Two Years Before the Mast (Transaction Large Print Books)

Dana, Richard Henry

ISBN 10: 1560004649 / ISBN 13: 9781560004646

Published by Transaction Pub Large Print, 2000

About this Item

Gently read. May have name of previous ownership, or ex-library edition. Binding tight; spine straight and smooth, with no creasing; covers clean and crisp. Minimal signs of handling or shelving. 100% GUARANTEE! Shipped with delivery confirmation, if youâ re not satisfied with purchase please return item for full refund. Ships USPS Media Mail.

Seller Inventory # OTV.1560004649.VG

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Two Years Before the Mast (Transaction Large Print Books)
• Publisher: Transaction Pub Large Print
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1560004649
• ISBN 13: 9781560004646
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: very_good

About this title

Synopsis

In August 1834, Richard Henry Dana, Jr., shipped aboard the brig Pilgrim out of Boston for a voyage to California. Dana tells the tale of a young, na�ve, religiously conservative Boston aristocrat who thrusts himself into a trial amidst crude, uneducated, generally amoral sailors. It is the exciting, intelligent, sensitive story of a young man's transition to maturity, with a vivid description of his struggle with his shipmates, the elements and with himself. The author wrote this realistic account of the life of a common sailor to make the public aware of the hardships and injustices to which American sailors were subjected. He gives an accurate account of life at sea and a colorful portrait of life in California in the early nineteenth century.

From the Inside Flap

Tracing an awe-inspiring oceanic route from Boston, around Cape Horn, to the California coast, Two Years Before the Mast is both a riveting story of adventure and the most eloquent, insightful account we have of life at sea in the early nineteenth century. Richard Henry Dana is only nineteen when he abandons the patrician world of Boston and Harvard for an arduous voyage among real sailors, amid genuine danger. The result is an astonishing read, replete with vivid descriptions of storms, whales, and the ship's mad captain, terrible hardship and magical beauty, and fascinating historical detail, including an intriguing portrait of California before the gold rush. As D. H. Lawrence proclaimed, "Dana's small book is a very great book."