Drawn against the backdrop of the age of sail, when the maritime trade was comprised of wooden ships and iron men, Dana painted a beautifully described canvas, including the wretched treatment of sailors at sea. What resulted was a vivid account and a shrewdly observed narrative. It remains a window onto a way of life virtually unknown during that period and since.

When your workday seems that it can't get any worse, take a moment with the PalmPilot device edition of this classic and be thankful that flogging, keelhauling and gruel suppers aren't a part of the mission statement for your workplace. [Who says? --DG]

Reference documents
Many of us worry about money a great deal of the time. To help you understand some of the more complicated aspects of money, many parts of Chris Lott's Investment FAQ have been converted into Doc format. To date, over 30 different topics have been addressed, including Internal Rate of Return (IRR), how to research a company before investing, advice for beginning investors, the basics of bonds, the relationship between the price of bonds and the interest rate, basics about derivatives and stock options, and many more. And others are being converted to Doc format all the time.

If you work in a professional environment, it's likely that you've had the dubious pleasure of travelling for business. While no one can make business travel a painless experience (except maybe your physician), it can be made a bit easier to manage by having the right information handy. For example, James Bowe's list of 1-800 numbers for the major hotel, motel, & auto rental companies could be quite useful should you find yourself stuck in a strange city due to bad weather or striking air traffic controllers. In case you travel a great deal and are a member of the various frequent flyer programs, you may find it helpful to have with you a list of all the Delta Crown Rooms or American Airlines Admiral's Clubs in airports around the world (provided by Nick Marsh). If travelling has you stressed, wouldn't it be great to know if there's a good place to get a drink nearby? Ray Duda's list of The World's Best Bars, as voted by Newsweek, will help you answer that very question.

Should you find yourself between jobs, you might find it useful to read Job Interviewing Tips by Mike LaFountain. In it, you can learn some handy communication and negotiation tips that might just help you land that perfect job. In case you think you're not up on the latest corporate and investment jargon, check out Andy Ho's Glossary of Business Terms. Do YOU know what a "coincident indicator" is? This work is chock full of terminology both common and obscure, all nicely defined in context.

In case your philosophy is similar to Jack Nicholson's and you think that "all work and no play" is a bad thing, you're going to want to make sure you know all the important upcoming holidays. If you have JFile, you can download Tom Murpy's lists of US holidays, UK holidays, Islamic holidays, and Jewish holidays through 1999. Should you want to claim a religion based on the number of days you get off each year, these documents should make the task a bit easier.