Book Description
This is a new edition of The American Practical Navigator, "Bowditch," offered by Celestaire and Paradise Cay Publications. This new edition is the most recent update of Bowditch, the definitive work on navigation.
Nathanial Bowditch first published this encyclopedic work in 1802. During the last two centuries over 75 editions, almost 1,000,000 copies, of Bowditch have been published by the US Government. It has lived because it has combined the best technologies of each generation of navigator. This new Bicentennial Edition includes the latest advances in electronic navigation and digital charting technology. It also covers nonelectronic navigation such as celestial, plotting and dead reckoning. Bowditch contains numerous tables which have been valued for years by practicing navigators.
Bowditch is carried on the bridge of every U.S. Navy ship and should be the mainstay of any serious navigator's library. Paradise Cay and Celestaire's commercial edition of Bowditch is a complete copy of the latest Government edition.
Customer Reviews:
The Definitive Navigation Manual.......2007-05-27
For over two centuries Nathaniel Bowditch's "American Practical Navigator" has trained sailors from all maritime services the basics (and then some) of navigation. Both comprehensive and surprisingly engaging, Bowditch is a must read for anyone serious about spending time at sea. As a companion, consider also purchasing the "Chapman Piloting & Seamanship"Chapman Piloting & Seamanship 65th Edition (Chapman Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling). Taken together, these two manuals build a foundation for a life time of safe and savvy boating.
The Definitive Marine Navigation Reference.......2007-05-12
What's to say? Bowditch is the best. Even though The American Practical Navigator is now on Line in PDF, for free, the Hardcopy of this reference book is essential. It is filled with information that would excite anyone interested in navigation. The descriptions of physical objects, sextants, for example, are beautiful. It is one of the finest and most error-free technical reference book ever printed. It is on par with Charles Evans' "Bibliography of American Books" (13 volumes) in which no one has ever found a single mistake.
Timeless Wisdom .......2007-04-07
If you love the sea and have an interest in navigation this is a must have. An incredibly vast amount of information and history in one volume. The significance of the original work is shown by the near reverence for this frequently updated title. As a reference on marine navigation it is head and shoulders above the rest. One of the joys of having a copy on the bookshelf is just opening it to a random topic.
As others have noted the book is available on the internet. However, the there's no substitute for having a real copy and the price is far below that quoted by some posters.
Sadly gps has replaced basic navigation skills among many who fly and sail with a resulting dependence that often masks a lack of situational awareness. For those whose sailing is recreational dependence on gps navigation removes one of the joys that comes from the exercise of competency in basic navigation skills.
Highly recommended.
A must for all who love the sea.......2007-03-01
30 years in the Navy, 13 at sea. This is the bible for all true Navy persons. I recall hours reading it, and endeavoring to absorb the wisdom of the sea as recounted by generations of those before me.
As a Commanding Officer I would put notes in the Night Orders which would cause the watchstnders to research during quiet time, usually they could find the answers in Bowditch.
A real gem, I still keep my copy close to read, when the lack of salt air causes me to feel remorse for my retired life.
Rok Kedney
CDR USN (ret)
The American Practical Navigator: "Bowditch".......2007-02-20
I was pleased with the material. The Practical Navigator is more focused on advanced piloting, electronic and celestial navigation than material in the basic Chapman Piloting and Seamanship. If you are looking for a more detailed explanation of piloting and navigation, I would suggest the Practical Navigator.
Average customer rating:
- What if the Girl You Loved was a Scorpion
- Deadly Bad Guys, Thrills, Chills and a Scorpion
- Doggone Good Sea-Going Adventure Tale
- Simply a Fantastic, Wild Ride!
- She loves me, she loves me not
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Scorpion
Jack Stewart
Manufacturer: Bootleg Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Contemporary
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| Literature & Fiction
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Action & Adventure
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
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Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
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Suspense
| Thrillers
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Hurricane
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Dead Ringer
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Diamond Sky
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Tangerine Dream
ASIN: 097452462X
Release Date: 2005-09-13 |
Product Description
The blast ricochets through the plane. A Bomb. Bill Broxton looks to the last row in first class, checks to see if the prime minister is safe. Broxton works for the DEA and his assignment is to protect the Prime Minister of Trinidad from an assassin's bullet. Prime Minister Ramsingh has been shutting down the Salizar drug cartel's money laundering operations in Trinidad and Attorney General George Chandee, who is secretly working with the drug lords, has hired Scorpion, a professional assassin to take him out. After a harrowing ride, the pilot lands the plane safely. The Scorpion's first attempt on the prime minister has failed, but he will try again. And Broxton must stop him.
