A Voyage for Madmen

Book Description

In 1968, nine sailors set off on the most daring race ever held: to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. It was a feat that had never been accomplished and one that would forever change the face of sailing. Ten months later, only one of the nine men would cross the finish line and earn fame, wealth, and glory. For the others, the reward was madness, failure, and death.

In this extraordinary book, Peter Nichols chronicles a contest of the individual against the sea, waged at a time before cell phones, satellite dishes, and electronic positioning systems. A Voyage for Madmen is a tale of sailors driven by their own dreams and demons, of horrific storms in the Southern Ocean, and of those riveting moments when a split-second decision means the difference between life and death.

Average customer rating:

Shakepeare in Space!
Re-Readable fun
Not Varley's Best
Space-Theatre is even more fun than space-opera!
A slightly different take on trademark Varley

The Golden Globe
John Varley
Manufacturer: Ace Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Steel Beach
Red Lightning
Demon
Red Thunder
Wizard

ASIN: 0441005586

Amazon.com

Sparky Valentine is a former child star turned down-on-his-luck thespian who's just reached the grand old age of 100. Not that you could tell by looking at the old ham, who for some reason never seems to age--or stay out of trouble. Sparky's in the midst of a whirlwind theatrical tour designed to bring a bit of culture to the frozen desolation of the outer solar system when bad luck strikes in the form of a gumshoe hot on his tail. Sparky decides to skip the outer burgs for the more hospitable environs of Pluto, but things only get worse when he runs afoul of the notoriously unforgiving Charonese Mafia. As he's making his getaway, he learns something astonishing. The famous director Kaspara Polichinelli of Luna is planning a performance of King Lear, and he's short a lead to take on the title role. Sparky wires Polichinelli that he's interested, and Polichinelli tells him the part is his. Now all Sparky has to do is find a way to scrape together enough cash to get to Luna before the play starts while avoiding a seemingly unstoppable (and unkillable) Charonese hitman. --Craig E. Engler

Book Description

Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards, John Varley is truly one of the "greats" of science fiction, comparable only to Heinlein, Herbert, Asimov, and Clarke. Now the all-time master returns--with his long-awaited epic novel of life beyond the great beyond... All the universe is a stage, and Sparky Valentine is its itinerant thespian. He makes his way from planet to planet as part of a motley theater troupe, at could put the universe back to square one. And it is not terrifying. It is tempting...

Customer Reviews:

Shakepeare in Space!.......2006-12-07

In the future of Varley's book, almost everyone remembers Sparky
Valentine. Even if they aren't old enough to remember the glory years of the kid's show, "Sparky and His Gang" they remember their parents talking about it or watching old recordings. Many also remember something about allegations of a terrible crime, and may assume that Sparky is deceased, since they haven't heard anything about him in years.
But wait, here we have Sparky's autobiography, his epic story beginning
with his roots in a fifth generation theatrical family, his rise to riches, his fall from grace, and on and on through his long years of seedy outer-planet theatres, Punch & Judy shows and scams; hunger, keeping one step ahead of various planetary jurisdictions, then eventually running afoul of a dreaded crime syndicate.

This is rich, wonderful novel blends Shakespeare and Howdy Doody,
Jimmy Stewart and Errol Flynn; a heady mix of popular culture and future
history. The solar system is recovering from a mysterious invasion which
destroyed all human life on earth, but allowed off world colonies to survive.

Long time science fiction readers will appreciate the way Varley's story
incorporates one of the field's most influential and well-remembered icons.

Re-Readable fun.......2006-11-29

I have found only 2 books that I could read time and time again. This book is a wonderful story. Not my normal fare, but a surprise. When I first picked this book up I had no idea what I was in for. It picks you up and will not put you down. About once every two years I find myself re-reading this book, and each time I enjoy it so.

If you are going on vacation and would like a good time, this book is a wonderful investment of your time and money.

