"Conrad's pessimistic worldview colors this novel depicting the brutality of Latin American politics and the tragedies that inevitably ensue."

This adventure story is of a heroic man victimized by his own integrity & destroyed by his sense of lost honor.

The story is closely based on the authors four-month sojourn with a group of South Sea Islanders, the Typees, after he and a companion deserted their whaling ship. -- Publisher's description.

Selly's plans to follow her father to the north seas are dashed when a handsome stranger with tell-tale magician's marks on his arm boards her ship and presents her with a dangerous mission--to sail to the Isles of the Gods so he can complete a mysterious ritual. When Selly's father leaves her high and dry in the port of Kirkpool, she has no intention of riding out the winter on land while he sails to adventure in the north seas. But any plans to...

A fearless Spanish crew embarks on a search for a lost ship, swallowed by the Indian Ocean centuries ago, in a novel by "a master of the literary thriller" (Booklist, starred review). Manuel Coy is a suspended sailor with time on his hands, a mariner without a ship. While attending a maritime auction in Barcelona, he meets Tánger Soto, a captivating beauty who works for the Naval Museum in Madrid. A woman obsessed with the Dei Gloria, a famed Jesuit...

Herman Melville's final masterpiece, found unpublished on his desk at his death. Billy Budd, Sailor would emerge, after its publication in 1924, as one of Melville's best-loved books--and one of his most open, with its discussion of homosexuality. In it, Melville returns to the sea to tell the story of Billy, a cheerful, hard working, and handsome young sailor, conscripted to work against his will on another ship, where he soon finds himself persecuted...

World War II helped to define Tristan Jones as an adventurous Welsh youth. After losing his parents, he spent much of his life working on sailing barges and so he is no stranger to the seas when he's called to fight for Britain during the Blitz in 1940. Tristan Jones is not only caught in the middle of arduous battles on board, but also the tragic battles he must fight in his heart. When the British Royal Navy commissions him to embark on transatlantic...

Flying Cloud is the riveting and thoroughly researched tale of a truly unforgettable sea voyage during the days of the California gold rush. In 1851, navigator Eleanor Creesy set sail on the maiden voyage of the clipper ship Flying Cloud, traveling from New York to San Francisco in only 89 days. This swift passage set a world record that went unbroken for more than a century. Upon arrival in San Francisco, Flying Cloud became an enduring symbol of...

"Whaling and Fishing" offers the reader an authentic glimpse into the life of a sailor, attempting to dispel the romance often attributed to it by exploring both what may be enjoyed and what must be endured. Based on the author own experience as a whaler, this volume is recommended for those with an interest in the maritime history and of whaling in particular, and it would make for a worthy addition to collections of angling literature. Contents...

"For ten years, the partially completed sailboat Jack Merkel started building with his wife and son sits gathering dust, until his lingering sorrow drives him to finish it alone. Enter a young hoodlum who breaks into the marina and seriously damages the boat for no apparent reason but misplaced rage. When the county sheriff arrives with the boy, the aging mariner sees a lost soul, and begs the sheriff and judge to release the boy into his custody...