# Nautical books, old and new.



## Farmer John (Feb 22, 2012)

"Two years before the mast" is a book I have read a couple of times in the past, I am just reading this again, and there is more to it than I remember. The account of the flogging of two seaman from a crew of six really shocked me.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2055

Joshua Slo***, "Sailing alone around the world" is another brilliant book I have read before, but not for a long time.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6317

E. F. Knight " The cruise of the Alerte" is exceptionally interesting, a real warning about treasure searching.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38891

There are three to start with, I will not apologise for flagging them all up as electronic texts. I have all these books, but they are not easy to find, especially Knight's books. My copy of "The cruise of the Alerte" is signed in the front by my Grandfather, my Father and now me.

If this is done somewhere else on here, I am sorry but I could not find it.

I would love some ideas about other books, old or new, electronic texts or a paper title to chase, that's fine. Please don't post up just book titles, a very brief description would be nice. I intend to come back with some more ideas, but it can't be limitless.

Top reccomendation of these three "Two years before the mast", a very easy to read style but fascinating details.


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## beedeesea (Feb 28, 2006)

Farmer John,
Somebody posted a link to a nautical fiction list some time ago. If it's any use to you it's at: http://www.boat-links.com/books/nfl/nautfic-01.html#index

Brian


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## Farmer John (Feb 22, 2012)

Thank you for that, Brian, I shall mine it at leisure, a valuable resource. I was hoping for historical (old or new) texts. Read the books I have listed, they have done it.

That link is in my bookmarks.


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## Binnacle (Jul 22, 2005)

*"Ayesha - Being the Adventures of the Landing Squad of the Emden"*

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/45878/45878-h/45878-h.htm

Read this book when a schoolboy - kept me hooked till the last page. 

"FOREWORD

That TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION is amply illustrated in the following gripping narrative. I have read practically all the stories and yarns of this war, many in their original languages, but I have found none to surpass this interesting tale. In the years to come, all men, especially those “who go down to the sea in ships,” will find in these adventures some very profitable lessons in perseverance, resourcefulness and courage. Although this feat may be dimmed by the light of the major operations of the war, I predict that no reader who has once started to read this book will fail to complete it, nor on completion, will he fail to say that he has enjoyed a most interesting series of adventures.

J. H. Klein, Jr., 
Lieutenant, U.S. Navy."

Chapter I

KEELING ISLAND

“I report for duty the landing squad from the ship,—three officers, six petty officers, and forty men strong.”
It was on the ninth of November, 1914, at six o’clock in the morning that I reported for duty to the commanding officer of His Majesty’s ship, Emden, Captain von Mueller, at the gangway of the ship. The Emden was lying at anchor in Port Refuge, a harbor formed by Keeling Reefs. Alongside were the two cutters in which the officers and men of the landing squad had already taken their places. The steam launch was ready to push off and tow them ashore. My orders were[2] to destroy the wireless telegraph and cable station on Direction Island, which is the most northerly island of the Keeling group, and to bring back with me, in so far as possible, all signal books, secret code books, and the like.

Kapitanleutnant Helmuth von Mucke 


Read on (Read)- enjoy.


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## Farmer John (Feb 22, 2012)

Thanks for that one, Binnacle, it's going on the Kindle for near future consumption.


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## sidsal (Nov 13, 2007)

I sold all my nautical books for £600 about a year ago as I felt I ought to make things easier for my family when I sung my hook.
Among them was The last Corsair - story of the Emden in 1914 Also books by Jushua Slo*** etc. I have always found that truth is stranger than fiction and more interesting.


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## NoR (Mar 24, 2008)

You can get many of the Guttenburg books on Amazon in kindle format free. Makes it easier to get them onto your Kindle or iPad.
I got 'Two Years Before the Mast' like this.


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## ninabaker (May 4, 2012)

Highly influential for me as a kid dreaming of the sea were:

The Surgeons Log
The Cruise of the Cachalot
Kontiki
The seas were mine
The last grain race

I still have most of them although crates of others have gone to the dealers years ago.
nina


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## Stephen J. Card (Nov 5, 2006)

Here is a must... YANKEE R.N.

Found this review on the internet. A brilliant book.


