Elizabeth's review of Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast (Signet Classics) by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Elizabeth's review
rating:
bookshelves:
all
recommended for:
anyone interested in the day to day details of nautical life in the 1830's, early California history
status:
Read in March, 2008
This is a fascinating read--and an interesting comparison to many first hand accounts of recent extreme sports activities, such as modern moutain climbing misadventures.
A Harvard student with poor eyesight signs on as a common sailor and leaves Boston for a trip around South America up to California. Day to day life is described, as well as encounters with early Californians, the process of curing hides, economies of early American towns, bad weather and big waves and other odd and vivid details of his personal experiences, such as a ship flogging and the kind of food he ate. This is a window into a different time and a radically different lifestyle.
A Harvard student with poor eyesight signs on as a common sailor and leaves Boston for a trip around South America up to California. Day to day life is described, as well as encounters with early Californians, the process of curing hides, economies of early American towns, bad weather and big waves and other odd and vivid details of his personal experiences, such as a ship flogging and the kind of food he ate. This is a window into a different time and a radically different lifestyle.
comments
No comments have been added yet.
