Tristan Jones - Fraudster

MMmm...just cos'something is printed in a book does not make it true.....even if the Author claims it.....

Tristan Jones? A Character who told a few good tales - truth is often a matter of viewpoint.

Enjoy or not, I suspect he would not have cared too much /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
Ive read all of Tilman and I dont remember any Wot Wot or Old Boy in any of it, fraid im with Reginaldon, Sgeir, et al,
Dont think there is any argument about T J's story telling, some like it, some dont. Its lying bullshitters I dont care for whether they write books or stand next to me.
 
Havent we all done it at one time or another? ''The waves were THIS big and ,and ,and,ooh it was force 8 when the anenometer jumped ship in the Solent''......Guilty m'lud.

Sure, he could entertain,that seems a good way to sell lots of books.

Great fun and no less an enjoyable read to me.

The boat load of hooky cheeses in the Dutch canals,with the customs officers invited aboard and being treated to a roaring smoky odour-eating fire stands out in my mind as classic TJ tale telling.

I do remember the telly interview with Wogan,and the TJ written version of same,it was to do with the German police unsurprisingly refusing to allow him to tow a very wide trimaran along part of their autobahn system ! Wogan was sort of saying''so you're up the creek then aren't you without a paddle or a pot to p=== in ''and TJ had nothing much to say ..
In actuality the Germans did facilitate such a tow,TJ wrote it up as''I soon put that telly personality to rights on a couple of things''....whatever.
 
Yes, agree, they are good fun and you would have to suspend all disbelief to think they are a true account of what actually happened.
It is more diffcicult with those authors who only slightly exaggerate the facts, such as T.E. Lawrence and people may feel a little hoodwinked there. Even so the Seven Pillars of Wisdom is still a great read, just take it with a pinch of salt, as I do with T.J.'s work
 
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Ive read all of Tilman and I dont remember any Wot Wot or Old Boy in any of it, fraid im with Reginaldon, Sgeir, et al,
Dont think there is any argument about T J's story telling, some like it, some dont. Its lying bullshitters I dont care for whether they write books or stand next to me.

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Don't think much of lying bullshitters myself, but I think I can tell the difference between a teller of yarns, and a bullshitter! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif.....I have only read two of Tilmans books "Mischief among the Penguins" and "Mischief in Patagonia"......and I found them very full of the "old boy" and "what ho chaps" syndrome....still, a product of his era no doubt. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Just out of interest, how many of TJ's books have you read?
 
Clearly I dont have enough work to do! But i must raise a small issue regarding TE Lawrence, whilst there may be an exageration of the some of the facts, this was mainly the fault of the press who were on his case big time, after it was all over, he shunned publicity in a big way as you know. The big difference between TE and TJ is that the vast majority of 7 Pillars of Wisdom actually happened.
 
I met TJ at the end of his 'Incredible Voyage' and went for a sail on the River Plate with him before loading 'Sea Dart' onto our ship to bring it back to Newhaven. Where it was immediately impounded by customs. He came on board for a pint just before we sailed. It was, he said, his first pint of British beer for years and by the time he was half way though it he became maudlin drunk. The last I saw of him was as we sailed he was on the quay bellowing a tearful rendition of 'The leaving of Liverpool'

I'd never heard of him before and must admit I found him boorish and full of his own importance but could see a bit of 'loveable rogue' in him. I have since read a lot of his books and agree that they are 'sea stories' that therefore grow with the telling. Take in the gullible and amuse the others, no harm done.

I tell tales of things that I have done and situations I have been in and they 'grow with the telling', usually for the purposes of comedy and sometimes to the extent that there are some that I can't remember the truth of myself. They're stories, not meant to be taken seriously, literally or as the truth. That is the point of sea stories.

Oh, and I can confirm that Sea Dart was the smelliest and dirtiest boat I have ever been on.
 
Hi, not disagreeing with you and that was the very point I was making. Because the large majority of it was true it makes the slight exaggerations harder to spot For example his own notebooks confirm that his claim to have crossed The Sinai Peninsula from Aqaba to the Suez Canal in just 49 hours without any sleep was not true. In reality this famous camel ride lasted for more than 70 hours and was interrupted by two long breaks for sleeping which Lawrence omitted when he wrote his book. This is not to diminish what he achieved, he was a hero in the true sense of the word.
I was distinguishing him form T.J. as it quickly becomes apparent that T.J. is spinning a good yarn but you should not get too uptight about it being the whole truth
 