Not Varley's Best.......2006-09-12

The narrative is presented in a present day/flashback/present day/flashback alternating sequence, and my main problem with it is that I found all the flashbacks to be really boring, but all the present day stuff to be pretty good

Even in the good stuff, there were frequently bits that felt forced or sections where I felt Varley was just putting in someting to satisfy fans and not because it was interesting or advanced the story at all

A minor complaint would be that even though its set far in the future, any time the hero wants to make a comparison between some weird thing he encounters and something that a person might be more familiar with, he compares it to a situation or place in the 20th century, which I thought was pretty silly

If you just want something to read and then forget, you could do alot worse than this, but if you want really good sci fi get some of Varley's earlier stuff or something by a different author

Space-Theatre is even more fun than space-opera!.......2005-10-15

Kenneth (Sparky) Valentine is the fully-developed solar systems greatest actor and one of it's most accomplished con men. At 100 years young (but with no sign of slowing), when the top director of the era mounts a production of King Lear, he knows the role must be his, but to fulfill his destiny, he has to find a way to get from Pluto to Luna, defeat an unkillable hit man and put to rest a horrific past involving parental abuse. Varley throws away more good ideas than most authors ever find, and is skilled at world building, character development and language. The book is also liberally sprinkeled with laugh-out-loud moments. The boogeymen of this future are unknown aliens who long ago wiped out the human race on earth (in about 2 days)and took up residence on Jupiter. I would love to go back to find out why. Anyone who appreciates theatre will applaud how Varley shows how the more things change, the more they stay the same. I had a hard time getting into Steel Beach, but read this one straight through, as I did the Gaia trilogy. Highly recommended!

A slightly different take on trademark Varley.......2005-06-27

At first read, I didn't like this book as much as I did "Steel Beach". I'm not sure why, but I suspect it was Varley's decision to have this book entirely narrated by a male character. I've become so impressed by Varley's heroines, including Hildy Johnson, the narrator of "Steel Beach," that I guess I just started expecting them. Ken Valentine, aka Sparky, just wasn't doing it for me.

On second- and third-reads, however, darned if the little bugger didn't start to grow on me. Sparky's an actor, who really does see life as a stage and himself merely a player. He's a damn good player, but still. When we first meet him, Ken/Sparky is hiding out in the far reaches of the solar system, doing third-rate community theater and running cons. Almost simultaneously, he learns his oldest, dearest friend - and the best director in the system - is staging "King Lear" back on Luna; that the long arm of the law is onto him; and that the Charonese Mafia, a race of super-devoted assassins, has put out a hit on him. Seems like a good time to hit the road, and Sparky does, starting him on a long journey back towards Luna.

Along the way, we learn in flashbacks about Sparky's history as a child star, his abusive actor father, who seems eerily invested in living his life through his son, and the events which sent him into exile. We pass through several other worlds, such as Pluto, Oberon II (which bears some resemblance to Gaia from Varley's "Titan" series), and, of course, Luna. It's on Luna that Sparky runs into Hildy Johnson, and a post-Glitch Luna CC, picking up where "Steel Beach" left off.

"Golden Globe" is more personal than "Steel Beach", more focused on the particular life of the narrator rather than the general society of the Eight Worlds. There's still plenty of Varley's fantastic imagination on display, however, and tons of his trademark humor and cynicism. The more I read this book, the better I like it!

A World of My Own (The Mariner's Library)

Average customer rating:

Entertaining account of an important voyage
Worth reading with A Long Way & Sea of Dreams
A Really Good Read if Accompanied by Other Books
No wonder he broke things so often
Juxtaposition at Sea

A World of My Own (The Mariner's Library)
Robin Knox-Johnston
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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The Long Way
Once is Enough
Alone through the Roaring Forties (The Sailor's Classics #5) (Sailor's Classics Series)
Sailing Alone around the World (Penguin Classics)
Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China

ASIN: 039302900X

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining account of an important voyage.......2006-05-02

I enjoyed the very British humor of this author in describing his historic singlehanded around-the-world sail. A nice balance of description, technical information, and personal revelation.

Worth reading with A Long Way & Sea of Dreams.......2005-08-14

Knox Johnson tells a good tale, and it's worth reading. But you have to wonder at his seamanship sometimes. He might have swapped the brandy for water and maybe tried a lifeline when he went overboard to fix a leak in mid-ocean. One also wonders whether some of his mishaps might have been man made. Makes a good companion to Bernard Moitessier's Long Way. No denying the courage and determination.
He now runs the Around Alone race and another book worth reading is Sea of Dreams about the 2002 race. There were 3 Americans and 2 Canadians in the race and the book focusses on them and the Canadian Derek Hatfield who was rolled over in a hurricane at the Horn and lived to tell the tale. terrific stuff. As good as Godforsaken Sea, I think.

