“A masterfully curated collection...You don’t have to be a sailor to be blown away by this fascinating, bighearted book.” —Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea, Travels with George, and Second Wind A story as vast and exhilarating as the open ocean itself, SAILING ALONE chronicles the daring, disastrous, and often absurd history of those who chose to sail across the ocean, in very small boats, alone. Sailing by yourself, out of sight of land, can be invigorating and terrifying, compelling and tedious - and sometimes all of the above in one morning. But it is also a wide expanse of time in which to think. Sailing Alone tells the story of some of the remarkable people who, over the last four centuries, have spent weeks and months, moving slowly over the world's largest laboratory: a capricious and startling place in which to observe oneself, the weather, the stars, and countless sea creatures, from the tiniest to the most massive and threatening. Richard J. King profiles characters famous, diverse, international, and obscure, from Joshua Slocum of 1898 to modern teenagers daring to take the challenge. They see strange hallucinations, lie to us (and themselves) on their travel logs, encounter sharks, befriend birds, and experience ESP, all part of the unnerving reality of extended isolation. And some disappear altogether. Sailing Alone also recounts the author's own nearly catastrophic solo crossing of the Atlantic, and the mystery of his inexplicable survival one sunny afternoon. An enormously engaging new book for skippers and armchair voyagers alike.

Joshua Slocum's epic solo voyage around the world in 1895 in the 37 foot sloop Spray stands as one of the greatest sea adventures of all time. It remains one of the major feats of singlehanded voyaging, and has since been the inspiration for the many who have gone to sea in small boats. Starting from Boston in 1895, by the time he dropped anchor in Newport, Rhode Island over three years after his journey began, he had cruised some 46,000 miles entirely by sail and entirely alone. Slocum's account of his voyage is a classic of sailing literature, acclaimed as an unequalled masterpiece of vital yet disciplined prose. It will be welcomed by admirers of his legendary achievement.

Joshua Slocum¿s Sailing Alone Around the World is a classic, beloved by sailors the world over who have enjoyed this engrossing tale of a man who sails around the world alone in a small wooden sailboat built with his own hands. This edition is thoroughly annotated by teacher/journalist Rod Scher, who provides explanation, commentary, clarification, and historical context that will make Slocum¿s masterpiece more accessible to today¿s readers¿sailors and landlubbers alike.

For thousands of years, man has sailed into battle, sailed for rumored wealth, and sailed for pure adventure. And for nearly as long, stories about the sea have entertained, intrigued, and inspired readers. The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told brings together some of the most compelling writing of the millennium. Here is Peter Goss's wrenching narrative of incredible courage in the world's most desolate ocean along with Ernest Shackleton's understated and awesome account of one of the most daring small-boat journeys ever taken, where failure meant certain death for his long-suffering crew. But sailing is much more than headlong dashes into roaring seas. You'll also find William F. Buckley Jr. on idyllic cruising; James Thurber on the arcane and often impenetrable language of sailors; and the legendary Joshua Slocum on sailing alone around the world. The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told is a treasure trove: tears, adrenaline, laughter, and adventure abound. With contributions from: - James Thurber -William F. Buckley Jr. - Ann Davison - Sterling Hayden - Ernest Shackleton - Tristan Jones - Samuel Eliot Morrison - Joshua Slocum - E. B. White - C. S. Forester - Cleveland Amory - Weston Martyr - Peter Goss - David Kasanof – and many others.

The product of years of research, A Man for All Oceans is the most comprehensive biography of Slocum ever published, and the first written by a small-boat sailor. Author/historian Grayson uncovered previously unknown original source materials to shed new light on one of history’s greatest sailors while answering questions that have been asked ever since the publication of Sailing Alone. In June 1898, three years and two months after departing Boston in his aged oyster sloop Spray, Captain Joshua Slocum made land fall in New England and became the first person ever to sail alone around the world. The voyage capped a lifetime of adventure for the indomitable Slocum, who had advanced from seaman to captain during the challenging final years of commercial sail, surviving hurricanes, mutinies, shipwreck, and the death at sea of his beloved first wife, Virginia. Sailing Alone Around the World, Slocum’s book about his circumnavigation, is a seafaring classic, unmatched for adventure and literary verve, and has never been out of print since its publication in 1900. Yet despite several biographies over the decades, Slocum the man has remained unknowable to his legions of admirers, the facts of his life and career as elusive as a ship on a fogbound sea. Here is the real story of Slocum’s Nova Scotia childhood, his seafaring career, and how he became an American citizen. Grayson gives ample evidence of Slocum’s uncanny genius as a navigator while also noting the occasional role that good luck played in his voyages, including his odyssey from Brazil to the United States in the self-designed and built 35-foot Liberdade. And Grayson brings a sailor’s perspective to Slocum’s solo circumnavigation and mysterious disappearance at sea. A fascinating appendix compares Sailing Alone Around the World with Thoreau’s Walden and shows that Slocum’s simple lifestyle and self-sufficiency prefigured today’s emphases on the environment and living responsibly. Previously unpublished photographs bring Slocum’s world to life, and detailed maps trace the adventures of a sailor who knew the world like the back of his hand. This biography reads like an adventure narrative and will serve as the standard work on Joshua Slocum for years to come.

