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A review by msjoanna
The Last Grain Race by Eric Newby
5.0
Let me start by saying I know nothing really about sailing or sailing ships and had no particular interest in them. I read that this was the first book of Eric Newby, who went on to become a great travel writer. I wanted a book about an adventure for a reading challenge and somehow stumbled upon this one (which I had to order through interlibrary loan). I'm so glad I did.
The book requires some patience with the garble of Swedish and Finnish terms and the details of sailing terms that are only generally explained. Yet somehow that didn't deter me at all from wanting to follow along on the voyage and hear about all of the hard conditions on board the ship. Newby didn't know anything of sailing when he signed on to the crew, nor did he speak the ship's language, but no one seemed to mind.
The photographs in the book are awesome.
The book requires some patience with the garble of Swedish and Finnish terms and the details of sailing terms that are only generally explained. Yet somehow that didn't deter me at all from wanting to follow along on the voyage and hear about all of the hard conditions on board the ship. Newby didn't know anything of sailing when he signed on to the crew, nor did he speak the ship's language, but no one seemed to mind.
The photographs in the book are awesome.