oldgit
Well-known member
Excellent cracking tale..... but ....why do I get the impression thats its more a work of fiction than fact?
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Just read Joshua Slocums epic story
- Thread starter oldgit
- Start date
jerrytug
N/A
I've always thought the same,it's just a load of made-up bollox. Doesn't ring true. It sounded rather far fetched when I read it as a kid,but now with sea time myself,are you kidding Josh? It seems to be one of those absurd but sanctimoniously revered ancient txts like the B**** or the K**** which it is blasphemous to doubt ,diss or deride.Well done for pointing it out,cheers Jerry.
SAWDOC
Active member
Rubbish. It is well written and enjoyable with a good turn of phrase.
"sanctimoniously revered ancient txts " ?? Oh dear...
Babylon
Well-known member
That's a curious impression - can you substantiate why you felt that way?
SAWDOC
Active member
If Old Git doesn't object, could I offer the incident of spreading tacks on deck to deter midnight visitors??
One of the few great things about sailing around the workd solo is that you can say what you like and no-one can contradict you!!
Dougie_the_Mate
Member
That would be equally true of Robin Knox Johnston or Chichester or any of the pre-satellite image age.
Slocum was a celebrated sailor wherever he went even though communications were far from easy in those days.
ffiill
Active member
Why ficticious?-ever read Fitzroys book-Captain of the Beagle-particularly his survey work of Magellan Straits etc which stands to date.
For example entering the Straits at night in the dark to benefit from a favourable wind.
For example entering the Straits at night in the dark to benefit from a favourable wind.
Poignard
Well-known member
I'd like to read that but I can't find any information about that title. Do you mean:
'A Narrative of the Voyage of HMS Beagle. Being passages written by Captain Robert FitzRoy, R.N., together with extracts from his logs, reports and letters … '?
Ehbendisdonc
Member
I doubt it really matters. It reads like it was written yesterday by a guy who'd honed each tale through a few years on the lecture circuit (I'd love to have seen his Powerpoint presentations). He had a wonderful turn of phrase, and his writing is still fresh despite a century of sailing literature that came after.
Probably read many of the recent works by our 'hero's' who have every gadget under the sun so that we now forget what incredible characters many of our ancestors were.
Read more about the adventures from 2/300 years ago (first hand accounts) & Slocums adventures wer'nt that extraordinary but he does have a self afacing wit & modesty that adds a charm that makes it sound easy.
I reckon your doubt says more about you than him.
You need to get out more.
That all sounds familiar to me & I believe that if I have not read that exact book then I have certainly read a similar book available through the British Library.(that was in the past before they buggered up the whole record system & made it localized)
You used to be able to find alsorts of wonderful & obscure books throughout the British Isles just using the 910.4 category.
However I'm sure a librarian would help you.
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SAWDOC
Active member
Pasted from another post but a highly recommended read...
This thing of Darkness, Harry Thompson
ISBN 07553 0281 8
Headline Book Publishing.
About John Fitzroy commanding the HM survey ship "Beagle" with Charles Darwin and others on board.
A super read,lightly fictionalised in parts,and admitted to by the author.Readers of Patrick O'Brian will appreciated the effort put into bring this book to completion.It is utterly absorbing and will not be read by many in a sitting, rather reflected upon between stints, to more fully become involved in the arguments.Fitzroy gave us weather forecasting as we know it today.
__________________
Poignard
Well-known member
Thanks for the tip.
By the way, Fitzroy's guide to weather forecasting is available as a free ebook from Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23921
Poignard
Well-known member
That all sounds familiar to me & I believe that if I have not read that exact book then I have certainly read a similar book available through the British Library.(that was in the past before they buggered up the whole record system & made it localized)
You used to be able to find alsorts of wonderful & obscure books throughout the British Isles just using the 910.4 category.
However I'm sure a librarian would help you.
It's not very expensive. Think I might treat myself!
This is what I don't get;Why do people read these rehashes by modern authors when the originals are available from the British Library if you look back far enough? In my opinion there is absolutely nothing to match the first hand accounts by the actual people that had the experiences
Like they say the truth is stranger than fiction & I have never yet met one author that can match it.We are overlooking & squandering an absolutely priceless resource.
Incidentally,references are usually made to the original book at the end of those rehashes that can then be ordered through the British Library.In fact if you are lucky you can pick up references to several wonderful books that way that can only be acquired through the British Library because they are long out of print.
Like they say the truth is stranger than fiction & I have never yet met one author that can match it.We are overlooking & squandering an absolutely priceless resource.
Incidentally,references are usually made to the original book at the end of those rehashes that can then be ordered through the British Library.In fact if you are lucky you can pick up references to several wonderful books that way that can only be acquired through the British Library because they are long out of print.
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SAWDOC
Active member
This is what I don't get;Why do people read these rehashes by modern authors when the originals are available from the British Library if you look back far enough? In my opinion there is absolutely nothing to match the first hand accounts by the actual people that had the experiences
Like they say the truth is stranger than fiction & I have never yet met one author that can match it.We are overlooking & squandering an absolutely priceless resource.
Incidentally,references are usually made to the original book at the end of those rehashes that can then be ordered through the British Library.In fact if you are lucky you can pick up references to several wonderful books that way that can only be acquired through the British Library because they are long out of print.
Surely the enjoyment garnered from reading an account of the voyage is completely dependent on the relative literary skill of the "rehasher" vs the original author.
The rehash in this case is excellent in my opinion. Incidentally it deals comprenensively with Fitzroys mental fragility which I doubt gets much of an airing in the original. It also contains a wonderful postscript describing the history of the people of Tierra del Fuego after Fitzroys death so in my opinion there are several good reasons to read this. And yes it does contain a comprehensive bibliography if you wish to read the many original source documents!
Enjoy!
Poignard
Well-known member
This is what I don't get;Why do people read these rehashes by modern authors when the originals are available from the British Library if you look back far enough? In my opinion there is absolutely nothing to match the first hand accounts by the actual people that had the experiences
Like they say the truth is stranger than fiction & I have never yet met one author that can match it.We are overlooking & squandering an absolutely priceless resource.
Incidentally,references are usually made to the original book at the end of those rehashes that can then be ordered through the British Library.In fact if you are lucky you can pick up references to several wonderful books that way that can only be acquired through the British Library because they are long out of print.
This is the book I'm going to buy. Surely that's a reprint of the original, not a 'rehash by a modern author'?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Narrative-B...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324731664&sr=1-1
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Sorry I've just seen far to many professional authors & academics adding their own opinion.The book you've described sounds like 'with additional information' so may be ok.Different matter.
This is the book I'm going to buy. Surely that's a reprint of the original, not a 'rehash by a modern author'?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Narrative-B...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324731664&sr=1-1
Not absolutely certain to be honest with you.I used to order books like that from the library & then you could check the lineage right back to the original author but now they have changed the system.
It costs about a quid & you are in their hands!
"Captain Robert - Darwin Charles Fitzroy (Author)"
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