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Title: Two Years Before the Mast : A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea by Gary Kinder, Jr. Richard Henry Dana ISBN: 0-375-75794-5 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 09 October, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.45 (33 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Great Sailor: A Great Writer: An American Classic
Comment: I waited 58 years to read Two Years Before the Mast! It was always on my list of books to read, but I had never reached it until recently, when my interest was sparked by a comment made by David McCullough (the author of the great biography of Truman) that this book greatly influenced him when he read it as a very young man. It is a a beautifully written book --- prose as good as any I have ever read. Dana's accurate and detailed narrative of his own life at sea on sailing ships in the 1830's, and his time spent on the coast of California,when it was true wilderness, is an unforgettable reading experience. The book has a personal intimate quality about; it is as if the author is a friend writing to you from abroad about his extraordinary adventure. This book deserves its esteemed place in American and world literature.
Rating: 5
Summary: This book is so good I'm reading it again for the 6th time.
Comment: I'm a Californian who has seen the entire coast described by Dana. He has painted a remarkably true picture of that coast still recognizable. Jackson was president when Dana sailed in 1833. It was also the age of the Mountain Men some of whom were seen in CA while Dana was there. In San Diego Dana met professor Nuttal who taught at Cambridge and was known to Dana. Nuttal crossed the continent the hard way, as a naturalist, then made his way to CA, and eventually returned on the same ship with Dana to Boston. Both Dana and Nuttal, and their respective pursuits, were precursors to Manifest Destiny. Their trips also were descriptive of the times. Two years after his leaving Boston, Dana returned as an accepted 'foc'sle' sailor, a man cured of whatever ailed him when he left home. His exploits are remarkable for their daring. He never shirked his duty as a shipmate. His is a remarkable tale which could only have been told by one of his character. If read in conjunction with the landed history of the time, 'Across the Wide Missouri,' by DeVoto, it becomes a historical masterpiece significant for its truth, sadness, and moments of supreme beauty of expression.
Rating: 3
Summary: Dana: Pioneer of the "Year Off"...
Comment: I read this book after reading about it in Kevin Starr's excellent history of California: California and the American Dream as well as reading about it in the foreword to Herman Melville's "White Jacket".
White Jacket was, of course, at least partially inspired by this book, and after reading "Two Years" I can certainly see the influence reflected in Dana's work.
This book has, essentially, two scenes that are varied throughout the book. The first scene is "life on board the 19th century clipper ship". Examples include: The tyranny of the captain (most notably), travelling around the cape, the daily routine (monotony of), encountering other ships, talking to the other sailors, the daily routine (complaining about), and so forth. As far as I'm concerned, Dana handles this subject just about as well as anybody COULD handle this subject. I would be lying if I said I understood all of the sailing vocabularly (how many sails did they have on those clipper ships? To me, it sounded like about a thousand or so!). None the less, life on a ship is life on a ship.
The second scene is Dana's interaction with the California coast. Were this book merely a description of life at sea, I probably would not have read it. According to Starr, this book was the ONLY English language book written about California at the time of the gold rush of 1848, and so it plays a prominent (though largely forgotten(?)) part in the shaping of the image of California in the minds of Americans (and if you want to see where I'm cribbing this from see the Starr book pgs. 38-47 thereabouts).
When Dana sails into San Francisco at the time of this book, there was one (1!) house in the entire Bay Area. That's impressive. We also get first hand descriptions of Santa Barbara and San Diego (where I live), that are unique. Dana treats the residents of California as one might expect from a wealthy white dude from the east coast of the U.S.: The Mexicans/Spanish are "noble" but "lazy" and the indians are nearly beneath mention. Dana is quick to see the potential in California but equally as quick to dismiss the current residents as hopelessly lazy. At one point Dana refers to the "California Disease"(laziness). By the end of his time on the coast, he is calling California "Hell". That probably has more to do with his daily work (processing hides) then California itself.
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Title: Sailing Alone Around the World (Penguin Classics) by Joshua Slocum, Thomas Fogarty, George Varian, Thomas Philbrick, Tom Philbin ISBN: 0140437363 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $9.00 |
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Title: The Making of a Sailor / or Sea Life Aboard a Yankee Square-Rigger by Frederick Pease Harlow ISBN: 0486256138 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 April, 1988 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: Two Years Before the Mast: And Twenty-Four Years After by Richard Henry Dana ISBN: 1589761022 Publisher: The Narrative Press, Inc. Pub. Date: July, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: The SeamanÂs Friend : A Treatise on Practical Seamanship by Richard Henry Dana Jr. ISBN: 048629918X Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 26 November, 1997 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The Long Way by Bernard Moitessier, William Rodarmor ISBN: 0924486848 Publisher: Sheridan House Pub. Date: March, 1995 List Price(USD): $16.50 |
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