Customer Reviews:
What if the Girl You Loved was a Scorpion.......2006-11-30
Scorpion is a sea going adventure story that takes place in the Caribbean. The Prime Minister of Trinidad has been targeted by a drug cartel because he has been trying to close down their operation in his country. The bad guy drug smugglers have hired the international assassin called the Scorpion to deal with the PM and the U.S. Government has sent DEA agent Bill Broxton to protect the PM. However, the PM doesn't want American assistance and to make matters even worse for Broxton, the assassin is the woman he wants to marry, only he doesn't know it. Fortunately for Broxton, another lady enters his life, so his heartbreak will be brief, but his actions will put her in jeopardy.
And that, my friends, is a very brief description of what goes on in the beginning of this action-adventure thriller. Sailboats, smugglers, an evil woman assassin, a guy too good for his own good and more. This is just a super book and I really liked it.
Deadly Bad Guys, Thrills, Chills and a Scorpion.......2006-09-21
SCORPION is a stay up all night thriller that moves from Trinidad in the Southern Caribbean to South Texas, to Venezuela and back to Trinidad and you can feel the heat and humidity of those places as you read. Mr. Stewart puts you right into the action as you move through the pages, so when you join DEA agent Bill Broxton as he tries to stop an assassin, be prepared for some serious escape time.
DEA agent Bill Broxton has been assigned to protect the Prime Minister of Trinidad from the Scorpion, an assassin hired by the Salizar drug cartel, because his girlfriend Dani, who he soon hopes to make his bride, is the daughter of the American Ambassador. It's because Broxton is so close to the ambassador that makes him perfect for the assignment, as the Prime Minister has refused American help, instead turning to his own Justice Minister for security.
So Broxton is supposed to use his connection with ambassador to get close to the PM, however Dani isn't as pure as the driven snow. Broxton may be carrying a torch in his heart and a ring in his pocket, but she's been carrying an assassin's guns and playing the field. She is the Scorpion who has been hired to take out Broxton's charge. And who is she working for? None other than the justice minister in charge of keeping the P.M. safe.
SCORPION has it all, foreign intrigue, deadly bad guys, a good guy in over his head, romance, terrific chase scenes and best of all, an ending you'll never see coming. I couldn't put this one down and I don't think you will be able to either.
Doggone Good Sea-Going Adventure Tale.......2005-09-23
Bill Broxton is a DEA agent who has been assingned to protect Prime Minister Ramsingh of Trinidad. His superiors want the man protected, because he has been co-operating in the war against drugs. They've learned that the drug barons from the Salazr Cartel want the prime minister dead, but Ramsingh complicates Broxton's life by refusing his protection, as he believes his own justice minister can do the job.
Meanwhile the drug lords have hired the international assassin called the Scorpion to assissananate Ramsingh and guess who is part of the cartel. You guessed it, none other than that justice minister who Ramsingh is counting on for protection. Now make the mix here a bit more interesting by making the Scorpion the girl Broxton wants to marry and you really have the makings of a good story. One I couldn't put down.
This book takes place in the Caribbean and Mr. Stewart uses quite a bit of sailing terms in the book, but he does it in such a way that it adds, rather than detracts from the story. It's easy to see he knows what he's talking about when he describes the scenes at sea. In addition to the convincing scene setting and description, Stewart has also painted people we care about and who seem real. I enjoyed this sea-going adventure story and I think you will too.
Simply a Fantastic, Wild Ride!.......2005-07-03
"Scorpion" is about DEA agent Bill Broxton. His assignment, protect the Prime Minister of Trinidad against evil drug smugglers who are using that country to transfer their drugs to the United States. However the international assassin called the Scorpion has been hired to kill the PM and unknown to Agent Broxton the Scorpion is none other than the woman he loves. Fortunately for him, another woman enters her life, unfortunately for him, she is married to one really bad cop named Earl. Earl and the Scorpion team up and now there is nothing between them and the PM except a determined Bill Broxton. Oh, did I forget to mention that the PM doesn't want Broxton's help? Well, he doesn't, but he's getting it anyway in this book that I couldn't quit. Just simply a fantastic, wild ride.
