Joseph Conrad 
Typhoon 

Typhoon is a short novel by Joseph Conrad. Captain Mac Whirr sails the SS Nan-Shan, a British-built steamer running under the Siamese flag, into a typhoon-a mature tropical cyclone of the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. Other characters include the young Jukes – most probably an alter ego of Conrad from the time he had sailed under captain John Mc Whirr – and Solomon Rout, the chief engineer. While Macwhirr, who, according to Conrad, "never walked on this Earth" – is emotionally estranged from his family and crew, and though he refuses to consider an alternative course to skirt the typhoon, his indomitable will in the face of a superior natural force elicits grudging admiration.