Sailing Alone Around the World

Name: Sailing Alone Around the World
Brand: Recorded Books
Availability: InStock
Author: Joshua Slocum
ISBN: 9781440796388

Author: Joshua Slocum

Narrator: Nelson Runger

Unabridged: 6 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 02/04/2008

Categories: Nonfiction, Travel, Essays & Travelogues, History, Modern History

Synopsis

Joshua Slocum was the first man ever to sail around the world single-handedly. He completed his voyage in 1895, without radio and modern technology, when native pirates roamed the seas. It makes for an exciting tale-all 46,000 miles and three years of it.

About Joshua Slocum

Author and sailor Joshua Slocum (1804–1909[?]) was the first man to sail alone around the world. He wrote about this historic voyage in his most famous book, Sailing Alone Around the World. Although he thought of himself as a sailor first, he was clearly as gifted a writer as he was a shipwright and navigator. His other books include Voyage of the Liberdade and Voyage of the Destroyer.

In 1892, an acquaintance gave Slocum an old sloop, the Spray, which he completely rebuilt and used for an unsuccessful fishing season in 1894. A year later, Slocum decided to sail the boat around the world. He embarked from Boston, Massachusetts, and three years later, after encountering many hardships on his 46,000-mile voyage, he completed his journey in Newport, Rhode Island. He proclaimed himself healthier, happier, and younger than when he left.

Captain Slocum continued to sail the Spray, and in 1909, at the age of 65, he set out once again on a long, single-handed voyage. This time he headed for the Orinoco River and the headwaters of the Amazon. He never arrived and was presumed dead.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Christopher on August 11, 2016

Check out how awesome this Joshua Slocum dude is. He's old, he's on a boat, he's got a badass straw hat. He doesn't care that he looks like a doofus with it on, which makes him that much cooler. He was the first person to circumnavigate the world alone (and that means to sail all the way around it,......more

Goodreads review by Joshua on June 23, 2015

In a word, this book is delightful. The author, Joshua Slocum, did something truly remarkable. He was the first human being to ever sail alone around the world. Yet, perhaps the best part of this story is his style of presentation. Slocum is laid back, self-effacing, and actually quite funny. Some o......more

Goodreads review by James on October 01, 2012

This was one of the most influential books that I have ever read. I read it while still in my teens. Growing up in a seafaring (Naval) family I was able to sail from age eight. At eighteen, when other teens were looking for their first car, I bought (from an eighty-two year old widow) my first yacht......more

Goodreads review by Michael on September 06, 2007

This used to be required reading for Massachusetts high school students. Joshua Slocum was the first to sail solo around the world. Still crazy to this day. The story was great in detail and local interest for the places it dealt with. I love Slocum's writing at points, but like Moby Dick, at other......more