She loves me, she loves me not.......2005-06-23
Scorpion is one of those stories where the characters (good and bad) are all interconnected and intermixed as to be improbable.
One of the book's tensions is between the a DEA analyst who is assigned to protect the PM of Trinidad, and the US Ambassador's daughter, who is a master assassin. They also happened to be best buds growing up together.
Then there is a Texas Sheriff, who is real crooked, leaves a string of dead bodies behind, flies to Trinidad to catch up to a wife he really doesn't like.
I think the book's basic idea is okay, but the characters and the pacing just didn't work for me.
Customer Reviews:
A Must-Have for Boating in the Sea of Abaco.......2006-12-30
An indispensible guide to plan your trip to the Sea of Abaco. Great Charts, Directions, Suggestions. You name it, it's got it. Although, I am geographically-challenged, I had no problem trolling the waters of the Sea of Abaco for a week thanks to the Abaco Guide.
Stephen P Has Been There and Done It.......2001-10-26
I have cruised the Bahamas aboard all kinds of small boats for over 30 years, and I wouldn't go without Stephen P's books. There have been many Bahamas cruising guides written but many fall far short of the complete story.
Stephen P. has spent many years in the Bahamas. His guide info is virtually faultless. His charts are the best and amazingly accurate. This is not always the case with other guides. His stories and "local knowlege" is historic. He spends countless hundreds of hours on sight to obtain the information needed to produce a really good guide. He is an active ham radio operator so you can talk to him anytime and discuss his works.
I guess it's obvious that I love the Guide. Stephen Crow K4CPX
Book Description
Covering the islands from Martinique to Grenada with beautiful scenic photography, this book is by far the most popular guide to this area. The new 12th edition includes many clear detailed sketch charts based on the author's own surveys, and aerial photos of most anchorages. Clear and concise navigational information includes GPS waypoints that can be downloaded directly to your GPS from the author's website. This guide is unsurpassed for its onshore information with sections on exploring, provisioning, eating out, services, water sports and photography.
Customer Reviews:
Great info.......2007-01-09
If you are planning a trip to the carribeans (Grenadines/Windward Islands) - this is your #1 reference. Excellent! Very complete, in colors, pictures...
Must have book for Grenadine sailors.......2006-11-05
I used this book more than the charts. The information is up-to-date and accurate. Don't go sailing with out it.
J. Lemke
A book for sailors and divers alike........2006-03-15
This is a "real" guide. It has been carefully compiled and includes all the information which any water-borne visitor will need to know when visiting the Windward Islands., These are (in the order they appear in the book); Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Bequia (pronounced Beckway), Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, Tobago Cays, Palm Island, Union Island, PSV and Petite Martinique, Grenada, Carriacou, and, of course, each of the passages between these enchanting islands.
In an informative introduction, which gets anyone who is sitting in a cold house during an American or European harsh winter (like I am!) wanting to reach for the phone and book a flight, we learn something about the local land and the customs of the people who live there. There are also a number of helpful suggestions on any topic from "what to bring" to sunburn - and it's all useful stuff, even for the seasoned traveller.
Then it's on to the cruising information with notes on weather and navigation as well as more general information about scuba diving, flora, fauna and even the flags of the different countries visited. From now on we get down to cases in the order of march already mentioned.
Telling people how they should navigate their boat is a very responsible undertaking. Forget to include that, otherwise well known, underwater obstacle and you can guarantee at least 3 boats will have hit the darned thing within the first 24 hours of your book being published. This book, however, is a professional work and I doubt any yacht or other small boat travelling to and from these small islands will be without a copy.
NM
One of my favorite travel guides ever........2005-09-04
This is one of my favorite travel guides, ever, period. Even though this book is aimed at sailors, it has plenty of helpful information for land travelers too. Plus it has a lot of information I've never found in another travel guide. The best example is this. One beautiful night as we sat on our terrace enjoying the 180 degree view of the southern skies, I turned to my travel partner and said, "Did you print off those star charts so we can identify the southern cross?" His response. "Uh oh, I never got around to that."
The next day we looked all over the Island of Bequia for a star chart. We were laughed out of stores, some of which even catered to sailors. At one point I suggested maybe the Sailors Guide we have back at the villa will have a star chart. We agreed it was not likely but hot and tired, we decided to go back and see. We get back, look, and sure enough there it is - a star chart of the southern skies along with a date and time table for determining where everything should be and when. Oh my goodness. We had a chart all along. Thank you Sailors Guide!!
