971.

An introduction to Melville's life and times.

Newton Arvin, Herman Melville, Methuen, 1950.

A psychological, Freudian study of Melville that makes much of his relationship with his mother.

James Barbour, "The Composition of Moby-Dick," in On Melville: The Best from American Literature, edited by Louis J. Budd and Edwin Cady, Duke University Press, 1988, pp. 203-20.

An up-to-date critical approach to Melville's technique as a novelist.

Harold Bloom, introduction to Herman Melville's Moby- Dick, Chelsea House, 1986.

An overview of the novel and introduction to excerpts from important critical essays.

Harold Bloom, editor, Ahab, Chelsea House, 1991.

A collection of essays and critical extracts.

Paul Brodtkorb Jr., "Ishmael: The Nature and Forms of Deception," in Herman Melville, edited by Harold Bloom, Chelsea House, 1986, pp. 91-103.

Brodtkorb discusses the complexity of Ishmael's voice and position as narrator.

Albert Camus, "Melville: Un...