Melvilles continuing adventures in the South Seasnow for the first time in Penguin Classics Following the commercial and critical success of "Typee, " Herman Melville continued his series of South Sea adventure-romances with "Omoo, " Named after the Polynesian term for a rover, or someone who roams from island to island, "Omoo" chronicles the tumultuous events aboard a South Sea whaling vessel and is based on Melvilles personal experiences as a crew member on a ship sailing the Pacific. From recruiting among the natives for sailors to handling deserters and even mutiny, Melville gives a first-person account of life as a sailor during the nineteenth century filled with colorful characters and vivid descriptions of the far-flung locales of Polynesia.