We used that star chart every night for the rest of the week and had a blast locating and identifying all the constellations we could see. It was fascinating watching the southern cross gradually rotate around the point in the sky where the south axis of the earth intersects with the southern sky. Ah, the pace of life on Bequia and the joy of a guide book that delivers way more than expected.
Too many adverts.......2002-03-03
Doyle's info was very good and the color arial photos and mini charts are very usefull. The book is 9 inches by 6 inches and has 400 pages, however if you were to remove the advertizments and touristy photos you would probably end up with about 275 pages of usefull info.
Product Description
This is a book that for the first time opens the doors to the public of the Marina at the luxurious gated community and Resort Casa de Campo in the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic. It is one of a king peace of art printed and bounded in Italy, with more than 300 breathtaking full color photographs and original drawing throughout. The book is a first class guided tour of the Marina at Casa de Campo in the hands of its creator, the architect Gianfranco Fini. Stunning aerial views, with never before seeing original drawings that will allow you enter into the mind of the architect to see the way of living that he was planning to create and vivid pictures of it actual beauty and style. The full size pictures throughout the book portrays a whole range of Caribbean style an elegant properties from inside out, from chic waterfront apartments and townhouses of less than 2,000 sqf. to magnificent Villas and Mansions above the 16,000 sqf. The foreword by Eduardo Martinez Lima (Central Romana Corporation CEO) will tell you the story of how two entrepreneurs convince them from an architectural and business point to build the Marina. Carmen Ortega (Arquitexto Magazine Editor) will introduce you to the Dominican Republic and Casa de Campo, while Carlo Montanaro (Editor of Dove, Dove Case and Style) will show you the way of living in the all year round summer at the Restaurants, Yacht Club, Art Galleries and, seaside houses of this luxurious destination.
Customer Reviews:
Great BOOK !!!.......2007-04-29
If you want to know more about architecture in the Caribbean, you have to read this book!
Caribbean Elegance.......2007-04-11
Through his work at la Marina, Casa de Campo, Gian Franco Fini captures the essence of refined architecture with a perfect air of Caribbean elegance.
A place to visit before you dies........2007-04-10
This is a book about one of those magical places that once you get there you don't want to leave. It's in the path of boats coming from Miami to the West Indies and is the place to see in the Caribbean before you die. Casa de Campo is the Caribbean most complete resort by far where any possible hobby in the world could practiced at world renowned conditions -besides skiing, except if you change it for water-sky-. The book about the Casa de Campo's Marina is definitely a 5 start in class, quality and content. This is the real thing in Caribbean Elegance and Luxury where you'll be able to find some of the most exclusive houses in the region.
The Best Keep Secret in the Caribbean unveils........2007-03-02
This is the only book available about Marinas from an architectural standpoint. Blueprints, sketches and more than 300 full-color pictures are a never ending source for one of the most luxurious approach to Caribbean Architecture. It's about the renowned Marina at Casa de Campo, La Romana, Dominican Republic and is a must for anyone willing see from the inside out as many options as possible to recreate a tropical paradise despite if it's and apartment or a houses under 2,000 sqf or a masterpiece above 20,000 sqf.
In contrast with W.R. Blain's book for "Marina Developments" -That is an excellent and maybe the only book about Marinas from a structural standpoint- this one is an architectural approach to Marinas and all the elements around it such as Yacht Club, Apartments, Houses, Restaurants and all related services. It's full of details and references in a text that is catchy and easy to read. My only concern was that I thought it was pricy in the first place despite that it was printed and bounded in Italy, but Blain's book is above the $250 and this one is more related to interior design and architecture so it's worth 5 out 5 starts.
Average customer rating:
- It Doesn't Get Much Better than this!
- Adventure in the Caribbean
- Greed gets people into trouble
- Non-Stop, Not-Put-Downable Book!
