BILLY BUDD SAILOR 水手比利·巴德

　　Billy Budd, Sailor has been called the best short novel ever written. In his brilliantly condensed narrative prose, Herman Melville fashions a legal parable in which reason and intellect prove incapable of preserving innocence in the face of evil. For all those who feel themselves threatened by a hostile and inflexible environment, there is special significance in this haunting story of a handsome sailor who becomes a victim of man's intransigence.
　　Since its posthumous publication in 1924, Billy Budd has become one of the acknowledged masterpieces of American literature.  

Billy Budd, Sailor has been called the best short novel ever written. In his brilliantly condensed narrative prose, Herman Melville fashions a legal parable in which reason and intellect prove incapable of preserving innocence in the face of evil. For all those who feel themselves threatened by a hostile and inflexible environment, there is special significance in this haunting story of a handsome sailor who becomes a victim of man's intransigence.
　　Since its posthumous publication in 1924, Billy Budd has become one of the acknowledged masterpieces of American literature

Introduction
Billy Budd, Sailor
Literary Allusions and Notes
Critical Excerpts
Suggestions for Further Reading