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  • Sailing Alone Around the World

  • Written by: Joshua Slocum
  • Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
  • Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (63 ratings)

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Sailing Alone Around the World cover art

Sailing Alone Around the World

Written by: Joshua Slocum
Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
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Publisher's Summary

Challenged by an expert who said it couldn’t be done, Joshua Slocum, a fearless New England sea captain, set out in April 1895 to prove that a man could sail alone around the world. A little over three years and forty-six thousand miles later, the proof was complete. This is Slocum’s own account of his remarkable adventures during the historic voyage of the Spray.

Whether Slocum was more accomplished as a writer or sailor is hard to say. His writing style is fast paced, witty, and exhilarating, an absorbing match to his harrowing adventures - adventures that included being chased by Moorish pirates off Gibraltar; escaping a fleet of hostile canoes; being submerged by a great wave off the Patagonian coast; an encounter with Black Pedro, “the worst murderer in Tierra del Fuego”; and foiling a nocturnal attack by savages by strewing carpet tacks on the Spray’s deck.

Captain Joshua Slocum (1844–1909) was the first person to circle the globe alone entirely by sea. This remarkable achievement made Slocum the most famous North American sailor of all time.

Public Domain (P)1992 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Water Sports Travel Writing & Commentary Nonfiction Adventure
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What the critics say

“[A] literate and absorbing yarn…A convincing tale of the intelligence, skill, and fortitude that drove a master navigator.” ( New York Times)
“One of the most readable books in the whole library of adventure.” ( Sports Illustrated)
“A classic book…Slocum’s writing is as elegant as his thirty-seven-foot sloop, Spray, whose crossing of the Atlantic he describes vividly.” ( New Yorker)

What listeners say about Sailing Alone Around the World

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Profile Image for Ian R Myles

Fascinating look at a unique voyage and era.

Fascinating, despite a few dated (racist) descriptions of locals encountered. Remarkably understated account of an incredible journey.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Amazon Customer

A must for all sailors

I loved it from beginning to finish. Incredible story and accomplishment. Takes you back to a simple time of sailing.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Phoenix Monro

High flying fun

good food for all folk and a contemporary mind to boot. At first brush, it's hard to get past the fact that he terms those from east timor "savages" due to their pillaging ways. but it was just that nothing more, as I came to learn he was a fairly multicultural man, basing folks on their merit rather than ethnicity

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Emmanuel Goyer

A true classic, don't mind the narrator.

A fantastic tale, well-written. Enjoyed from start to finish. My only complaint is the choice of narrator. Why choose a Brit to read a Yankee story? His pitch and accent frequently resulted in entire segments of indistinguishable gibberish. A terribly poor choice to be sure. Slocum's odyssey, however, is a must read for the avid sailor.

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Profile Image for A
  • A
  • 2021-11-05

good book - old style

this is a good book if you go in with the knowledge that it is very old style. this applies to the writing with out of date usage of terms like 'savage' and to the audio which sounds very old.

the story itself is straightforward and decent. it is interesting to hear the author describe his feat in such a matter of fact way without trying to add drama and make his journey seem relatively easy. this couldn't be more opposite from the modern way of constant self promotion.

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