The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Seven Unforgettable Stories

by Christopher Caswell (Editor)

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 tears, adrenaline, laughter, and adventure abound. With contributions - 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.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

About the author

Winner of more than 50 awards for writing and a yachting journalist for more than four decades, Chris Caswell was the Editor of Sea Magazine, Senior Editor of Yachting Magazine, and now contributes regularly to Yachts International.
“I’ve owned more boats that I want my wife or banker to know about,” he says, and his fleet is ever changing, including both power and sail.
In addition to writing about boats, he was the host of the Marine Voyager cable series weekly on the Speed Channel and Outdoor Life Networks. He’s even appeared on Oprah! as an expert on the boating lifestyle.
He has written eight books on everything from basic boating to charter cruising, sailboat racing to collections of nautical fiction. When not cruising the waters of Scotland, Thailand or Tahiti, he stows his duffel in West Palm Beach, FL.

Reviews

[Steve Bera · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you don't own a sailboat, this book is probably not for you. It glamorizes the sport to an exptreme degree. The stories that are renowned and included here are done so by including one chapter, which does not tell the whole glamorous story.

[Karen]

Sharing these stories with my 11 yr. old son who says he wants a life of adventure!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love it

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of these stories were ok, some were boring and a few were great. The title is misleading.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more excepts of 27 sailing books/short stories. I’d recommended checking out the full books for the chapters of interest.

[Arthaey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent collection of stories. Out of 28 stories, I've bookmarked 7 to recommend to others to read, not all stories are actually "great".

That said, it is quite varied, so I'd still recommend it if, like me, you are new to the genre of sailing stories and don't even know which types you might enjoy. I now have a list of books I'd like to read in full, so I'm glad I read this anthology.

[Lynda Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Loved hearing about the stories of these great adventurers.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good collection of short stories or excerpts from classics centered on sailing and the sea. Excellent book for discovering authors that specialize in this genre. I am using it to launch into other works by some of the featured writers.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

We are going to start including sailing in our lifestyle this year, and my wife gave this book to me as a present. The stories are interesting and fun, and this is what I would call a very light read. Just a great book to have on your bookshelf for when you want to relax.