Dana, Jr., Richard Henry's Books

Two Years Before the Mast

By: Richard Henry Dana

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

While attending Harvard as a young man, Richard Dana's eyesight became weak and his health declined. He decided that the austere prescription of salt air and plain hard work would be the cure. Not many would give up comfort and privilege, but for two years, Dana served as a common sailor, given no special treatment as the gentleman he was, and lived in the forecastle of the Alert, eating the mess of salt beef and common hardtack, risking his life and serving under a captain crueler than most. Dana was able to write in such a way as to re-create the life on board a sailing ship, down to the smallest details and that's what makes this book so real and touching. You can feel the cold of Tierra del Fuego, taste the salt beef, and feel the wind and damp. What's more amazing is that Dana's carefully-kept journal was lost along with his other mementos of his voyage when he landed back on shore in Boston, due to some tragic carelessness of someone he entrusted with his chest of belongings. Yet he was able to recreate his voyage in vivid detail and in some very excellent writing. Dana's later life as a lawyer was far from happy, though he made some critical contributions to maritime law. He died a poor and disappointed man, but left us the richer with his book.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

334

Publisher

Createspace Independent Pub

Published Date

ISBN 10

1495915433

ISBN 13

9781495915437

Two Years Before the Mast

A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea

By: Richard Henry Dana

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Two Years Before the Mast

A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea

By: Richard Henry Dana

Two Years Before the Mast is a remarkable book, part travelogue and part seafaring adventure. A great look at what life was really like on the merchant sailing ships of the first half of the 19th century, Two Years Before the Mast is also part suspense yarn, with the hero's return to his native land in serious doubt due to events beyond his control. Seen through the eyes of young man in his late teens who looks for both a cure for his measles and some real thrills, Richard Henry Dana treats us to his view of the west coast and the Californians as compared to his native, very urban and developed Yankee city of Boston. He finds them very different - but when he first visits San Francisco, the city is a single shack! This book was the guide for the many Americans who headed west for gold 15 years after its publication, too. As such it helped shape their settlement and exploration of the land. Dana's time aboard ship differs hugely from his comfortable home life in Boston. That he was willing to accept this, even embrace it, moves the book from a dry history to a real-life human interest story. His description of the sailing ships of the day involves many terms which few now will understand. Beyond that, the excitement of Two Years Before the Mast makes it a must-read for anyone in search of a young man's quest for real-life thrills at sea and in a new country.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

334

Published Date

ISBN 10

1492224294

ISBN 13

9781492224297

Two Years Before the Mast

By: Jr. Richard Henry Dana

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Two Years Before the Mast

By: Jr. Richard Henry Dana

Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set-a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology-was assembled by American academic CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT (1834-1926), Harvard University's longest-serving president. Also known as "Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf," it represented Eliot's belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf. Volume XXIII features the classic memoir of life on the high seas, Two Years Before the Mast, by American lawyer and activist RICHARD HENRY DANA JR. (1815-1882). No adventure tale, this is an expose of how poorly enlisted sailors were treated, which Dana learned firsthand on a two-year 1830s voyage from Boston around Cape Horn to California. First published in 1846, this volume also includes an appendix to the 1869 edition, "Twenty-Four Years After," in which Dana returns to California. Indeed, this work is important not only for its treatment of naval life but for its rare depiction of early California, both before and after the Gold Rush.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

432

Publisher

Cosimo, Inc.

Published Date

ISBN 10

1616401508

ISBN 13

9781616401504

Two Years Before the Mast

(Richard Henry Dana Classics Collection)

By: Richard Henry Dana

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Two Years Before the Mast

(Richard Henry Dana Classics Collection)

By: Richard Henry Dana

How I got along, I cannot now remember. I ``laid out'' on the yards and held on with all my strength. I could not have been of much service, for I remember having been sick several times before I left the topsail yard, making wild vomits into the black night, to leeward. Soon all was snug aloft, and we were again allowed to go below. This I did not consider much of a favor, for the confusion of everything below, and that inexpressible sickening smell, caused by the shaking up of bilge water in the hold, made the steerage but an indifferent refuge from the cold, wet decks. I had often read of the nautical experiences of others, but I felt as though there could be none worse than mine; for, in addition to every other evil, I could not but remember that this was only the first night of a two years' voyage. When we were on deck, we were not much better off, for we were continually ordered about by the officer, who said that it was good for us to be in motion. Yet anything was better than the horrible state of things below. I remember very well going to the hatchway and putting my head down, when I was oppressed by nausea, and always being relieved immediately. It was an effectual emetic.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

332

Publisher

Createspace Independent Pub

Published Date

ISBN 10

1508618232

ISBN 13

9781508618232

Two Years Before the Mast

A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea: Easyread Large Bold Edition

By: CREATESPACE,Dana, Jr., Richard Henry

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Two Years Before the Mast

A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea: Easyread Large Bold Edition

By: CREATESPACE,Dana, Jr., Richard Henry

Books for All Kinds of Readers. ReadHowYouWant offers the widest selection of on-demand, accessible format editions on the market to-day. Our 7 different sizes of EasyRead are optimized by increasing the font size and spacing between the words and the letters. We partner with leading publishers around the globe. Our goal is to have accessible editions simultaneously released with publishers new books so that all readers can have access to the books they want to read. To find more books in your format visit www.readhowyouwant.com

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

322

Publisher

ReadHowYouWant.com

Published Date

ISBN 10

1442923210

ISBN 13

9781442923218

Book's by Dana, Jr., Richard Henry

Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Username

Password

Username

Password

Password again

Birthday

Email