- Fast, Action Filled Sailing Adventure-Thriller
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Diamond Sky
Ken Douglas , and
Jack Stewart
Manufacturer: Bootleg Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
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General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
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Suspense
| Thrillers
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Similar Items:
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Tangerine Dream
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Dead Ringer
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Running Scared
ASIN: 0974524697
Release Date: 2005-09-13 |
Product Description
From the beginning homicide detective Billy Wolfe knew that Mark Skidmore, head of Sterling-Skidmore Oil, had been killed by professionals. He learns that Skidmore's business partner is California Senator Paul Sterling and, that on the same day of the murder, their foreman Frank Shannon had died of a heart attack in Trinidad. Convinced Shannon's heart attack and the Skidmore homicide are related, Wolfe sets out to prove it. He meets Beth, Shannon's wife, at the Airport when she brings her husband's body home for burial and finds out she is being followed. Some very bad men think she has their diamonds. The diamonds were mined by children in West Africa for would-be dictators, who need guns for their child armies and drugs to give their kid soldiers courage. Sterling-Skidmore, run by the Russian Mafia, has been supplying the weapons, trading them for the diamonds. The Russian Mafia thinks Beth knows where the diamonds are and she does, only she doesn't know it. But she better find out before she is next on their hit list.
Customer Reviews:
It Doesn't Get Much Better than this!.......2006-11-30
Diamond Sky is rife with adventure. You can feel the wind on your face as your read along. The characters seem to jump off the page in this story about two women in big trouble. Through circumstances beyond their control, they have would up fleeing Russian Mafia thugs in a sailboat they barely know how to handle. The Mafia guys are gun runners and diamond smugglers and their latest cache of diamonds is hidden aboard our heroines' sailboat, only they don't know it. They only know the Russians are bad news.
I loved Beth Shannon and her step-daughter Noelle. They take everything the bad guys throw at them, deal with it and move on. There's a movie here, I know it. I'd just love to see this story up on the silver screen. Action, adventure, smugglers and diamonds, it doesn't get much better than this. I really liked this book.
Adventure in the Caribbean.......2006-06-18
On a small island of the coast of Trinidad in the Caribbean Beth Shannon is watching her husband Frank snorkel while her step-daughter Noel is busy on the other side of the island discovering a dead body. Mark has a heart attack when he sees the body. Meanwhile, Noel's real mother and her aunt and uncle are murdered five thousand miles away in Long Beach, California. Beth and Noel bring Frank's body back for burial and run into Lt. Billy Wolfe, the homicide cop investigating the local murders. He thinks there is some kind of tie in with his homicides and Frank's heart attack, especially since Noel's uncle was Frank's boss.
Wolfe wants to question Beth, but she begs off, then hotfoots it back to the Caribbean. Wolfe follows, only to be framed for murder. Beth is approached by a local attorney who wants to impound the boat she lived on with Frank and she and Noel sail out of Dodge in the middle of the night, however what she doesn't know is that Frank and his brother (you know, Noel's dead uncle) were stealing conflict diamonds from the Russian Mafia and that a lot of those diamonds have been hidden on the boat. The Russians know this and they take off after Beth and Noel. Wolfe barely gets out of Trinidad alive and teams up with a pot smuggler to take off after the diamond smuggles who are chasing the women in distress.
I know, it sounds a bit confusing and convoluted, but it's not. This is a very enjoyable read, the characters are well drawn and likable, except, of course, for the bad guys. They certainly are not very likable. A word of caution though, there were a couple squeamish parts, but I read though them, because I was captured by the book. You will be too.
Greed gets people into trouble.......2005-09-11
This novel carries over some characters from Ken Douglas's earlier novel, "Dead Ringer," including police officers Billy Wolfe, Alvarez, and Norton. Dead bodies are found in an upscale apartment - people brutally tortured and murdered. Then there are additional deaths, and homes are torn apart by someone searching for something.
A person connected to the victims dies of a heart attack in Trinidad, and someone is trying to steal his yacht from his widow, Beth. This leads to a chase around the West Indies as Wolfe is drawn into the case. A bunch of black hats get killed along the way, but those are spear carriers. The main villain walks away clean (except he loses what he was looking for).
Beth and Wolfe acquire some interesting allies along the way, but they find that they have to be careful who they trust. There are a lot of technical details about sailing mixed in with explicit sex and some amount of violence. Overall it is an interesting story as various details of the case come to light.
Non-Stop, Not-Put-Downable Book!.......2005-07-31
Long Beach Homicide Detective Billy Wolfe is back on the job after a long absence because of the death of his wife and son. His first case involves a triple murder at the Ocean View Towers in the penthouse apartment. Just as he starts the investigation, he finds out that the brother of one of the victims had died of a heart attack in the Caribbean and that the daughter of another is bringing the body home for buriel. Not one to believe in coincedence, Wolfe meets two women at the airport, Beth Shannon and her step-daughter Noel. Noel's mother was one of the dead bodies in the penthouse and Beth's husband is the heart attack casualty.
