Joseph Conrad 
Typhoon (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) 

Conrad’s tale of life at sea follows steamship captain Tom Macwhirr—a man never afraid of the high seas’ monstrous storms. But this time he meets a storm with which his ship may not be able to compete. Macwhirr’s complex personality – a combination of courage and foolishness – is brought to bear on his battles with the ocean.

About the author

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), born the son of a noble Polish family as Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, rechristened himself with his pen name. He became one of the greatest prose stylists and novelists in the English language. A precursor to modernist literature, he mined his experiences in the French and British navies to create tragic tales that simultaneously delve into worldwide issues and the individual soul.