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Gr 9 Up-Filled with solid information, this resource will be useful to novice Melvillians trying to recall who delivered Tashtego from the whale's head, as well as to scholars who need a quick note on the poem "The Ravaged Villa." The entries, which include information on Melville's private and writing life, run from a 15-word note placing an obscure character in a particular work to an 11-page, chapter-by-chapter synopsis of Moby-Dick. The volume also contains a genealogy, a categorical appendix (people, characters, ships, places, etc.), a lengthy bibliography, and an 18-page index. It is illustrated with black-and-white photos and reproductions. As an alternative to Robert Gale's A Herman Melville Encyclopedia (Greenwood, 1995), which is bigger in every way, this relatively slender volume will meet the needs of most school libraries.