Synopses & Reviews
Inspired by the examples of his heroes Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Joshua Slocum, Jack London determined to sail around the world. In April 1907 he sailed from San Francisco in the forty-five-foot ketch Snark, with his wife, Charmian, a skeleton crew, and his writing to keep him company. Beset by seasickness and tropical disease, London wrote incessantlynot only his major autobiographical novel Martin Eden and numerous short stories, but also a series of sketches recording the voyage itself. These entertaining pieces, collected together into the book he called The Cruise of the Snark, reveal Londons indefatigable spirit and love of adventure at sea and among the Pacific islands.
- Includes introduction and notes, as well as London's delightful sea pieces "That Dead Men Rise Up Never" and "The Joy of Small-Boat Sailing".
About the Author
Jack London (18761916) published an enormous number of stories and novels, including
The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and
Martin Eden.
R. D. Madison is a professor of English at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He has edited several volumes of military and naval history, including William Bligh and Edward Christians The Bounty Mutiny for Penguin Classics.
Table of Contents
The Cruise of the Snark Introduction: The Romance of Yachting; or, The Private History of a Voyage That Failed
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Texts
The Cruise Of The Snark
Notes
Appendices
From Martin Johnson: Through the South Seas with Jack London
From Charmian Kittredge London: The Log of the Snark
Jack London: "That Dead Men Rise Up Never"
Jack London: "The Joy of Small-Boat Sailing"