Yankee, R.N. by Commander A.H. Cherry, O.B.E., R.N.V.R. 4th Edition published 1954 (first 1951). Published by Jarrolds Publishers (London) Limited

About six months ago I bought a uniform that had formerly belonged to an American who joined the Royal Navy during WW2, and eventually rose to the rank of Commander, R.N.V.R. This uniform was named to a certain A.H. Cherry, O.B.E. and I was quite pleased to find that he had written a book about his experiences during the War. I bought a copy off of www.abebooks.com and figured that it would be yet another old book that would look rather attractive on the bookshelf and to have with the uniform at a later time (e.g. when I sold it) but really didn’t have any plans of reading it. Well, I ended up going to sea with the Royal Navy and figured I’d take the book along. 

My initial impression couldn’t have been further from the truth! Far from being another book destined to collect dust on my shelves, it was an engrossing account of the Battle of the Atlantic, from 1940 through D-Day and finally during the Occupation in post-war Europe. Through 544 pages, it details the account of how Alex Cherry, an American banker off of Wall Street decided to defend freedom when he felt that his country wasn’t doing enough. Joining the Royal Navy via Canada, he eventually reached the shores of England and was sent through officer training and specialized training as an anti-submarine specialist. 

His operational career took him across the Atlantic several times, then down to Bermuda as a submarine hunter. Here, he developed a new tactic of convoy formation which was later used with great success on trans-Atlantic crossings. He then commissioned a new destroyer as it’s Executive Officer (or “Number One” as they were called in the RN) and took it across The Pond before being transferred to the elite sub-hunting specialists of the Second Escort Group, where he took part in the D-Day landings and claimed several U-boats to his credit. 

In late 1944, his request to transfer to the US Navy was denied, and he ended up with training to become part of the Occupation forces, eventually becoming the British Naval Liaison Officer in Bremen. The book ends here, sometime in late 1945, despite the fact that his career with the RN lasted for at least another two years (he was awarded the O.B.E. in 1947 and was promoted to the rank of Commander, thus becoming the first American to ever wear the “brass hat” of the Royal Navy.) 

Despite the length of the book, it is exceptionally well written and he retells the story of his service in the most vivid details. During the winter storms of the battle of the Atlantic you can feel the cold seas, and you can really picture the tenseness of “action stations” while hunting a U-boat off the coast of France. I will say that I have yet to read a better book about the battle of the Atlantic, and I have yet to read a better first-hand account of the naval side of any nation during WW2! 

This book was last printed in 1954 (as I can find) so it’s only available as a used book. I have found copies on nearly every used book search engine, with the cheapest copies being in the UK (just have to pay for shipping!) Copies in the US typically run $15-$25 a copy plus shipping. I highly recommend this book, and I have even ordered several more copies to give to friends who I know will enjoy this book as much as I have. 
.


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## Farmer John (Feb 22, 2012)

Kontiki and the Last grain race are ones I remember reading many years ago and have read since, The Surgeon's log I came across from this site (think it can be found as an electronic text). The Seas were mine I will search for, the Cruise of the Cacholot I have heard of but don't know, another one to look for. Thank you for those, Nina, a small flame in your past that changed your world.

Hey, I am enjoying this!


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## Farmer John (Feb 22, 2012)

Stephen, thanks for this one, We are getting a real spectrum of books here. I am really not looking to buy more books, the house is quite large but we are starting to stack them due to no more shelves. I shall look, and might be tempted...


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## Steve Hodges (Feb 12, 2007)

"By Way of Cape Horn" by Alan Villiers is a fine book, in fact anything by Villiers is worth reading.
Actually, Farmer John, there's a whole section in SN on books and publications, you'll find it almost at the end of the Threads listings.


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## cleansweeploch (Nov 13, 2010)

An amazing book I discovered is The Nagle Journal, by Jacob Nagle. Edited by John C. Dann.
It describes the life of a man who joined the American Revolutionary War at the age of fifteen at the Battle of the Brandywines turned to the Navy two years later and went on to a forty five year career as a sailor on privateers and merchant ships. He was also involved in the American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. He was with Nelson in the Med. The First Fleet to Australia, and Lord Howe in the First French Wars.
It's like the definition of a British sailor only by an American born subject.
He died in Canton, Ohio at the age of eighty.
Truly a remarkable man.
ISBN 1-555-84223-2
Weidenfeld & Nicolson


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