by Richard Henry Dana
The classic tale of serving before the mast. Dana entered Harvard College in 1831; but near the beginning of his third year an attack of measles left his eyesight so weak that study was impossible. Tired of the tedium of a slow convalescence, he decided on a sea voyage; and choosing to go as a sailor rather than as a passenger, he shipped from Boston on August 14, 1834, on the brig Pilgrim, bound for the coast of California. His experiences for the next two years form the subject of the book. The merit of Two Year's Before the Mast was recognized in both America and England immediately after its appearance, and it at once took rank as the most vivid and accurate picture in literature of the side of life it sought to portray. W. Clark Russell, (see the Fiction section for titles by this author) himself one of the best writers of sea stories in English, called it "the greatest seabook that was ever written in any language," and the convincing detail of its narrative led to comparisons with the masterpiece of Defoe. First published in 1840. Profusely illustrated in colour.
One of the 100 Best Books on the American Sailor (Elbridge S. Brooks).
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