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paperbackbuckeye 's review for:
Two Years Before the Mast: A Sailor's Life at Sea
by Richard Henry Dana Jr.
The story itself is pretty incredible and a fantastic view into what live for a seaman was like in the age of sail ships. I particularly enjoyed the author's descriptions of a wild and largely un-inhabited California.
While I found the descriptions of California and the life on board a merchant ship incredibly interesting, the book seemed to drag on a bit for me. Despite the diagrams and initial Googling I did in the beginning of the book -- I was reading the Kindle edition, after "In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex" mentioned this book -- I never fully understood or remembered all the sailing terms, specifically in regard to the sails, which made it difficult at times to visualize what was going on. "[T]hree new top-sails, and new fore and main courses, jib, and fore top-mast stay-sail, [...] were bent, with a complete set of new earings [sic], robands and reef-points; and reef-tackles were rove to the sources, and spilling-lines to the top-sails. These, with new braces and clewlines, fore and aft, gave us a good suit of running rigging." I think they just put up some new gear?
I wouldn't categorize this book as a must-read, necessarily, but anyone interested in ships, naval history or what California was like before it was part of the United States would certainly enjoy it without regret (even if I found speed-reading through parts necessary).
While I found the descriptions of California and the life on board a merchant ship incredibly interesting, the book seemed to drag on a bit for me. Despite the diagrams and initial Googling I did in the beginning of the book -- I was reading the Kindle edition, after "In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex" mentioned this book -- I never fully understood or remembered all the sailing terms, specifically in regard to the sails, which made it difficult at times to visualize what was going on. "[T]hree new top-sails, and new fore and main courses, jib, and fore top-mast stay-sail, [...] were bent, with a complete set of new earings [sic], robands and reef-points; and reef-tackles were rove to the sources, and spilling-lines to the top-sails. These, with new braces and clewlines, fore and aft, gave us a good suit of running rigging." I think they just put up some new gear?
I wouldn't categorize this book as a must-read, necessarily, but anyone interested in ships, naval history or what California was like before it was part of the United States would certainly enjoy it without regret (even if I found speed-reading through parts necessary).