Thrilling Narratives of Mutiny, Murder and Piracy
Anonymous
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A collection of true stories of the high seas, from the nineteenth century. Shipwrecks, mutiny, life and death decision-making -- all far from home, while pitting themselves against the elements. The romance of the seafaring life is depicted in its brutal reality. - Summary by Lynne Thompson (14 hr 11 min)
Chapters
Reviews
Loved it
PranBharg
Fantastic accounts of naval tragedies. 1. One learns so much about the life on ship, 2. one learns so much about the lives in yore, 3. there is so much knowledge about the behaviour of humans when faced with tragedies, 4. the language is fantastic.
terror and drama!
Basquetteur
Shipwreck may be ranked among the greatest evils which man can experience. It is never void of danger, frequently of fatal issue, and invariably productive of regret. It is one against which there is the least resource, where patience, fortitude and ingenuity are in most cases, unavailing, except to protract a struggle with destiny, which, at length, proves irresistible. But amidst the myriads unceasingly swallowed up by the deep, it is not by the numbers that we are to judge of the miseries endured. Hundreds may at once meet an instantaneous fate, hardly conscious of its approach, while a few individuals may linger out existence, daily in hope of succor, and at length be compelled to the horrible alternative of preying on each other for the support of life. Neither is it by the Narratives about to be given that we are to calculate on the frequency of shipwreck. It is an event that has been of constant occurrence since a period long anterior to what the earliest records can reach. In England it is calculated that about 5000 natives of the British Isles yearly perish at sea. This perpetual exposure to peril, however, materially contributes to the formation of character, and hence are sailors preeminently distinguished by courage, endurance, and ready invention. Habituated to the instability of the ocean, they make little account of danger, and are invariably the first in [Pg vi] matters of the most daring enterprise. Incessantly subjected to toil, they labor long and patiently without murmur, and the prompt and vigorous measures which are indispensable to their security, teach them the immediate application of whatever means are within their power. A natural desire to know the fate of their fellow creatures seems implanted in the breast of mankind, and the most powerful sympathies are excited by listening to the misfortunes of the innocent. To record some impressive examples of calamity, or unlooked for deliverance, is the object of these pages; and it will be seen of what astonishing advantage are the virtues of decision, temperance, perseverance and unwavering hope in moments of extreme peril and despair. (From the preface)
Excellent book, Variety of Story's
A LibriVox Listener
Excellent variety of stories offering different insights into the courage or cowardice displayed under duress at sea. Some readers better than others, but all understandable and enjoyed.