Empire for Liberty Author:Wai-Chee Dimock Wai-chee Dimock approaches Herman Melville not as a timeless genius, but as a historical figure caught in the politics of an imperial nation and an "imperial self." She challenges our customary view by demonstrating a link between the individualism that enabled Melville to write as a sovereign author and the nationalism that allowed America to g... more »row into what Jefferson hoped would be an "empire for liberty."« less