A Really Good Read if Accompanied by Other Books.......2004-12-16

This is a quaint read. I picked it up after reading Peter Nichol's "A Voyage For Madmen" which provides an outstanding overview of all the men in this first-non-stop-solo-around-the-world race. Knox-Johnson waxes poetic about his extraordinary accomplishment, which, of course, he is entitled to do. There is no doubt he possessed the temperment to embark on this voyage. His skills, however, might be viewed as a bit lacking. Nevertheless, he shares his thoughts, adventures, and, on occaision, his shortcomings that occurred during this voyage. As well, there is an underlying psychological drama that unfolds as you make your way through this book. I recommend reading this book, but strongly recommend you read it only after you have read "A Voyage for Madmen" simply because it will be much more informative and provide better insight into Knox-Johnson.

No wonder he broke things so often.......2003-05-11

...Now, I will admit he was quite young and inexperienced as a writer when he wrote the preposterously titled tome, however, there were times when I wanted to throw him and his book over the side and get on with better reading material. Being curious though, I stuck it out though his many man-made and nature caused disasters some of which could have been avoided it seems to this armchair reader if he'd have laid off the hootch he was addicted to...fresh water would have been more in order instead of so many whiskey and beer bottles cluttering up the larder. His answer to most situations was to stroll down to the locker and pour a shot or two and light up. How many times can one screw up on a trip like this and then write shamelessly about it? Enough to sell a lot of copies I guess and keep us on the edge of our bunks wondering why in the hell he's swimming alongside his 32' ketch in the middle of the ocean with apparently no lifeline tied around him. God forbid how anybody with so little common sense but plenty of guts should make such an arduous journey so ill prepared for the worst and carrying old sails to boot...Robin being an example of both somewhat. Anyway, friends of the sea, it's a compelling book if for no other reason than to experience his many perils and his solutions to innumerable screw ups. Yeah, I liked it but for perverse reasons I suppose since I can play at being a superior know-it-all sailor after cringing through page after page of calamities I WOULD HAVE AVOIDED. Now it's on to his next adventure. Keep it up Robin, old boy or man as the case may be...

Juxtaposition at Sea.......2003-02-18

A good and easy read by Robin Knox-Johnson who now helps manage the Golden Globe race of today. (2003; see Brad VanLiew's brilliant success in the Class 2 fleet in the news)
Readers should also include Bernard Moitessier's `The Long Way' book of the same 1968 race. It is intensely interesting that where one flourished, the appointed `winner' suffered a long and arduous ordeal. Knox-Johnson describes his exhausted stop in Australia and time at anchor in this book, yet accepted the trophy. Moitessier was far ahead off the South American coast when he took a right and continued on half way around the globe again to rest free of the commercialization the media had put upon the event. Bernard had reached the highest levels of thought and global mindedness, while Robin had been reduced to survival mode and raw instinct. Can you call the "Winner" of this non-stop circumnavigation? These two accounts of the same race cover the range of human limits and ethics and should be bundled together as a set.

The Golden Globe (Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights, Book 1)

Average customer rating:

More A Question Than A Review...
The Golden Globe
Anakin, Junior Jedi...
A Great Start for Young Star Wars Fans
This was a great book!!

The Golden Globe (Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights, Book 1)
Nancy Richardson
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Lyric's World (Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights, Book 2)
Promises (Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights, Book 3)
Anakin's Quest (Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights, Book 4)
Kenobi's Blade (Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights, Book 6)
Delusions of Grandeur (Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, Book 9)

ASIN: 1572970359

Customer Reviews:

More A Question Than A Review..........2007-09-27

I just clicked the LOOK INSIDE THIS BOOK link and noted that there were horrible formatting errors. Sentences that begin with commas, lower case characters to begin sentences, odd paragraphs etc etc... please let me know if this is just a problem on the LOOK INSIDE view or if this is a problem with the actual printed books.

Thanks.