Wolfe goes to the funeral, then follows Beth and Noel back to the Caribbean, where he is falsly accused of murder. It seems someone does not want him nosing around. And that same someone seems to want Beth and Noel dead. The women flee on a sailboat with very bad diamond smuggling Russian Mafia guys chasing them and with Wolfe and a likeable drug smuggler with a sailboat full of marijuana chasing the Maifa guys in a desperate attempt to rescure the damsels in distress.
This was a non-stop, not put-downable (is that a word) book. that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a day or night of reading entertainment. I know I was surely entertained and I think you will be too.
Fast, Action Filled Sailing Adventure-Thriller.......2005-06-26
This is a fast-paced, action-packed, sailing-adventure-thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. Maybe I'm a bit prejudiced, because I've spent a lot of time on sailboats in my life, but maybe that gives me a little expertise on the subject too. I found the sailing sequences to be dead on accurate. I could feel the spray on my face, felt myself straining at the winches, was transported to the Caribbean.
However, this book is more than a sailing story, it's a thriller too. It starts out in the Caribbean where two women, Beth Shannon and her step-daughter Noel, who isn't much younger than Beth, discover a dead body on a small island off the coast of Trinidad. Beth and her husband Frank live on a sixty-foot sailboat in the marina at the local yacht club and Noel is visiting on Christmas break from medical school in California. The women tell Frank about the body and when he sees it, he collapses with a heart attack and dies.
Meanwhile back in California, Frank's brother, his wife and Noel's mother are all murdered. Frank was the manager of the Trinidadian operations of an oil company, but the company was little more than a Russian Mafia front for gun running and diamond smuggling and Frank and his brother had dipped their hands in the cookie jar and embezzled a bucketful of conflict diamonds, some of which are hidden on Frank's sailboat and some of which are hidden in California.
The Russians try to legally seize Frank's boat to get their diamonds back, but Beth and Noel, who don't know about their illegal cargo, sail out of the country in the middle of the night and it's not long before the Russians give chase. There is more to this story, like good guy California cop Billy Wolfe, who teams up with a pot smoking, pot smuggling humorous villain named T-Bone. Together they try to safe the damsels in distress from the ruthless Russians.
I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this book. I read it in one evening while I sipped rum and coke with five Jimmy Buffet CDs in my changer playing low as I turned the pages. This is just an excellent read and you can take that to the bank.
Amazon.com
British-born Jonathan Raban sets out on a passage from Seattle to Juneau in a small boat that is more a waterborne writing den, and as usual with the brilliant Raban, this journey becomes a vehicle for history and heart-stopping descriptions that will make readers want to hail him as one of the finest talents who's picked up a pen in the 20th century. The voyage through the Inside Passage from Washington's Puget Sound to Alaska churns up memories and stirs up hidden emotions and Raban dwells on many, including the death of his father and his own role of Daddy to his young daughter, Julia, left behind in Seattle. More than just a personal travelogue, however, Passage to Juneau deftly weaves in the stories of others before him--from Indians whom white men formerly greeted with baubles set afloat on logs, to Captain Vancouver, who risked mutiny on his ship when he banned visits with prostitutes, some of whom offered their services for bits of scrap metal. Pressed into every page are intimate descriptions of life at sea--the fog-shrouded coasts, the crackly radio that keeps him linked to the mainland, the salty marine air, and the fellow sailors who are likewise drawn by a life of tossing on water. While Raban successfully steers his boat to the desired port, readers ultimately discover that this insightful, talented sage is in fact emotionally in deep water and may not fully be captain of his own life. --Melissa Rossi
Book Description
With the same rigorous observation (natural and social), invigorating stylishness, and encyclopedic learning that he brought to his National Book Award-winning
Bad Land, Jonathan Raban conducts readers along the Inside Passage from Seattle to Juneau. The physical distance is 1,000 miles of difficult-and often treacherous-water, which Raban navigates solo in a 35-foot sailboat.
But
Passage to Juneau also traverses a gulf of centuries and cultures: the immeasurable divide between the Northwest's Indians and its first European explorers-- between its embattled fishermen and loggers and its pampered new class. Along the way, Raban offers captivating discourses on art, philosophy, and navigation and an unsparing narrative of personal loss.
Customer Reviews:
My book of the year.......2007-08-29
Raban deftly weaves George Vancouver's expedition with his own journey up North America's West Coast two centuries later.
