In 1834, Richard Henry Dana Jr. left the comforts of Boston for the hardships and abuses of the most exploited segment of the American working class. Dana's account of his passage around Cape Horn to California, and back, is a remarkable portrait of the seagoing life- the day-to-day routines and conversations, the sailors who manned the ship, the brutality of incompetent officers, and the style of life in the newly emerging coastal towns of California.
As Thomas Philbrick discusses in his introduction, the public's sympathy for the plight of mariners, which was aroused by the book, eventually faded, butTwo Years Before the Mastforever changed readers' romanticized perceptions of life at sea and inaugurated a lasting tradition of realism and concern for human values.
By:
Richard Henry Dana Jr. Introduction by:
Thomas Philbrick Imprint: Penguin Country of Publication: United Kingdom Dimensions:
Height: 195mm,
Width: 130mm,
Spine: 32mm
Weight: 442g ISBN:9780140390087 ISBN 10: 0140390081 Pages: 576 Publication Date:17 December 1981 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Reviews for Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea
""Possesses . . . the romantic charm of Robinson Crusoe."" --Ralph Waldo Emerson