Sailing Alone Around The World Joshua Slocum 9781636000527 Books
Download As PDF : Sailing Alone Around The World Joshua Slocum 9781636000527 Books
Challenged by an expert who said it couldn't be done, Joshua Slocum, an indomitable New England sea captain, set out in April of 1895 to prove that a man could sail alone around the world. 46,000 miles and a little over 3 years later, the proof was complete Captain Slocum had performed the epic "first" single-handedly in a trusty 34-foot sloop called the "Spray." This is Slocum's own account of his remarkable adventures during the historic voyage.
Sailing Alone Around The World Joshua Slocum 9781636000527 Books
I read a lot of sailing-adventure books. I started with Melville's books about sailing (Moby Dick and White Jacket are my favorites), then found books like Kon Tiki and The Seed Buried Deep. There are a lot of good sailing books out there, but I think this one is the best.The narrator is unassuming, stalwart, and an amazing sailer. I'm talking late 19th century sailing, when people navigated by the stars, didn't have GPS or sat-phones, and even did all their own repairs.
Perhaps what I love most about this adventure is how it starts, and I'll mention that since it won't give much away: The captain of the book starts out by being given an old wreck of a ship, and he spends several months repairing it, rebuilding it, and reinventing the vessel. It's a great story overall about a guy who can literally do it all.
Of all the sailing books I've read, I like this one the most. Reading it, you truly feel like (with the proper experience and know-how), you could sail the globe and have a good time doing it.
Product details
|
Tags : Sailing Alone Around The World [Joshua Slocum] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Challenged by an expert who said it couldn't be done, Joshua Slocum, an indomitable New England sea captain,Joshua Slocum,Sailing Alone Around The World,Loki's Publishing,1636000525,TRAVEL General
People also read other books :
- Guide to France for history travellers Guides for History Travellers Book 2 eBook Bob Fowke
- 10 MoneySaving Tips for Your Walt Disney World Vacation Building Blocks for a Great Disney Vacation Book 4 eBook Barbara Nefer
- Under Lord Wyndam Protection Older Man Younger Woman Menage Age Play Romance edition by Zoe Belle RB Literature Fiction eBooks
- El ángel que no merecía morir Spanish Edition eBook Carmelo Di Fazio
- An Unexpected Third 2 MMF Bisexual Romance edition by Nicole Stewart Literature Fiction eBooks
Sailing Alone Around The World Joshua Slocum 9781636000527 Books Reviews
It's no wonder this excellent piece of literature is public domain, what Joshua Slocum set to accomplish later in life is awe inspiring, as is the actual journey, made both personal and entertaining by his perspective, humor, and self effacing eloquence. Enlightened world view not without it's occasional prejudices, but impressive nonetheless given that it is over 100 years back in time. Joshua Slocum did something no human had ever done before, sail alone around the world, but throughout the journey his focus and detail in his storytelling is rich with experiences and encounters, particularly when it came to other humans. He was far from alone. Please read this book.
As a sailor, I read Joshua Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World years ago. It is one of those literary treasures that one reads and revisits through happy memories and new insights for decades after. Slocum's writing style matches the minimalism of Hemingway. He accomplished something that no one had ever done in a vessel so small, yet he describes his many adventures along the way with a modest, direct, matter-of-fact style that implies anyone could have done a circumnavigation in a 37 foot wooden boat. Anyone who spends time on the water or who wonders what's beyond the far horizon will savor and enjoy this book.
Sailing Alone Around the World is a firsthand autobiographical story of Joshua Slocum, the first man to sail singlehandedly around the world. The book, first published in 1901, would be considered an "old book" if not for the fact that, by any other measure, it is a timeless story. Slocum's personal words, illustrations and maps combine to create a literary gem that serves as a memoir of adventure travel, a motivational and spiritual guide, and a lesson in modesty and resilience.
Sailing Alone Around the World is the story of an aging sea captain who, in 1893, found himself out of work, out of prospects, out of plans, and out of dreams, but somehow managed to put himself back to work, create his own prospects, make a daring plan, and pursue a new dream. In doing so, Slocum not only succeeded in realizing his seemingly impossible dream, but also succeeded in turning himself into a record-setting global hero, whose voyage was followed closely by newspapers in every country in the world. His is a timeless story of courage, of defying the odds and the naysayers, and of changing the world of sailing--and of dreaming--forever.
Before 1895, Joshua Slocum was a professional ship captain in an era of transition from sailing ships to steam ships. Like many commercial captains of that generation, he took his family along on the ships he captained while delivering cargo from port to port in different parts of the world. Rather than be away from his family for months or years at the time, his wife and children traveled with him. But in an era that life expectancy hovered somewhere in the mid-forties, Slocum at fifty found himself unemployed and without prospects of future employment. An acquaintance gifted him the decrepit remains of a small boat called the Spray. It was a 37-foot oyster sloop, whose wood had rotten away and left little of its original structure and none of its seaworthiness.
Slocum, an endlessly curios self-educated maritime expert had a good working knowledge of shipbuilding, which he applied to restoring the Spray, bringing it back to its proud, seagoing past. The boat was designed for coastal work, not for ocean crossing, but that did not stop Slocum. After he sailed the Spray locally up and down the New England coast, a publisher suggested a journey around the world--alone! No one has ever done that, let along in a small sailboat, but Slocum was undeterred.
