Kevin J. Hayes, of the University of Central Oklahoma, has shown a recent relish for this kind of expository endeavour, having edited the Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe (2002) and completed the forthcoming American Literature: A Very Short Introduction for Oxford University Press. Those who have surveyed the raft of single-author Cambridge Introductions that have emerged in the last few years – on American subjects from Stowe to Fitzgerald – will be familiar with the limitations and opportunities he has been afforded in this volume. Published ostensibly for a first-year undergraduate audience, the template – a brisk 150 pages divided into “Life,” “Contexts,” “Writings” and “Reception” – might be thought something of a thankless task. Despite these limitations, this relatively new series continues to prove an illuminating barometer of shifting critical and canonical tastes, and Hayes's lucid introduction succeeds in presenting as much of an individual vision of Melville as the format allows.

The series lays an emphasis on “fresh interpretation,” an aspect most clearly on display here in the volume's idiosyncratic reassessment of the Melville canon. Whilst retaining a necessary emphasis on Moby-Dick, Hayes offers his audience a more far-reaching account of the oeuvre than one might have expected. These efforts are directed at three neglected works: a reassessment of the flânerie of Omoo, a claim for the unity of Battle-Pieces, and a reading of Clarel within the tradition of the American verse epic. Most strikingly, an extended case is made for wider attention to Melville's significance as a correspondent, “among the finest letter writers in American literary history” (74). Whilst some educators may quarrel with the space afforded to these readings, others will welcome the breadth they add to the often lopsided Melville still on offer in some classrooms.

In his most important contribution to Melville scholarship, Melville's Folk Roots (1999) – a study of the demotic underpinnings of the author's major works – Hayes proved himself a sound reader of mid-century popular culture. This expertise is put to effective use in his succinct biographical account (students can never be reminded often enough of the young Melville's employment in a Honolulu bowling alley), and his sketches of Melville's various contexts: “visual,” “urban,” “existential,” “the context of labor.” Perhaps the central attraction for its student readership will be the extensive guide to secondary reading, an aspect that sets it apart from others in its series. Hayes offers a generously annotated bibliography, deftly charting the highlights of the Melville industry.

Inevitably, there are limitations and weaknesses: documentation is an area in which the book could have been better designed, and the organization of the “contexts” chapter is often confusing. Nonetheless, rather than swamping those new to the subject with facts, Hayes has opted for a suggestive and engaging approach which teachers will be happy to recommend. It may not bring students to hate Moby-Dick any less, but by communicating some sense of the mystery and allure of Melville's works as a whole, this volume may just prompt more general reading.