# Sailing and the Sea - Book Suggestions
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 18, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811 "2005-06-18T15:34:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Beauty\_Personified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beauty_Personified)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/1 "2005-06-18T15:34:22Z")
My father loves Patrick O’Brian’s “Aubrey Maturin” books, and any books that deal with sailing or the sea. Can anybody suggest other books in a similar vein that my father might enjoy?
Thanks ahead!
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/2 "2005-06-18T15:44:59Z")
Having not read O’Brian, I can’t tell how similar a vein it’s in, but I quite enjoyed Jack London’s _The Sea Wolf_.
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### Author:  [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/3 "2005-06-18T15:46:39Z")
Perhaps some of the works of [Edward Rowe Snow](http://www.lighthouseantiques.net/books3/books3.html), though I’m not sure how widely they’re still available.
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### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/4 "2005-06-18T17:10:04Z")
[English Passengers](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385497431/qid=1119115293/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/104-3304657-9256751) by Matthew Kneale isn’t really **about** sailing, but about half the story takes place on board ship (1850’s, a voyage from the Isle of Man to Tasmania and back), and there’s probably enough detail to satisfy a sailing enthusiast.
And it’s an awesome read.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/5 "2005-06-18T17:13:17Z")
[_Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition_](http://www.chiprowe.com/bookrev/sodomy.html). 😃
I used to work with a Jeezoid back in the '80s, who suggested I was gay because of my earring. When I retorted that ‘Pirates wore them!’, he turned up the title. I found a copy and bought it a couple of years ago, but haven’t gotten round to reading it yet. Sounds like a scholarly work, so I don’t know if your dad would like it; but it might be good for a laugh.
I saw [_Under the Black Flag_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679425608/qid%3D1119114788/102-9050768-4683363) at a local marine store a couple of days ago. According to reviews on amazon (linked above), it’s either a total waste of time and money, or it’s well-written and readable. I may have to pick up a copy.
[_Two Years Before The Mast_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375757945/qid=1119115018/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-9050768-4683363) is a classic written by a sailor who actually ‘went there and did that’ aboard a ship bound for colonial California. I’ve read this book, and it seems to give an accurate account of the hardships endured by seamen who sailed in wodden ships.
[_Kon-Tiki_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0671726528/qid=1119115183/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-9050768-4683363?v=glance&s=books) is an account of Thor Heyerdahl’s voyage from South America to the South Seas, which was undertaken to demonstrate the feasibility of his theory that Polynesia could have been settled from the east. While the theory has been discredited, the Kon-Tiki expedition was an incredible adventure. The documentary is also available on [DVD](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000055XNX/ref=pd_sr_ec_ir_b/102-9050768-4683363?v=glance&s=books&st=*).
Joseph Conrad’s [_Lord Jim_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140180923/qid=1119115387/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/102-9050768-4683363?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) is a classic about a guy with strong ideals who realises he’s a coward and strives to live the relevation down. Personally, it bored the hell out of me.
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### Author:  [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/6 "2005-06-18T23:35:04Z")
If he likes O’Brien, have him try some Alexander Kent. There’s about twenty-five volumes of 18th century British sailing there.
Dudley Pope also has endless Royal navy fighting sail series.
Browse around this link [http://www.mcbooks.com/Historical/historical.html](http://www.mcbooks.com/Historical/historical.html) for more inspiration.
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### Author:  [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/7 "2005-06-19T03:25:24Z")
I’ll second London’s **Sea Wolf**. Check out Sterling Hayden’s **Voyage** and **Wanderer**. Also the Bounty trilogy.
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### Author:  [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/8 "2005-06-19T03:34:51Z")
I forgot one of my all time favorites: **The Death Ship** by B. Traven.
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### Author:  [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2005, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/9 "2005-06-19T04:09:37Z")
I’ll second Two Years Before The Mast and Kon-Tiki.
Two Years Before The Mast is one of my favorite books. And Kon-Tiki is interesting.
He might like some books by Tristan Jones, particularly The Incredible Voyage or Saga of a Wayward Sailor.
Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi is interesting and another one of my favorites.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/10 "2005-06-19T04:35:32Z")
I read through the thread twice before determining that nobody mentioned CS Forester. He wrote the Horatio Hornblower novels, which are fantastic - I think they’re best read in the order they were written, starting with I think _Beat to Quarters_.
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### Author:  [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/11 "2005-06-19T19:41:48Z")
Are more modern, non-fiction stories applicable? If so, then I recommend [Sails Full and By](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0924486759/qid=1119210431/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-5351301-3341635?v=glance&s=books) by Dom Degnon (my favorite).
Also, Hal Roth’s [Always a Distant Anchorage](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0963956655/qid=1119210503/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-5351301-3341635) is delightful as well.
And I mustn’t forget [Fair Winds and Far Places](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0963956655/qid=1119210503/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-5351301-3341635) by Zane Mann.
All of these are marvelous.
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### Author:  [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/12 "2005-06-19T19:46:36Z")
Sorry. I dorked up the link on Zane Mann’s book
[Note to self: copy, _THEN_ paste. Got it]
Here you go.