The Golden Globe.......2003-02-25

The Golden Globe was the first Star Wars book I ever read, and it started an obsession with Star Wars that lasted until I found out what happens in Star By Star. I was nine years old when my older brother (who was obsessed with Star Wars before I was) brought The Golden Globe home for me from the library. He thought I might like to read it. I remember that I started the book in the morning, and was soon hooked. I couldn't put it down. Unfortunately, I had an appointment with the eye doctor that day, and they put eye drops in my eyes, which blurred my vision for a few hours so that I couldn't read. When my eyes had finally cleared enough so that I could read, I sat and did nothing but read for the rest of the day, finishing the book before I went to bed. It was the first book I ever finished in one day, and ever since then, Anakin Solo has been my favourite Star Wars character. A few years after the first time I read it, I picked it up in the library again and read it for the second time. I think that's when I read the rest of the series, except for Promises, the third book in the series, which I couldn't find anywhere. I didn't find a copy of it until I was fourteen years old, but I was still delighted to read it. I think I've read The Golden Globe three times. Anyone who likes Anakin and Tahiri as much as I do, and who hasn't read all these books and Conquest and Rebirth, (from the New Jedi Order Series) should. But I warn you, don't read Star By Star if you're easily upset. I don't like the way Tahiri is portrayed in that. Plus there's that other event..... I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for Star Wars now. The expanded Universe stuff, anyway. But the fact remains that this is an amazing book, it has great characters and a plot that gets you so hooked, you'll spend five years looking for all the sequels, just like I did.

Anakin, Junior Jedi..........2002-08-01

This was one of the first Star Wars books I read - I read the Jedi Academy trilogy before - Anakin Solo was fast becoming my favourite Star Wars character, along with his brother and sister.
This isn't the best book in the Junior Jedi Knights series, but it's a good introduction to the characters. Sometimes Anakin seems a little out of character, but most of the time his actions are justified, and besides - this book was written before Anakin's character had been established elsewhere. These books are about Anakin, and they're here to establish him.
Because of this whole series, Anakin is definitely my favourite character. I'm just a little annoyed at a certain event in Star by Star, an NJO book - but hey, what can we do? ^_^

A Great Start for Young Star Wars Fans.......2002-02-02

I read this series about six years ago when I was in first grade. When I read the first one in first grade, I was obsessed. I couldn't stop reading and I finished it in four days (that was the best I had done up until then). Then I had to wait for three months to read the next one. That drove me crazy.

Everyone in my family reads all the time. I'm the youngest of three children, so naturally I wanted to be different from everyone else in my family. Reading was just one of those things that didn't interest me. Until these books came along.

I haven't read these books since third grade, so I can't remember how well they were written. All I know is that I thought
these were the most exciting books I had ever read. I went through about two years where all I did was reading one novel a week for school. then I started the Harry Potter books. Once I was done with those, I read The Lord of the Rings.

Now I'm reading all the time. Books like the ones listed above, and Ender's Game and its sequels have kept me reading for the past three years. But these books started it all.

So if you're looking for a series for a kid who loves Star Wars, who is within the ages of 5 and 9, these are great ones. And once they're done with these, they should try The Young Jedi Knights Series, which have a lot in common but are written for kids probably within the ages 7 and 12. Then, MAKE them read Ender's Game. And If they like Ender's Game, They should check out it's sequels, starting with Speaker for the Dead.

There are a lot of other Star Wars Kids books out there, but I don't think they're worth the effort. Have them read Harry Potter or something.

This was a great book!!.......2000-11-22

I first read this book and the rest of the series when I was ten or eleven, and I thought they were the best books I had ever read. And since then I have rarely read a book that has captured me in quite the same way. The writing was great, and very discriptive and the characters were well developed. This book was also the first introduction I had to the expanded Star Wars universe, and I thought it explained very well about Anakin and Han and Leia and everyone without to many complicated explanations. I've recently gone back and read these again, and while not quite as gripping as before, they're still great books, though best for children twelve and under.

Movie Awards : The Ultimate, Unofficial Guide to the Oscars, Golden Globes, Critics, Guild and Indie Honors

Average customer rating:

A Perfect Handbook
A continuing tradition of excellence
Here's What the Critics Say:
Beware of factual errors
Incredible Resource!

