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38th out of 107 books
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Wanderer
Since its publication in 1963, Sterling Hayden's autobiography, Wanderer, has been surrounded by controversy. The author was at the peak of his earning power as a movie star when he suddenly quit. He walked out on Hollywood, walked out of a shattered marriage, defied the courts, broke as an outlaw, set sail with his four children in the schooner Wanderer-bound for the So...more
Paperback, 434 pages
Published
March 25th 1998
by Sheridan House
(first published 1963)
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I first read this book in high school and it altered my life for the better in more ways than I can count. No, I never bought a schooner and sailed the South Seas. But I did become a writer, and a self-examining and (I hope) more honest one as a result of reading this book. But beyond that is the magic of a life adventurously lived and splendidly told. I have read Wanderer more times than I can count, and each time I am left in awe at Hayden's brutal and ferocious honesty about himself and a...more
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Trianna
is currently reading it
Right now all I care about is the knowledge of independence, the warm, flowing thought that I can find a skiff if I please and row it clean out of the harbor and past the Morro and on to the west or north, the thought that I can jump ship and walk toward the eastern end of the island and splash in the rivers or maybe find a little island close inshore that belongs to nobody and build a camp of sorts (23).
To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundati...more
To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundati...more
Sterling Hayden was one of the most intriguing figures to emerge from Hollywood. This is his biography. It is not about "how to sail". If you check Hayden on Wikipedia, you'll get a bit of his life but it was actually much more complex. He followed a poor and hard-working path to making movies and only acted to support his family and love of sailing. He was made full Captain of a ship by age 22 and sailed around the world twice. He was the crazy General in Dr. Strangelove.
The o...more
The o...more
Great read, as I love true stories. Autobiography of a man who was a fisherman, sailor, Hollywood actor, soldier, sometimes Communist, and dreamer, confident but acutely aware of his own shortfalls. Doesn't offer any answers to the 'big questions', but provides an account of his personal strugle with them.
As a 20 yr. old I was smitten by Hayden, his book and the sea. I wanted to sail away with him from Sausalito. Later met someone who did. He was fleeing his wife.......
Just started
Patrick
marked it as to-read
Though I am loathe to do so, I must put this book in the stasis hold until further notice. It's not that's it's bad necessarily, it's just not grabbing my attention enough and thus it's taking me months to finish. It is also due at the library. There are other books I need to read of a more seasonal necessity, other shores to conquer and I cannot be slowed down by dead weight. I think Sterling Hayden would agree with me.
PS: I liked the parts in Woonsocket and Providence involving the q...more
PS: I liked the parts in Woonsocket and Providence involving the q...more
Rich Martin
marked it as to-read
Sterling Hayden is best-known for playing the corrupt cop Michael Corleone kills in "Godfather." He was a good actor who was in some fine old noir pics ... but hated acting and Hollywood.
He lived an adventurous life, running guns to Yugoslav partisans during World War II.
This is an account of an ocean voyage when his life was not going well.
I've read a few pages -- the guy can write.
I was going to take this along on a cruise I would've taken last year ... but I...more
He lived an adventurous life, running guns to Yugoslav partisans during World War II.
This is an account of an ocean voyage when his life was not going well.
I've read a few pages -- the guy can write.
I was going to take this along on a cruise I would've taken last year ... but I...more
a great book. well worth a read for anyone that enjoys a horizon.
steer, g-ddamn it, steer
The only thing better than reading this book is reading it again.
Always dug this guy's on-screen presence, and then accidentally saw a review on GoodReads of this book. Had NO idea this back story. Fully inspiring, and surprisingly exciting.
Find this book and read it. But don't ask for mine - it is now one of the select books in my permanent collection.
Find this book and read it. But don't ask for mine - it is now one of the select books in my permanent collection.
Erich Scholz
is currently reading it
I really like watching Sterling Hayden act. I even rented his last movie, Venom (1982)...haven't watched it yet but the cast is pretty kick-ass: Hayden, Klaus Kinski, Oliver Reed, Susan George, Nicol Williamson, Michael Gough...
fan-damn-tastic. one of the most honest self-examinations ever.
Powerful. Revealing.
Maddening. Oft times disheartening.
And finally, Honest!
This is a portrait of Man(the Dreamer) at his most stripped. I dare you to do better. I dare you to look. I expect you to ridicule.
Maddening. Oft times disheartening.
And finally, Honest!
This is a portrait of Man(the Dreamer) at his most stripped. I dare you to do better. I dare you to look. I expect you to ridicule.
Sterling Hayden is an exremely interesting character - sailor, adventurer, seaman, actor, patriot, communist, writer, and more. It's hard to know if he was ever really happy, but he certainly led a full life.
I loved this book....what thought, poetry and romance with life & the sea!! Includes the reality of the real world of 1959.
Alright but not especially relevant if you want to learn about sailing
matt
is currently reading it
Dhiren
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“To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... "cruising" it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.
"I've always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of "security." And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone.
What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade.
The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.
Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life? ”
—
10 people liked it
"I've always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of "security." And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone.
What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade.
The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.
Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life? ”
“In the worship of security we fling ourselves beneath the wheels of routine-and before we know it our lives are gone.”
—
2 people liked it
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