Sailing Alone Around the World (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)

sailing Alone Around The World , By Joshua Slocum, Is Part Of The barnes & Noble Classics series, Which Offers Quality Editions At Affordable Prices To The Student And The General Reader, Including New Scholarship, Thoughtful Design, And Pages Of Carefully Crafted Extras. Here Are Some Of The Remarkable Features Of barnes & Noble Classics : new Introductions Commissioned From Today's Top Writers And Scholars biographies Of The Authors chronologies Of Contemporary Historical, Biographical, And Cultural Events footnotes And Endnotes selective Discussions Of Imitations, Parodies, Poems, Books, Plays, Paintings, Operas, Statuary, And Films Inspired By The Work comments By Other Famous Authors study Questions To Challenge The Reader's Viewpoints And Expectations bibliographies For Further Reading indices & Glossaries, When Appropriate all Editions Are Beautifully Designed And Are Printed To Superior Specifications; Some Include Illustrations Of Historical Interest. barnes & Noble Classics pulls Together A Constellation Of Influences—biographical, Historical, And Literary—to Enrich Each Reader's Understanding Of These Enduring Works. in April 1895, At The Age Of Fifty-one, Joshua Slocum Departed Boston In His Thirty-six-foot Sloop spray , A Derelict Boat He Had Rebuilt Himself. Three Years And 46,000 Miles Later He Returned, Having Accomplished One Of The Greatest Feats In Maritime History—to Become The First Person To Circumnavigate The Globe Single-handedly. To Crown The Achievement, Slocum Wrote This Remarkable Account Of His Voyage, sailing Alone Around The World , An Instant Best-seller And One Of Literature’s Greatest Voyage Narratives. despite Having Only A Third-grade Education, Slocum Was As Gifted A Writer As He Was A Shipwright And Navigator. In Clear And Vigorous Prose, He Paints A Vivid, Even Poetic Picture Of His Voyage With Its Many Breathtaking Sights And Harrowing Adventures—including Skirting The Paradisiacal South Sea Islands, Braving Terrifying Storms And Treacherous Coral Reefs, And Being Chased By Pirates. A Portrait Also Emerges Of The Sailor Himself, Made Up From Slocum’s Heartfelt Simplicity, Wry Sense Of Humor, Meditative Reflections On Solitude, And Ability To Find Companions In His Animate And Inanimate Surroundings. in The Fall Of 1909, Slocum Set Sail From Martha’s Vineyard And Was Never Seen Again. But His Book Survives As A Testament To The Skill, Courage, And Determination Of The Man Known Around The World As The Patron Saint Of Small-boat Voyagers And Navigators, And Adventurers Of Every Stripe. With 68 Drawings And 3 Original Maps. dennis Berthold, Professor Of English, Has Taught At Texas A&m University In College Station, Texas, Since 1972. He Specializes In Nineteenth-century American Literature And Has Published Scholarly Articles And Books On Charles Brockden Brown, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, And Constance Fenimore Woolson. Joshua Slocum, one of the most famous of American sea captains, really was the first to single-handedly circumnavigate the world. The epitome of Yankee independence, he had risen from a seaman to the captain of his own ship. Marooned in Brazil, he built a "canoe" in which he returned to America (see The Voyage of the Liberdade). At loose ends at fifty-one, he was offered an old oyster boat which he rebuilt into the 37' Spray and in 1895 he took off from Boston for the Straits of Gibraltar. He is a captivating writer as well; observant, humorous, and evocative: "For, one day, well off the Patagonian coast, while the sloop was reaching under short sail, a tremendous wave, the culmination, it seemed, of many waves, rolled down upon her in a storm, roaring as it came. I had only a moment to get all sail down and myself up on the peak halliards, out of danger, when I saw the mighty crest towering masthead-high above me. The mountain of water submerged my vessel. She shook in every timber and reeled under the weight of the sea, but rose quickly out of it, and rode grandly over the rollers that followed. It may have been a minute that from my hold in the rigging I could see no part of the Spray's hull. Perhaps it was even less time than that, but it seemed a long while, for under great excitement one lives fast, and in a few seconds one may think a great deal of one's past life."He met determined pirates in Tierra del Fuego:"I was not for letting on that I was alone, and so I stepped into the cabin, and, passing through the hold, came out at the fore-scuttle, changing my clothes as I went along. That made two men. Then the piece of bowsprit which I had sawed off at Buenos Aires, and which I had still on board, I arranged forward on the lookout, dressed as a seaman, attaching a line by which I could pull it into motion. That made three of us..."In Africa he met the explorer Henry Stanley:"Mr. Stanley was a nautical man once himself, - on the Nyanza, I think, - and of course my desire was to appear in the best light before a man of his experience. He looked me over carefully, and said, "'What an example of patience!'"'Patience is all that is required,' I ventured to reply."He then asked if my vessel had water-tight compartments. I explained that she was all water-tight and all compartment. "'What if she should strike a rock?' he asked. "'Compartments would not save her if she should hit the rocks lying along her course,' said I; adding, 'she must be kept away from the rocks.' "After a considerable pause Mr. Stanley asked, 'What if a swordfish should pierce her hull with its sword?' "Of course I had thought of that as one of the dangers of the sea, and also of the chance of being struck by lightning. In the case of the swordfish, I ventured to say that 'the first thing would be to secure the sword.'"So this is where Jack London got the idea for watertight compartments! (see Cruise of the Snark, available from The Narrative Press) Discover for yourself why everyone reads this book (called a sailor's Walden) -- even if you're not planning a solo sailing trip. And take it with you if you are! Sailing Alone Around the World , by Joshua Slocum , is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics : New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the readers viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each readers understanding of these enduring works. In April 1895, at the age of fifty-one, Joshua Slocum departed Boston in his thirty-six-foot sloop Spray , a derelict boat he had rebuilt himself. Three years and 46,000 miles later he returned, having accomplished one of the greatest feats in maritime history—to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly. To crown the achievement, Slocum wrote this remarkable account of his voyage, Sailing Alone Around the World , an instant best-seller and one of literature's greatest voyage narratives. Despite having only a third-grade education, Slocum was as gifted a writer as he was a shipwright and navigator. In clear and vigorous prose, he paints a vivid, even poetic picture of his voyage with its many breathtaking sights and harrowing adventures—including skirting the paradisiacal South Sea islands, braving terrifying storms and treacherous coral reefs, and being chased by pirates. A portrait also emerges of the sailor himself, made up from Slocum's heartfelt simplicity, wry sense of humor, meditative reflections on solitude, and ability to find companions in his animate and inanimate surroundings. In the fall of 1909, Slocum set sail from Martha's Vineyard and was never seen again. But his book survives as a testament to the skill, courage, and determination of the man known around the world as the patron saint of small-boat voyagers and navigators, and adventurers of every stripe. With 68 drawings and 3 original maps. Dennis Berthold , Professor of English, has taught at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, since 1972. He specializes in nineteenth-century American literature and has published scholarly articles and books on Charles Brockden Brown, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Constance Fenimore Woolson. In April 1895, at the age of fifty-one, Joshua Slocum departed Boston in his thirty-six-foot sloop Spray, a derelict boat he had rebuilt himself. Three years and 460000 miles later, he returned, having accomplished one of the greatest feats in maritime history - to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe single handedly