it is interesting to have a look at the readers reviews of his books on Amazon. I quote one below:
"This was the first book I read by Tristan Jones, and I was instantly captivated by the incredible adventures he undertook. Not only that, but his wit, tenacity, general philosophy of life and his excellent writing style make it an enthralling read and gave me many many sleepless nights! It really is extremely hard to put this down, to decide to take your boat across the war-torn middle east to sail on the lowest sea in the world, then to sail across the other side of the world and have it transported to the highest lake in the world is an unbelievably ridiculous notion. But he does it, and like so many of his other 'ridiculous' plans which form his other books, it is the strength of his character, his determination and his sheer STUBBORNESS which helps him succeed. A visionary man, who has become my personal hero, this book (and all his others) provide not just a ripping yarn but incredible inspiration to go and fulfill your dreams."
That reader, and all the others who left reviews, felt that the books were genuine. And yet he was clearly not simply a story teller, but a fraudster who having invented a past life for himself tried to act it out in reality, without success. Anthony Dalton published a review of his life.
What puzzles me is the fierce defence of mendacity on this forum. If the stories were good, why not sell them as novels, rather than autobiography?
The truth does have to be jealously guarded, as there are many who are careless with it. Had this been a book written purporting to be an autobiography of, say, one of Hitler's generals - or perhaps one of Mrs Thatcher's aides, would the forum have been quite so relaxed about the sanctity of truth?
 
I kind of see your point. If I were ever to write an autobiography (not that I will or anyone would be interested if I did) it would have to be made clear that it's a 'fictionalised account'

It's a bit of a shame people take it all so seriously. When I was at sea there would occassionally be story telling sessions in the mess. The stories were always told as being true but most of the listeners would know they weren't. If challenged the storyteller would come back with some even more outragous justification but no one ever used the word 'liar'. They were just stories and suspending belief was all part of the game. No harm done.

It's when people base future actions on fiction that trouble begins. The bible, anyone?
 
Obviously you have your own axes to grind, if you don't, why are you and some of the others totally disregarding the fact that TJ informed his readers on more than one occasion what the nature of his writings were......

I quote from the foreward to "Seagulls in my Soup".......

This book, originally written in 1979, is in the recently "discovered" and much acclaimed literary mode of fictionalised fact. But all human memory is that. Embroidering memories is what makes us human. God forbid the day when none of us can do that! Over the last 20 years, unrecognised by most shore-bound critics, I have done much to pioneer this mode of story telling. Be assured: all the main facts of these tales are true, but the tales (as all life is a dream) are "fiction" .....end of quote

Now, it's OK on the one hand to say that you don't like his work, ( it wouldn't do at all for us to all like the same thing), but I don't think it's OK, to slag the bloke off in the manner which some of you have.

Now if some folks want to take his stories as a factual narrative that is up to them, but maybe they should pay attention to what is written in the forewards of some of his books?

So his Catamaran was a tip......so "Seadart" was smelly......so perishing what, I wonder how many of you self righteous critics could live in a space that small and not suffer the same? also, what the dickens has any of that got to do with his writing? If in fact it is true?

There is, as I have said already, (which you critics have also chosen to ignore), a website dedicated to the man and his writings, it doesn't pull any punches, and exposes his strengths and weaknesses, it is there for the perusal of any that are interested, so those that are quick to yell fraud, should perhaps have a look at it?

I think those of you that have been somewhat less than generous with your comments should maybe think again, and not be so quick to damn someone that you know of, but only through the pages of a few books. You should also remember that he has through his writing given an awful lot of pleasure, to a huge number of people, so really some of you with your venomous comments are just pissing into the wind.
 
Phew, I'm glad it was you who mentioned the Bible - I was about to, but then I saw your post! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks, it needed to be said...

FWIW I really enjoyed the Incredible Voyage, and will read others of his books as I meet them. Fact or Fiction it was a great read.
 
Interesting to see the Jones/ Tilman comparisons.

Both were regarded as self opinionate boors, had difficulty keeping crew members for a second trip (often for the whole of a single trip!) Both revel in recounting "hardships endured" - often of their own making. And both tell a marvelous tale. Tilman's stories are often contradicted by the books of others on the same trip.

So where is the difference? Do the above naysayers believe everything they read in newspapers or see on TV documentaries? The BBC's Panarama is notorious for telling a story entirely from one side only.

There is no "TRUTH" out there, every person sees events from a different perspective, just listen to witnesses argue about what actually happened in an accident. Oh, yeah and get a life!
 
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.............one of Hitler's generals.......one of Mrs Thatcher's aides

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Wow! I never knew that /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Old Tristan certainly had a varied life......I hear he also wrote the Bible (the interesting bits anyway).
 
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Get a life yourself fungus face! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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There is no "TRUTH" out there, every person sees events from a different perspective

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Steady, we have enough problems here without existential philosophy poking it's nose in.
 
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can't abide all that old boy, and wot wot nonsense /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

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Comes with the Military Cross and Bar I suppose.
 
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