megea's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite part of this book is its setting. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about pre-Gold Rush, pre-statehood California. Much of the action occurs in Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Francisco, and L.A. I have spent time in all but the latter, so I paid special attention to see what I could recognize of these cities in Dana's descriptions of their infancy. This book both appeals to and adds to my sense of place, which is very valuable since I feel that a sense of place is something that is increasingly important but also increasingly lost in this uprooted age. (Case in point: I'm trying to build a sense of place about California, which is not my original home.)
philip_bonanno's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
2.0
Hating California is not a personality trait
nighthawk921's review against another edition
3.0
Much longer than I thought a book based on “diary writings” would be. But overall interesting to read.
shaekin's review against another edition
3.0
This was interesting, but not interesting enough to keep my attention. It's a little too overly detailed for me. When my library loan expired, I figured I had read enough and didn't renew.
clarkness's review against another edition
4.0
This one was a slow starter, but I have to say that I was pretty blown away by how much I was digging it at the end. It's just a straight up nonfiction account of a young sailor's trip to California in the early 1800s. The depth of the feelings that this book plumbs are phenomenal. You get a sense for how important the camaraderie between shipmates becomes on a long voyage and the bittersweet realization at the end of the book that these characters would never work together again or see one another all together once more. Dana returned home and the group disbanded despite the arduous journey they had taken together. Something about that really hit me.
Great book. Also a fascinating look at life in California just prior to the gold rush.
Great book. Also a fascinating look at life in California just prior to the gold rush.