Long before journalist George Plimpton donned shoulder pads for Paper Lion, sportswriters were stepping onto the field, arena, track and ring. This first-of-its-kind anthology of participatory sportswriting collects 48 pieces from the Gilded and Golden Age greats. Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Frances Elizabeth Willard, John Muir, Jack London, Zane Grey, Ernest Hemingway, Ring Lardner, Bill Tilden, Bobby Jones, Helen Mills, Paul Gallico, and many more prowled America's sporting grounds with pen in hand in a time when, as Grantland Rice put it, "a flame...lit up the sporting skies and covered the world."

Implementing a never-before-seen approach to sea literature, American Sea Literature: Seascapes, Beach Narratives, and Underwater Explorations explores the role of American maritime activities and their cultural representations in literature. Differentiating between the 'terrestrial' and 'oceanic' as concepts, Shin Yamashiro divides sea literature into three categories: literature on the sea, by the sea, and beneath the sea. Discussing both canonical works and new books on scuba diving, deep-sea explorations, and surfing, this fascinating study recognizes sea literature's unique influence on American history.

Solitude has always had an ambivalent status: the capacity to enjoy being alone can make sociability bearable, but those predisposed to solitude are often viewed with suspicion or pity. Drawing on a wide array of literary and historical sources, David Vincent explores how people have conducted themselves in the absence of company over the last three centuries. He argues that the ambivalent nature of solitude became a prominent concern in the modern era. For intellectuals in the romantic age, solitude gave respite to citizens living in ever more complex modern societies. But while the search for solitude was seen as a symptom of modern life, it was also viewed as a dangerous pathology: a perceived renunciation of the world, which could lead to psychological disorder and anti-social behaviour. Vincent explores the successive attempts of religious authorities and political institutions to manage solitude, taking readers from the monastery to the prisoner’s cell, and explains how western society’s increasing secularism, urbanization and prosperity led to the development of new solitary pastimes at the same time as it made traditional forms of solitary communion, with God and with a pristine nature, impossible. At the dawn of the digital age, solitude has taken on new meanings, as physical isolation and intense sociability have become possible as never before. With the advent of a so-called loneliness epidemic, a proper historical understanding of the natural human desire to disengage from the world is more important than ever. The first full-length account of its subject, A History of Solitude will appeal to a wide general readership.

"I know you'll want to read more after you finish Sailing a Serious Ocean. And be warned, you'll very likely want to sail with John, perhaps across an ocean." -- DALLAS MURPHY, AUTHOR OF ROUNDING THE HORN After sailing 300,000 miles and weathering dozens of storms in all the world's oceans, John Kretschmer has plenty of stories and advice to share. John's offshore training passages sell out a year in advance and his entertaining presentations are popular at boat shows and yacht clubs all over the English speaking world. John's talent for storytelling enchants his audience as it soaks up the lessons he learned during his oftenchallenging voyages. Now you can take a seat next to John--at a lesser cost--and get the knowledge you need to fulfill your own dream of blue-water adventure. In Sailing a Serious Ocean, John tells you what to expect when sailing the oceans and shows how to sail safely across them. His tales of storm encounters and other examples of extreme seamanship will help you prepare for your journey and give you confidence to handle any situation—even heavy weather. Through his personal stories, John will guide you through the whole process of choosing the right boat, outfitting with the right gear, planning your route, navigating the ocean, and understanding the nuances of life at sea. Our oceans are beautiful yet unpredictable—water that is at one moment a natural mirror for the glowing sun can turn into a foamy, raging wall of fury. John knows our oceans, and he is one of the best teachers of taming and enjoying them. Before you set off across the big blue, turn to John for his inspirational stories and hard-learned advice and discover the serious sailor in you.