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A review by ehays84
Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum
4.0
I know just enough about sailing to appreciate what a remarkable feat this was. And while I appreciate that Slocum did not want to get too technical or long-winded, the only reason I wouldn't give this five stars is that there were definitely times when I wanted him to go into more detail about how he accomplished something. His skill and perseverance in making it around Cape Horn was truly astounding.
Overall, this was a really fun summer read, and definitely fits into both of my goals of gradually reading the classic books about sailing as well as the classic human traveling accomplishments books/adventure narratives.
Slocum himself reminds me, and maybe this is just the air of all true sailors, of my grandparents, both of whom were quite accomplished sailors. What I mean is that Slocum exhibits an equanimity, an ability to appreciate life as it comes, and an ability to minimize difficulties that are quite different from my own temperament. I often wish to be more like this. Maybe a few years before the mast would cure me of my stressed-out land-lubber ways.
Yes, there are some dated elements to this story, but Slocum actually goes out of his way many times to point out that he loves foreign places and people, and that is often people not from a place who come there and behave with the least civility or respect for others or respect for nature.
It is also sadly ironic that Slocum ended up going missing on a future voyage after such a long life at sea (he never, oddly enough, learned to swim). And I never, ever, could have gone off on a journey for three years and just abandoned my family back home. He doesn't once even mention writing them a letter (although I am sure he probably did so).
In closing, I can't recommend this map enough as a companion to the story. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?msa=0&dg=feature&mid=1Ex5cVOf48RPLXlfJUgwsvi7XVaU&ll=-6.586919615819063%2C-79.19230025000002&z=2
Overall, this was a really fun summer read, and definitely fits into both of my goals of gradually reading the classic books about sailing as well as the classic human traveling accomplishments books/adventure narratives.
Slocum himself reminds me, and maybe this is just the air of all true sailors, of my grandparents, both of whom were quite accomplished sailors. What I mean is that Slocum exhibits an equanimity, an ability to appreciate life as it comes, and an ability to minimize difficulties that are quite different from my own temperament. I often wish to be more like this. Maybe a few years before the mast would cure me of my stressed-out land-lubber ways.
Yes, there are some dated elements to this story, but Slocum actually goes out of his way many times to point out that he loves foreign places and people, and that is often people not from a place who come there and behave with the least civility or respect for others or respect for nature.
It is also sadly ironic that Slocum ended up going missing on a future voyage after such a long life at sea (he never, oddly enough, learned to swim). And I never, ever, could have gone off on a journey for three years and just abandoned my family back home. He doesn't once even mention writing them a letter (although I am sure he probably did so).
In closing, I can't recommend this map enough as a companion to the story. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?msa=0&dg=feature&mid=1Ex5cVOf48RPLXlfJUgwsvi7XVaU&ll=-6.586919615819063%2C-79.19230025000002&z=2