Posted by John Lambert on February 19, 2007 at 21:44:18 from 24.80.105.135 user John.
In Reply to: 'Biggles' books posted by Pam Adams on February 19, 2007 at 18:57:36:
I wonder if AR had read Two Years Before the Mast. I have just finished it and IMHO it's the best sea story ever written. Maybe it was on John's bookshelf. R.F. Dana was a landsman who put to sea as a seamen because of eye strain caused by studying too hard at Harvard. The book is a daily account of the events he experienced sailing around the Horn to the coast of California and loading hides for sale in Boston. His description of shipboard life and old California when it was still part of Mexico are great stuff. He refers to Los Angeles as a "pueblo" and predicted that one day there would be a great city around the bay of San Francisco. He views the life on board an early 19th century American brig with fresh eyes and coupled with his literary talent, makes even the most mundane tasks vivid and memorable. Dana is a man who not only knew what he was talking about, but had lived the events he describes. The book is also a valuable historical document about actual shipboard life and Spanish California. A most remarkable book. There is an episode in the fog that reminds me of WD. AR MUST have read it.