Introspective and heartfelt, the book is in parts auto-biography, travel-guide and biography. As a Passage to Juneau unwinds, Raban describes situations and others with great perception, yet is never afraid to expose his own frailties.
Passage to Juneau is beautifully written and explores Raban's thoughts every bit as much as the miles of water he covers. A tremendous book and fully deserving of the great praise it has received.
Much Better Than Earlier Raban Book.......2007-05-07
I tend to ignore author Raban's political diatribes (most of his writing, unfortunately) and revel in the beauty of his books about his personal boat journeys. I had earlier read "Old Glory: A Voyage Down The Mississippi" and felt that it lost focus about halfway through the narrative. That book seemed to reflect the desperate lack of focus and national malaise that the Carter administration brought on in the late 70's, and "Old Glory" would not be a Raban book I'd recommend.
However, Passage to Juneau is different. His solo journey by sailboat from Seattle to Juneau in the late 1990s is beautifully written with haunting scenes of his personal life interspersed with his musings on the sea. During the journey, his father dies and his wife demands a separation, the first personal tragedy giving Raban insight into his personal feelings about life and the sea, the second (at the midpoint of his journey, reaching Juneau) causing him to focus inward for the return trip to Seattle.
Despite his occasional lapses towards anti-americanism (throughout the book I kept wondering why he didn't move back to England or at least move north to British Columbia), Passage to Juneau is an intimate portrait of a man who is facing life's trials and the vagaries of some of the more treacherous seas in the world at the same time.
the inside passage.......2007-04-03
I've read many of Mr Raban's books and loved them all but this is my favorite. This isn't just a "travel" book, it's the history of the beautiful Inside Passage. You really feel like you are on Mr Raban's boat as he travels from Seattle, where he lives, to Juneau. He recounts the history of all the travellers who went before him - how certain Sounds and Inlets got their names - tells you about the people he meets - the things he sees - and shares a little piece of his own life history as he travels. During this journey he deals with the death of his Father and his upcoming divorce from his wife. He is a master storyteller. I live on the Puget Sound and have scuba dived up and down this Passage - this book brings the whole area to life. If you haven't enjoyed Mr Raban's prose before now, start here. You'll be hooked.
A Rougher Sea.......2007-01-09
Let me see if I can write a review that does justice to this book and at the same time explain to myself why it is such a great piece of literature.
I think the first point to make is that the writing mirrors the, by turns, eddying, chaotic, reflective quality of the sea itself, leading one deeper and deeper into the author's own meandering introspections about life and, yes, water in a very (to this reader anyway) seductive style, a style which is nothing if not allusive, reflecting Raban's own lifelong fascination with and profound love of literature. The account of Captain Vancouver's voyage along this same passage, taken from many sources, while certainly the most superficially parallel and certainly the most discursively ongoing of the allusions, is not in the end, the most significant and profound. That award must surely go to Raban's recounting of Shelley's last days and ultimate demise in the chapter entitled "Charred Remains", striking a parallel, in a much more profound manner than those accounts of Vancouver's voyage, to the last days and death of Raban's father and to the unsurpassed final chapter in which he invokes Cowper's "The Cast-Away" as a metaphor for his crumbling marriage and his own mortality.
Perhaps one, like Raban, has to already have a love of and familiarity both these poets to see what a feat he has pulled of here - though Raban provides the basic biographical background for each. To stick with the last chapter---Cowper isn't a poet much read anymore. But he's always been one of my favourites. One really has to be familiar with his intensely unbalanced life and mind to fully appreciate his poetry. In any event, by this last chapter of the book, we know what it's like to walk in Raban's shoes, to be in his boat, to wander through his mind and heart and to know how much he loves his family. When the hammer falls at the end with his wife and daughter deplaning in Juneau, we feel how crushed he is by it. And Cowper's "The Cast-Away" is the perfect poetic expression of the way we feel he feels, drowned not by the "real" sea he's been traversing, but by Cowper's metaphoric sea of despair. I frequently return to Cowper's "The Task"-A poem given him as a sort of assignment to ward off one of his mental fits-as well as "The Cast-Away" as two of the greatest poems in the language. I NEVER thought I'd see a modern author apparently effortlessly bring the despair of the all but forgotten poet back to life, but......Raban does.
So, yes, readers looking for a "sea adventure" yarn had better look elsewhere. How to know if you will fancy the book? Do you love history, English literature, introspective depths? Above all, do you know the feeling of being drowned by despair? Can you relate to Cowper's couplet?
