Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Two Years Before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
8 Rating(s)
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Two Years Before the Mast
A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea

Author: Richard Henry Dana, Jr.

Narrator: Kirby Heyborne

Unabridged: 17 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/31/2010

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

Two Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834 and published in 1840.

While at Harvard College, Dana had an attack of the measles that affected his vision. Thinking it might help his sight, Dana, rather than going on a Grand Tour as most of his fellow classmates traditionally did (and unable to afford it anyway), and being something of a nonconformist, left Harvard to enlist as a common sailor on a voyage around Cape Horn on the brig Pilgrim. He returned to Massachusetts two years later aboard the Alert (which left California sooner than the Pilgrim).
He kept a diary throughout the voyage, and, after returning, he wrote a book based on his experiences. Recognized as an American classic, Two Years Before the Mast was published the same year that Dana was admitted to the bar.


About Richard Henry Dana, Jr.

Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815-1882) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of an eminent colonial family. He gained renown as the author of the American classic Two Years Before the Mast, a memoir of his time spent at sea as a merchant seaman. As a lawyer, he specialized in maritime law, defending many common seamen in court and writing The Seaman's Friend, a standard reference on the legal rights and responsibilities of sailors. He is also the author of To Cuba and Back, Journal of a Voyage Round the World, and Twenty-Four Years After.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rick on November 20, 2012

In a way, the best thing for a writer is misfortune. In that regard, Richard Henry Dana, Jr. got lucky. A young Harvard man, he signed on as a common seaman aboard the brig Pilgrim, bound for California from Boston, to help improve his health. Had it been smooth sailing over benign seas under a wise......more

Goodreads review by Paul on April 18, 2022

Two years from the life of Richard Henry Dana, Jr., did not go as anyone, including Dana himself, would have expected. For a young Boston gentleman of good family, a Harvard scholar, to sail “before the mast” as a common sailor on a merchant ship would have seemed unthinkable: it simply wasn’t done!......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on May 06, 2023

Second Reading: April 11, 2014 Two Years Before the Mast is somewhat unique in that my enjoyment of this book is mostly related to the fact that this book exists. I say this as a native Californian with roots that reach back into Mexico. Two Years provides a snapshot of one point along my ancestral p......more

Goodreads review by brendan on May 07, 2008

this book is absolutely essential for anyone who has any desire of stepping off the quarterdeck of his historical fiction (O'Brien novels) and heading down to the focs'l to hear about sailing traditional ships from the men who were actually sweating lines, heave-yo-ho-ing, and climbing the rigging......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on July 10, 2007

This book made me cry multiple times, but not for the direct subject matter. I think there were just a few too many references to the California coast described in enough detail that the effect was to pry out long-lingering ghosts haunting the coastline of my own isle of denial. his descriptions are......more