Movie Awards : The Ultimate, Unofficial Guide to the Oscars, Golden Globes, Critics, Guild and Indie Honors
Tom O'Neil
Manufacturer: Perigee Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guides & Reviews | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

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Reference | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Inside Oscar, 10th Anniversary Edition
All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards
Inside Oscar 2
The Emmys
Oscar's Greatest Moments - 1971 to 1991

ASIN: 039952651X
Release Date: 2001-01-09

Book Description

Never before published, this comprehensive awards guide will become the definitive source for Hollywood fans, serious film buffs and industry insiders. Features:

• Comprehensive listings for 13 major film awards including, The Oscar Awards, The Golden Globe Awards, The New York Film Critics Circle, The Los Angeles Film Critics, The Screen Actors Guild, The Sundance Film Festival and more
• A complete list of more than 6,000 winners in all categories
• The big award victories-including all-time records
• The most-awarded films of all time
• The great stars ignored by Oscar-and why
• The films and performances that divided the critics
• Eight decades of fascinating inside facts and trivia
• Dramatic successes, shocking snubs and scandals, memorable surprises and controversies, and more

Customer Reviews:

A Perfect Handbook.......2003-07-03

Thomas O'Neil's "Movie Awards" is an absolutely no lose purchase for even a casual movie maven. Serious movie fans should be enthralled. It's all here-all the important awards from 1927-1999. Listed are such disparate grantors as the New York Film Critics, the Writer's Guild, the Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild, the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.
Trivia and solid information alike abounds. This reviewer was shocked-shocked!-to read that "The Searchers" was nominated for NO awards in 1956. The pages devoted to 1969 make no mention of the Hollywood aphorism that John Wayne received that year's Best Actor Oscar (for "True Grit") to make up for being bypassed in 1956. The entire cast and Director of "The Searchers" was ignored! I also learned that Clark Gable did not win the Oscar for "Gone With the Wind" and that Tex Ritter's theme to "High Noon" won an Oscar in 1952. I still believe that is the best of the themes because it was an integral part of the actual movie. A trivia section informs us that Walter Brennan won the most Academy Awards for an actor (though not for "My Darling Clementine") and William Friedkin was the youngest Director to an Oscar. For which movie? Buy the book and check page 767. The very fact that there IS a page 767 indicates that this work cannot be devoured at one or two sittings. This is a thick handbook to be appreciated over a span of time as we watch those old classics one by one. Maybe when I read the section on 1949, I will learn why "The Third Man' got 0 Oscar nominations and why the entire cast of "A Letter to 3 Wives" went similarly empty handed. I can't wait.

A continuing tradition of excellence.......2001-05-23

Mr. O'Neil has done it again! His new book, Movie Awards, is fun to read and chock full of fascinating facts. Long a fan of his (I always watch him on E! network), I'm happy to see Mr. O'Neil finally take on the Oscars, having already covered the Emmy's and Grammy's previously. This book is a great read and is even more fun savored over the course of time as you pick out one fun fact...then another....then another...

Here's What the Critics Say:.......2001-04-09

OK, so a few typos and mistakes made it into this book's first edition. They'll be fixed in future updates. Meantime, here's what to think of this book over all, according to the pros:

"For the film buff, this year-by-year rundown on the Oscars, the Golden Globes and other awards is a dilly. And dishy, too!" -- PEOPLE MAGAZINE

"Its a vertiable feast for the trivia junkie. Not only does O'Neil list the awards chronologically, from 1927 to 1999, but he also introduces each year with behind-the-scenes, blow-by-blow info culled from the archives of Variety, New York Times and a number of other sources. There's even trivia about each of the awards. While it's undeniably a fantastic reference, it's also a pretty darn good and frequently amusing read. It's a one-stop awards info shop and deserves a place on the bookshelf." -- DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA MAGAZINE

"Numerous excellent books chronicle the Oscars or cite awards, but none combines pure pleasure and fact so well, at such a good price. Essential for all libraries." -- LIBRARY JOURNAL

Beware of factual errors.......2001-04-04

While this book is fun for movie trivia fans, a reader has to wonder how much fact-checking was done. In addition to a number of typos, MOVIE AWARDS also claims that Cecil B. DeMille was in charge of "Ben-Hur" and "Count Your Blessings" won the Oscar as best song of 1954. ("Three Coins in the Fountain" won.)