"But I, beneath a rougher sea,
And whelm'd in deeper gulfs than he."
In short, do you know that INNER Sea? If so, this book will not disappoint.
Drifting, not sailing.......2006-04-26
The author fails miserable to hold together the historical journey of Vancouver, his current plodding through the inside passage, and his personal family life. Drifting from one to the other I dreaded learning more of this egomaniacs personal life! If the 430 pages had been edited down to 100 dealing with the history of the area, told as he travels through it, it might be a winner. But alas it's not.
Book Description
The Pacific Northwest is well known for its spectacular world-class cruising grounds. Authors Anne and Laurence Yeadon-Jones have combed every nautical mile of this area in their 36-foot sailboat, Dreamspeaker, to sketch and write about the true gems in this watery region. Key features include the best anchorages and marinas in each region, unique hand-drawn shoreline plans for each destination, detailed sketch charts, and color photographs. There are also details on approach, hazards and cautions, where to anchor, marina contacts, and US/Canadian customs. In addition, you can find out where to drop a crab pot, pick huckleberries, find a freshwater lake, discover a hidden beach, watch otters at play, or simply take a hike.
Book Description
Still unsolved, still baffling, still claiming new victims. Here are the untold stories.
A pilot reports a strange haze enveloping his plane, then disappears; eleven hours after fuel starvation, as if calling from a void, he is heard 600 miles away. He requests permission to land, then vanishes forever. A freighter steaming over placid seas disappears without a trace. A pleasure yacht ghosts past without a soul on board. A pilot calls for help because a "weird object" is harassing his plane. A jet collides with an "unknown" and is never found. . . .
Into the Bermuda Triangle is the first comprehensive examination of these baffling disappearances in more than a generation. Drawing on official reports from the NTSB and other investigative agencies as well as interviews with scientists, theorists, and survivors, leading authority Gian Quasar not only sets the record straight on previously examined cases, he also offers a bulging file of new cases, the collective results of his twelve-year investigation. In meticulous detail this unflinching account:
- Documents confirmed disappearances of airplanes and ships
- Gathers new testimony and reexamines old interviews from eyewitnesses and survivors
- Explores possible explanations ranging from zero-point energy to magnetic vortices
- Challenges our assumptions with the sheer weight of accumulated evidence
In this age of technological and scientific discovery, there are still mysteries that transcend understanding. The Bermuda Triangle is one.
"The best book I've ever read on this important subject."—Andrew Griffin, The Town Talk
Download Description
Still unsolved, still baffling, still claiming new victims. Here are the untold stories.
A pilot reports a strange haze enveloping his plane, then disappears; eleven hours after fuel starvation, as if calling from a void, he is heard 600 miles away. He requests permission to land, then vanishes forever. A freighter steaming over placid seas disappears without a trace. A pleasure yacht ghosts past without a soul on board. A pilot calls for help because a "weird object" is harassing his plane. A jet collides with an "unknown" and is never found. . . .
Into the Bermuda Triangle is the first comprehensive examination of these baffling disappearances in more than a generation. Drawing on official reports from the NTSB and other investigative agencies as well as interviews with scientists, theorists, and survivors, leading authority Gian Quasar not only sets the record straight on previously examined cases, he also offers a bulging file of new cases, the collective ...
Customer Reviews:
Not bad.......2007-06-18
Has some really good information and it's a good way to get some facts on the subject. Overall, it's not expensive at all and it ships pretty fast. I recommend it if you have a school project or essay to write, it pretty much gives you enough facts and understanding of the subject to get started.
Passage Into Time.......2007-01-09
This is a very interesting book and a bit eerie. It seems "Out-worldly" to lose technical equipment such as airplanes in a perfectly clear sky, especially when that's not what the pilots report seeing. Ships that disappear within hailing distance of the safe shores is also spooky. The book is really worth taking the time to read and get into. The photographs also are a great help.
Book Description
Florida Keys Chartracker Navigation Guide is a detailed chartbook covering the Florida Keys from Miami to Key West in both the ICW and Hawk Channel in both directions. The Chartracker format is a simplified strip chart accompanied by piloting instructions all on the same page. This format makes it easy for the navigator to make fast informed decisions. Chartracker includes waypoints, marinas and anchorages, mile by mile piloting instructions, warnings, depth soundings, and much more.
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