Originally published in German in 1926, and in English in 1934, it was Traven's first major success and is still the author's second best known work after The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

Owing to its scathing criticism of bureaucratic authority, nationalism, and abusive labor practices, it is often described as an anarchist novel.

Set just after World War I, The Death Ship describes the predicament of merchant seamen who lack documentation of citizenship, making them effectively stateless and therefore unable to find legal residence or employment in any nation.

Unable to prove his identity or his eligibility for employment, Gales is repeatedly arrested and deported from one country to the next, by government officials who do not want to be bothered with either assisting or prosecuting him.

When he finally manages to find work, it is on the Yorikke (possibly a reference to the Shakespeare play Hamlet), the dangerous and decrepit ship of the title, where undocumented workers from around the world are treated as expendable slaves.