[Fair Winds and Far Places](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0875181597/qid=1119211114/sr=8-5/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i5_xgl14/002-5351301-3341635?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)
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### Author:  [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/13 "2005-06-19T20:05:09Z")
Also Richard McKenna’s [_The Sand Pebbles_](http://www.thesandpebbles.com/mckenna/richard_mckenna.html).
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### Author:  [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/14 "2005-06-19T22:52:03Z")
Farley Mowat’s [The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/055327788X/qid=1119221211/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-9550334-1868917?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) is great fun from an excellent author detailing his misadventures with his boat.
For a more serious sea adventure, you can’t beat the story of Shackleton’s last expedition: [Endurance](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/078670621X/qid=1119221436/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-9550334-1868917?v=glance&s=books&n=507846).
I’d also reccommend anything by Edward Rowe Snow. Short write ups, each chapter being a different story, and so varied and clearly written.
For a more modern take on the sea story, I’d suggest any of Captian Edward L. Beech’s books. He’s most well known for his [Run Silent, Run Deep](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0304364657/qid=1119221749/sr=8-3/ref=pd_csp_3/102-9550334-1868917?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) but had a number of other titles, too. I particularly liked his account of the maiden voyage of the USS Triton: [Around the World Submerged](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1557502153/qid=1119221869/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/102-9550334-1868917?v=glance&s=books).
I’d also suggest Robb White who wrote a number of books, the most famous being [Up Periscope!](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/9990371385/qid=1119221705/sr=8-5/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i5_xgl14/102-9550334-1868917?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). These are normally considered ‘adolescent’ books, but I still enjoy 'em.
A rather different look back at the age of sail is the account of the wreck of the French frigate _Medusa_. [This](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0910395217/qid=1119222242/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl14/102-9550334-1868917?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) is a bit of a difficult read, but written by a pair of survivors. It uses stark language to make the experience’s horror very vivid.
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### Author:  [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2005, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/15 "2005-06-20T05:00:35Z")
Sam Llewellyn has a number of mysteries (contemporary era) that have a maritime theme, mostly yacht racing. Sort of the Dick Francis of the sea.
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### Author:  [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/16 "2005-06-20T05:02:59Z")
Oh, and James L. Nelson has two series out, one dealing with a Yankee captain during the revolutionary war, and another dealing with an almost-reformed pirate in Virginia(?) around 1700.
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### Author:  [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2005, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/17 "2005-06-20T08:35:22Z")
Oh, another good one focusing on the age of sail: Tim Powers’ [On Stranger Tides](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0441626831/qid=1119256924/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-1943531-5998413?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). A classic of the ‘Steampunk’ genre, it also works as both horror and fantasy. Personally, I liked it for it’s meticulously researched look at the Caribbean pirates. Frankly the book seems to be what what the Pirates of the Caribbean movie stole more than a few plot points from. Also a bit bloody (It _is_ a Tim Powers books, after all.) but none of it gratuitous.
Looking at the price Amazon has for it, ACK! Anyone want a paperback copy in decent condition? I’ll beat Amazon’s price by 50%. (And still make out like a bandit.)
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### Author:  [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2005, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/18 "2005-06-20T11:46:57Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> I read through the thread twice before determining that nobody mentioned CS Forester. He wrote the Horatio Hornblower novels, which are fantastic - I think they’re best read in the order they were written, starting with I think _Beat to Quarters_.
I second this nomination.
Also, around the time I finished reading the Aubrey-Maturin novels, I read a non-fiction book _The Custom of the Sea_, by Neil Hanson. It was extremely interesting and gripping. From [amazon.com](http://amazon.com):
> [@amazon.com](#):
>
> In 1884, Captain Tom Dudley and his three-man crew were faced with just such a predicament. Dudley and his men were aboard the Mignonette, a small yacht they were delivering from England to Australia. Hit by a rogue wave in a storm, the Mignonette sank, leaving the four men in a 13-foot dinghy with two pounds of turnips and little else–no other food and no water–in the middle of the Atlantic. After nearly two weeks, Dudley announced they would have to resort to “the custom of the sea”: drawing lots to decide who would be sacrificed and eaten to save the others. Two crewmen argued against lots, pointing out that the young cabin boy, Richard Parker, was delirious and on the verge of death. Dudley refused to kill the boy, and a few more days passed. Finally, on the 19th day adrift, Dudley killed young Parker while his crew watched. Three days later, the three survivors were rescued. Upon their return to England the three men were arrested and charged with murder.
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### Author:  [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sailing-and-the-sea-book-suggestions/308811/19 "2005-06-20T22:39:38Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> I read through the thread twice before determining that nobody mentioned CS Forester. He wrote the Horatio Hornblower novels, which are fantastic - I think they’re best read in the order they were written, starting with I think _Beat to Quarters_.
That would be _Mr. Midshipman Hornblower_ to start with, but I’m glad you mentioned him.
A few days ago I picked up _Under the Black Flag_ by David Cordingly, who was the curator of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Patrick O’Brian liked it a lot, so it will probably be good.