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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Richard Dana is a student at Harvard who adopts an unusual remedy for his failing eyesight: go on a two-year journey as a sailor aboard a merchant ship! Someone really should have told him to take up kite-flying instead. |
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“Excellent history of early California.”
Brian L Ross wrote this review Wednesday, April 10, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“Richard Dana is a student at Harvard who adopts an unusual remedy for his failing eyesight: go on a two-year journey as a sailor aboard a merchant ship! Someone really should have told him to take up kite-flying instead.
Alice wrote this review Tuesday, April 9, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Dana provides an all-too-vivid account of his journey to the coast of California (then still a province of Mexico) on board the Pilgrim, his beachcomber/"hide-droghing" days on the shores of San Diego, and his trip back to Boston.
You will learn a great deal about what it takes to man a full-rigged brig, though if you are like me, you will cheerfully let all the stuff about flying jibs, reef-tackles, and mizen royals go right by you. I most enjoyed Dana's description of the customs and lives of seamen, including this funny rhyme:
"When seated round the kid, if a particularly bad piece [of beef] is found, one of them takes it up, and addressing it, repeats these lines: "Old horse! old horse! what brought you here?" —"From Sacarap to Portland pier I've carted stone this many a year: Till, killed by blows and sore abuse, They salted me down for sailors' use. The sailors they do me despise: They turn me over and damn my eyes; Cut off my meat, and pick my bones, And pitch the rest to Davy Jones." "”“As a recent WSJ recommendation to re-visit this 1840 classic, author Dana's Harvard-on-hold delightful first-hand account of maturing as a man while serving as a shipmate hand aboard an American merchantship round-trip from Boston to San Francisco is awesome reading. From the detail about the rigging of a tall ship to his descriptive geography about the coastal expanse of South America rounding the Cape, his narrative of life at sea is terrific!”
Jjerden wrote this review Monday, April 8, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Conroy”
Jane Elizabeth wrote this review Tuesday, July 24, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Like a window into my ancestors' past. I loved this book!”
Gail S wrote this review Friday, July 20, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A gentleman (who's quite adept as a merchant seaman) and his tale about his two years at sea. The novel is interesting for its vivid characterizations, its description of the hardships (and sometimes captain's abuse) of the crew at sea, and the fascinating glimpses of California cities in their infant stages. An interesting and pleasant read!”
Kimberly F wrote this review Sunday, November 13, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Every once in a while you come across a movie or a book that takes you by storm... you can't stop thinking about it days after it's over. This is one of those books... looking into the life of the author made the tale even more interesting... one of my favorites of all time!”
Richard F wrote this review Saturday, November 12, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
1 of 1 members found this review helpful“Richard Henry Dana tells the story of his trip in the brig Pilgrim out of Boston in 1834. Only 19 years old, the Harvard student signed on as a deck hand. For the next two years he experienced a sailor's rugged life, traveling around Cape Horn, visiting Mexico's California territory a full 15 years before it became a U.S. state, and returning home in 1836. The Pilgrim was 'a swearing ship', in which the brutal and choleric Captain Thompson imposed his discipline by bad language, and the Sabbath, normally a kind of token rest day for the crew, was never observed, except by the black African cook reading his bible all day alone in his galley. Apparently Captain Thompson was from the same mold as Herman Wouk's Captain Queeg.
jwhenderson wrote this review Sunday, June 5, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The everyday details of his journey are surprisingly vivid. On their first week at sea, they spot a pirate ship, and must outrun it on a moonless night. Dolphins follow the ship as it heads for Cape Horn. The Captain's patience is tried by a lazy first mate who refuses to watch for icebergs. And when a man falls overboard, the captain must assure the crew that a thorough search was conducted. It is an exciting story made interesting by the well-educated young man who chose to go to sea as a shipmate 'before the mast' rather than a cabin passenger in the officers' quarters.”
“Historical adventure working as a common sailor trading the coast of California before the gold rush. ”
Capt.Chris wrote this review Wednesday, March 30, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“I'm not sure why this was included in the Harvard Classics. Seems sort of like a sensational tell all expose best seller from a long time ago - but a classic?”
moik wrote this review Friday, February 18, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