A number of other equally careless errors that should have been caught prior to publication make MOVIE AWARDS unreliable as a reference.

Incredible Resource!.......2001-02-17

Finally, we have a resource which discusses a lot of the other so-called "precursor" awards to the Oscars ... finding information on the history of these various awards has been somewhat difficult in the past. With this book, however, it's all together in one place. It's very well written, and leads you through the movie awards seasons, allowing one to see exactly how the different trends for certain films began, and we finally see the path they took until they finally took home the Oscar Gold! Definitely one of the best overall resources for those interested in all aspects of the film awards season.

The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst

Average customer rating:

Great
The psychology of Round the world races
BUY THIS BOOK!!!
A Sea-Tinged Madness
Aquatic madness

The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst
Nicholas Tomalin , and Ron Hall
Manufacturer: International Marine Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Water Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books

A Voyage for Madmen
The Long Way
Alone through the Roaring Forties (The Sailor's Classics #5) (Sailor's Classics Series)
Fastnet, Force 10: The Deadliest Storm in the History of Modern Sailing, New Edition
Godforsaken Sea: The True Story of a Race Through the World's Most Dangerous Waters

ASIN: 0070650845

Book Description

In the autumn of 1968, Donald Crowhurst set out from England in his untested trimaran, a competitor in the first singlehanded nonstop around-the-world sailboat race. Eight months later, the boat was found in mid-Atlantic with no one on board. Crowhurst's logs and diaries revealed that, although he had radioed messages from his supposed round-the-world course, he had in fact never left the Atlantic. This journalistic masterpiece reconstructs what happened: Crowhurst's growing distrust of his boat; his first decision to attempt one of the great hoaxes of our time; the lying radio transmissions; the ``triumphal'' return up the Atlantic as the elapsed-time race leader; and the fantastic ending. The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst is both a suspenseful narrative and a psychological casebook of human zeal and anguish.

Customer Reviews:

Great.......2007-09-14

The other reviews said it all. Great book. I like the true-life adventure genre, and this one is near the top of the list. Crowhurst really lost it at the end. Wow.

If you liked this book, you might try Adrift, by Steve Calahan.

The psychology of Round the world races.......2006-12-22

I was led to this book through "A Voyage for Madmen". This book looks at the same Golden Globe race but focuses practically solely on Donald's trip. It gives you actual pages from his log and takes you all the way up to his last minutes. This book kept me really interested. It shows you Donalds trip from sanity to insanity and all in bewteen. It goes in depth on how he faked his progress and what he actually did. If you like sailing or psychology or you want to read some of the philosophy of a man on the brink on insanity, this is a great read. It kept me up all night and it has changed the way I think of solo circumnavigations.

BUY THIS BOOK!!!.......2004-12-16

This is an amazing book, carefully and wonderfully crafted by its authors. Crowhurst was an amazingly complicated man, driven by his intellect and confined by his shortcomings. The sea was the ultimate challenge for him to face his personal demons. Setting out on a voyage inspires a whole range of emotions and feelings for those who choose to embark on such a journey. It is a study in contrasts: hope & fear; order & chaos; skill & luck; triumph & defeat. Crowhurst experienced each of these at such a deep level. He was on the world stage, yet confined by his own machinations. He set out to conquer the last great solo feat and relied on his own abilities. This is the story of how that played out. Along with this text, I would also recommend reading Peter Nichol's "A Voyage For Madmen." It provides an excellent overview of the men involved in the first solo-around-the-world-race and each of their fates. I was unable to put either of these books down.

A Sea-Tinged Madness.......2004-03-16

A true "Sailor's Classic." Reading this book it is impossible not to feel compassion for Donald Crowhurst who set out to win the Golden Globe challenge as the first man to nonstop circumnavigate the world alone in a sailboat.

Crowhurst's early years are well-documented and give us a picture of a driven and compulsive man with some serious character flaws and an aversion to failure. Yet failure was a condition which dogged him throughout his life.