Sailing Alone Around the World chronicles Slocum's three-year journey, beginning in 1895. He crossed the Atlantic to Gibraltar, then back west to South America, struggled valiantly through the traitorous Strait of Magellan, and sailed across the Pacific. He paid visits to various islands, visited New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, and then crossed the Atlantic for the third time, arriving back in Massachusetts with his sailing log at over 46,000 miles.
Slocum writes in a conversational, unassuming voice of a man who knows what he is doing and faces the elements with even temper and a cool mind. His descriptions and illustrations of fascinating foreign lands, many of them unexplored at that time, as well as sea and land animals, are priceless. The challenges that nature threw in his way across the vast oceans nearly destroyed him and the Spray many times. He faced pirates, savages, thieves, and a variety of mechanical and technical breakdowns, each potentially fatal. Defying all odds, he returned home to write the book while becoming a household name and serving as a role model for countless courageous sailors who risk their lives circumnavigating the globe even today.
The book's fluid prose is clear and straightforward so that even the modern reader quickly forgets how long ago it was written. Between the lines, we can tell that Slocum was a humorous man, who took life seriously, but didn't take himself too seriously. He risked his life repeatedly in a pursuit of a dream, but he writes about it with no pretentions. On the contrary, he makes it sound as if anyone could have done it.
An amusing anecdote tells of Slocum's meeting with the popular, long-time president of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger, a man of German descent who was deeply religious. When Slocum was introduced to President Kruger as someone who was sailing around the world, the president became upset and insisted that Slocum was selling on the world, not around it. There followed a meeting with the president's team of scientists who were busy proving (at the president's insistance) that the world was indeed flat and not round as most of people knew. With his typical humor, which got him through other tight spots throughout his long journey, Slocum made light of the disagreement and agrees to consider the world flat while he was on land. Thus earning President Kroger's affection, Slocum enjoyed extensive sightseeing trips across the magnificent South African topographical wonders, vibrant wildlife, and fascinating tribal cultures.
Even when describing horrendous conditions and near-death experiences at sea, the author tells his story matter-of-factly, explaining how he contended with each crisis in a practical and logical way. When he describes how he fell off his boat during a violent storm while trying to change sails, he mentions casually the fact that he had never learned how to swim. "What is the point?" He asks. In other words, it was the opinion of this lifelong seaman that, when a person falls off in the middle of the ocean, he is better off drowning quickly than treading water for long time only to suffer a slow death. Considering that his trip took place before radio or any of the modern communication devices that and can alert rescuers the distress, his logic appears sound, though extreme.
In summary, Sailing Alone Around the World is a fascinating story, well written, and suspenseful. It provides a snapshot of an old world, barely on the verge of modernity, yet it creates a panoramic snapshot that provides unique perspective and a spectrum of details without comparison. For those who love sailing, or any kind of extreme adventure, this book is obviously a must. Yet its appeal would be strong for anyone who appreciates human stories of overcoming incredible odds and setting a new path for others to follow. Reading Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World is as close as it gets to the literary equivalent of taking a journey around the world.
* Avraham Azrieli writes novels and screenplays.
Very entertaining. Thoroughly enjoyed the upbeat pace of this adventurous read. I found myself smiling and even laughing while reading it. Surprisingly well done. Interesting info about sailing, the lingo, the challenge, the adventure, and what it's like from the first person to circumnavigate the planet, by 'Sailing Around the World'! I recommend this book.
Even though I've never lived within 400 miles of an ocean, I once entertained the notion of setting off in a sailboat, my own man, as free as the wind. The first man to do it all alone and around the world was Joshua Slocum, in the 1890s. He was not only a skilled sailor with 30 years experience on the sea, but an excellent writer, as this book attests. On his first leg, from Cape Sable to the Azores, he manages to convey the sense of what it was like Out There a world apart, a world of endless sky and wind, of heaving waves, sea and sky and nothing more.
Equally impressive was Slocum's knowledge of the world's oceans. He knew the ocean currents and the winds as well as a man might know the hills and valleys where he lives. He is not above "tooting his own horn" with regard to his seamanship. But as they say in sports, if you can do it, it ain't bragging.
The reader unfamiliar with sailing might want to keep a dictionary handy. When sentences like "I shook out a reef, and set the whole jib, for, having sea-room, I could square away two points" are encountered, one can make out what he's saying if necessary. But even if you don't know a halyard from a bowsprit, you can still enjoy a rollicking good tale.
I read a lot of sailing-adventure books. I started with Melville's books about sailing (Moby Dick and White Jacket are my favorites), then found books like Kon Tiki and The Seed Buried Deep. There are a lot of good sailing books out there, but I think this one is the best.
The narrator is unassuming, stalwart, and an amazing sailer. I'm talking late 19th century sailing, when people navigated by the stars, didn't have GPS or sat-phones, and even did all their own repairs.
Perhaps what I love most about this adventure is how it starts, and I'll mention that since it won't give much away The captain of the book starts out by being given an old wreck of a ship, and he spends several months repairing it, rebuilding it, and reinventing the vessel. It's a great story overall about a guy who can literally do it all.
Of all the sailing books I've read, I like this one the most. Reading it, you truly feel like (with the proper experience and know-how), you could sail the globe and have a good time doing it.
0 Response to "[BSH]⇒ [PDF] Free Sailing Alone Around The World Joshua Slocum 9781636000527 Books"
Post a Comment