Sailing Alone Around the World

By Joshua Slocum

Book Overview

"The classic of its kind." --Travel World
"One of the most readable books in the whole library of adventure." --Sports Illustrated
"The finest single-handed adventure story yet written." --Seafarer
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.
Slocum writes in a fast-paced, exhilarating style. His almost matter-of-fact descriptions of hazardous episodes and his colorful, often witty observations make this book perhaps the most delightful and absorbing adventure tale in history. Across the Atlantic he sailed, but chased by Moorish pirates off Gibraltar, he decided to circle Cape Horn instead and go around the world the other way He tells of perils on stormy seas and of numerous harrowing events: his escape from a fleet of hostile canoes; an encounter with Black Pedro, "the worst murderer in Tierra del Fuego"; foiling a nocturnal attack by savages by strewing carpet tacks on the "Spray's" deck; submerged by a great wave off the Patagonian coast; the "rain of blood" in Australia; dodging coral reefs in the South Seas. In Samoa, he was visited by Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson; in South Africa, he talked congenially with Stanley of "Stanley and Livingstone" fame, and met "Oom Paul" Kruger, President of the Transvaal republic. Kruger was incensed when one of his officials described Slocum's voyage as "around the world," since his religious beliefs convinced him that the world was flat
This robust classic of the sea has been widely read ever since its first publication in 1900. It has been reprinted several times and has even been required reading in many schools. This edition (complete with all of the original Thomas Fogarty illustrations) of Captain Slocum's story will prove as enjoyable and thrilling to the present generation of Americans as it was to our fathers and grandfathers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486203263
• ISBN13: 9780486203263
• Release Date: June 1956
• Publisher: Dover Publications, Incorporated
• Length: 294 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

My all-time favorite sailing book. Bar none.

Joshua Slocum was a very complex man-and not a plaster saint by any account; but he wrote a book as sublime and as soul-satisfying as anyone could wish for. This is a book for a warm fire and a glass of rum, or a cabin on a sailboat. The places he sees and the people he meets are extraordinary; and vividly painted. But they pale when he describes Spray and the sea. You can hear the love and longing in his voice when he describes them. This is the last of a breed, trying to keep his heart alive after wrenching losses, at the end of his rope, and finding a way to continue on and be fulfilled. Excellent reading, it will stick with you for years.

One of the most entertaining books I ever read...

I have to say I was absolutely shocked to see ANY reviews that were less than 5 stars. That is how much I enjoyed this book. I've have actually read this book about once every 2 months for a couple of years now, and I never get tired of my "evening conversations with the Captain", sharing his sail around the world.The Captain will take you to Yankee whaling towns, pirate shoals off the coast of Spain, South Sea paradise islands, among Fuegian natives round the horn, throughout distant Australia, then far beyond and back again. The book is absolutely full of adventures, and if you love the sea or reading about sailing, this is a must read classic.Merry Chistmas to all,Mike

A wonderful little book

Quite simply, a perfect recounting of one man's sailing journey around the world in a time when you could do that sort of thing without a corporate sponsor. Men like Joshua Slocum -- who can perform great feats of daring and courage with complete humility -- don't exist anymore. No writer, Slocum's simple, straight-forward prose is a relief to anyone looking for a break from self-important fiction, wordy biographies and over-complicated takes on our over-complicated world.