Crowhurst's decision to undertake the circumnavigation was both dramatic and ill-considered. With relatively little sailing experience and a lot of bluff he convinced his sponsors to fund the building of a revolutionary trimaran, the "Teignmouth Electron" equipped with all manner of electronic wizardry (Crowhurst had invented a sort of early GPS, the Navicator, in the mid-60's).

Unfortunately, the "Teignmouth Electron" was never properly completed, the race deadline having intervened, and Crowhurst sailed in a boat that was unfinished, poorly provisioned, and untested, having done miserably in what passed for sea trials.

Setting out on the latest possible day, Crowhurst found himself limping along at a ridiculously slow pace three weeks later. Plagued by equipment failures, the "Teignmouth Electron" was taking water due to design flaws, and had no real chance of completing the race. Having staked all on a successful outcome, the tension and isolation of his predicament attacked Crowhurst's mind.

In a fit of brilliant madness, Donald Crowhurst spent hours working out and logging false positions, sun sights, weather reports, and sailing notations to make it seem he was circling the earth while in fact he meandered pointlessly through the South Atlantic for months. He even secretly put in to port for repairs, a fact which was not discovered until after the race, when his "real" logs were reviewed by investigators.

Crowhurst's position reports and daily runs were diligently reported onshore; he was (falsely) credited with a record run of 243 miles in one day, a record he actually matched in reality once he decided to begin sailing in earnest again.

In the meantime, for all the world knew, Crowhurst was going to be the winner of the Golden Globe. As he turned toward home, the media hoopla grew wilder, and so did his delusions. His log entries degenerated into irrational philosophic and religious ramblings in which he began to believe himself God. In the end, tortured by his demons and consumed by guilt, Donald Crowhurst jumped into the sea, leaving his boat to sail on without him.

Brilliantly and sensitively written, without tendering excuses the authors Tomalin and Hall never lose sight of the essential humanity and frailty of their subject, as well as his consuming but undirected brilliance. Relying heavily on Crowhurst's logs, it is devastating to watch the man's mind unravel in the face of his aloneness.

Crowhurst's singlemindedness got him far, but it ultimately proved his undoing as he was unable to see any but the options he had limited himself to, the ultimate one being his own destruction. As Camus wrote, "In the end there is but one serious philosophical question, and that is suicide." Crowhurst's answer is his legacy.

Aquatic madness.......2003-08-23

To echo an earlier reviewer, this is also my favourite book of all time. I tracked down a dog-eared and stained copy from the early 1970's, read it in just over a day then started back at the beginning.

The fascination of the book lies with Crowhurst. Here is a man who made a couple of wrong turns in life and just kept on going. A man who may, like many of us, have lived a long life had he not taken to the sea in a white elephant on a goose chase.

Tomalin and Hall had access to Crowhurst's logs and, through them, his thinking - however fuzzy that may be. From this, they constructed a well-written and gripping true-life novel.

FYI, The Teignmouth Electron now lies on a beach near a liquor store on the island of Cayman Brac.

A World of My Own: The Single-Handed, Non-Stop Circumnavigation of the World in Suhaili.
Average customer rating:
A World of My Own: The Single-Handed, Non-Stop Circumnavigation of the World in Suhaili.
Robin. Knox-Johnston
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0688010105

Entertainment Weekly January 26 2007 - Eddie Murphy (Golden Globes:Complete Coverage, 25 Most Shameless Money Grubbing Movie Roles Ever, #917)
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Entertainment Weekly January 26 2007 - Eddie Murphy (Golden Globes:Complete Coverage, 25 Most Shameless Money Grubbing Movie Roles Ever, #917)

Manufacturer: Entertainment Weekly
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000N6KA7O

FROM NEW YORK TO THE GOLDEN GATE. The Boy Globe Trotters Series. (The Boy Globe Trotters Series.)
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FROM NEW YORK TO THE GOLDEN GATE. The Boy Globe Trotters Series. (The Boy Globe Trotters Series.)

Manufacturer: New York Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FE84I6

Girdling the globe: From the land of the midnight sun to the Golden Gate. A record of a tour around the world,
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Girdling the globe: From the land of the midnight sun to the Golden Gate. A record of a tour around the world,
D. L Miller
Manufacturer: The Brethren Publishing House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Geography | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00087PQEU

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