Two Years Before the Mast - Softcover

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0451527593 ISBN 13: 9780451527592

Publisher: New American Library, 2000

Synopsis

A young man tells of his experiences as a common sailor and provides a realistic portrait of the brutal life of nineteenthcentury seamen. Reprint.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Tracing an awe-inspiring oceanic route from Boston, around Cape Horn, to the California coast, Two Years Before the Mast is both a riveting story of adventure and the most eloquent, insightful account we have of life at sea in the early nineteenth century. Richard Henry Dana is only nineteen when he abandons the patrician world of Boston and Harvard for an arduous voyage among real sailors, amid genuine danger. The result is an astonishing read, replete with vivid descriptions of storms, whales, and the ship's mad captain, terrible hardship and magical beauty, and fascinating historical detail, including an intriguing portrait of California before the gold rush. As D. H. Lawrence proclaimed, "Dana's small book is a very great book."

From the Back Cover:

"Possesses . . . the romantic charm of Robinson Crusoe."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

About this edition

• Publisher: New American Library
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0451527593
• ISBN 13: 9780451527592
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432