I've read some remarkable stuff of late, so I thought I'd remark on them. Feel free to kick in your own.
First up, Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Dana. Yeah, I know. I refused to read it in high school, too. Just as well, as it would have been wasted on that good-for-nothing.
Now, though, I am fascinated. His narrative is clear and strong--a much easier read that most any other book from the 1830s. His experiences are unforgettable, from throwing animal hides off a 400 foot cliff, to climbing masts in a snowstorm. Rounding the Cape. At night. With icebergs.
Some images stand out. The Sandwich Islanders who lived in an big oven built by Russian traders at Santa Barbara. A casual mention of Wood Island (now Alcatraz) and in general what the San Francisco Bay was like before ... well, before San Francisco.
Dana was a keen observer not only of the natural world but also of people. He has memorable descriptions, but he also talks of how sailors behaved, or how the Indians of California, or the Spaniards there, or the Americans behaved. How, for example, sailors would never say they were afraid, no matter how horrific it was to be a hundred feet up in the sails in high winds, or as fifty-foot waves swept the decks; but that they would always make light of it because to take it seriously would be to make the terror more real.
There were passages where I started to skim, sure. But there were far more passages I lingered over, re-read, recounted or even read aloud to my wife. I very much recommend this book to a wide range of readers: for a good adventure story, for a fascinating look into a specific historical corner, for anyone who appreciates a mastery of prose.
First up, Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Dana. Yeah, I know. I refused to read it in high school, too. Just as well, as it would have been wasted on that good-for-nothing.
Now, though, I am fascinated. His narrative is clear and strong--a much easier read that most any other book from the 1830s. His experiences are unforgettable, from throwing animal hides off a 400 foot cliff, to climbing masts in a snowstorm. Rounding the Cape. At night. With icebergs.
Some images stand out. The Sandwich Islanders who lived in an big oven built by Russian traders at Santa Barbara. A casual mention of Wood Island (now Alcatraz) and in general what the San Francisco Bay was like before ... well, before San Francisco.
Dana was a keen observer not only of the natural world but also of people. He has memorable descriptions, but he also talks of how sailors behaved, or how the Indians of California, or the Spaniards there, or the Americans behaved. How, for example, sailors would never say they were afraid, no matter how horrific it was to be a hundred feet up in the sails in high winds, or as fifty-foot waves swept the decks; but that they would always make light of it because to take it seriously would be to make the terror more real.
There were passages where I started to skim, sure. But there were far more passages I lingered over, re-read, recounted or even read aloud to my wife. I very much recommend this book to a wide range of readers: for a good adventure story, for a fascinating look into a specific historical corner, for anyone who appreciates a mastery of prose.