I really can’t recommend a book to you, since I don’t know you or what you like to read. Instead I can tell you about some of the books that I like and hope that you will have a recommendation for me that you will e-mail me with it.

I’m also only going to focus on one topic, Maritime stories, as I would love to hear about other books in this category.

For Christmas a couple of years ago, my dad gave me a copy of Heart of the Sea and told me that I had to read Moby Dick first. I was annoyed as I had heard the horror stories of people starting Moby Dick and not finishing it, but trusting my dad I picked up Moby Dick and read it, so we’ll start there.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

This is a classic book and you’ve probably heard about it or seen it referenced on TV or in the news. You probably know that it is the story of a man obsessed with catching a white whale. And you’ve probably heard that it’s a slog of a book to read and I won’t deny that. My copy was thrown against the wall more than once (whales are not fishes, not matter how many chapters you devote to the argument). However, it’s worth reading and everyone I know who has struggled through it has found something that they love about it. For me I love the ending and Melvilles poetic line about lost children. 

Once I was done Moby Dick I was able to readHeart of the Sea: The Story of the Essex. By Nathaniel Philbrick. This is a true account of a ship that was sunk by a sperm whale. It is a story of survival, of the decisions that had to be made by the crew and the incredible hardships they endured after they abandoned ship.

After reading Heart of the Sea, I was intrigued by what a sailors life was like and picked up a copy of Two Years before the Mast by Richard Dana. This is a tale of a young man who goes to sea before going on to a career in law. Being from a good family he could have chosen to sail as an officer, but instead choose to sign on as a common sailor.

The last book in this category changes vein, and is more modern in date. Farley Mowet wrote about marine salvage work in Grey Seas Under. This is the tale of the sailors of the Foundation Franklin, sailing into rough weather to save other sailors and rescue broken boats. Each story is gripping and I found that I could not put this book down.

The next book I plan to read is Joshuas Slocums Sailing Alone Around the World and I know there must be other good books out there, so let me know what they are.

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