Dick Sands the Boy Captain [Hardcover]

Jules Verne (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0884119041 | ISBN-13: 978-0884119043 | Publication Date: June 1976

TRANSLATED BY ELLEN E. FREWER

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jules Verne studied law but began writing stories and working in theatre as well. When Verne's father discovered his son was writing, he promptly withdrew his financial support. Verne then worked as a stockbroker.His wife encouraged him to pursue his writing, and he became acquainted with Pierre-Jules Hetzel, an important French publisher. Hetzel helped improve Verne's writings, which until then had been repeatedly rejected by other publishers. He died a wealthy man in 1905. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Amereon Ltd (June 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0884119041
• ISBN-13: 978-0884119043
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,290,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A jewel of children's literature, March 26, 2001

By 

"masha_glnd" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dick Sands the Boy Captain (Hardcover)

Though not directly related to Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - In Search of Castaways - Mysterious Island sequel, this book is very similar to them and just as good. It's a classical adventure, something that every child should grow up with, one of the jewels of world children's literature. It's all that - adventure and mystery, courage and love, gallantry and friendship. Left in the command of a ship by an accident, the main character, a 15-year old boy, delivers his passengers and the crew through all the dangers on land and on sea and sucessfully overcomes the evil intentions of their enemy, who was trying to sell them to slavery. Let your kids read it - it's a must!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some classic, topical Verne., April 19, 2005

By 

Frikle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dick Sands the Boy Captain (Hardcover)

Like many of the more famous Verne books, this has been seen as largely a children's book. While it is less "adult" than many of Verne's other works, it can be enjoyed by adults too. Also, the content is certainly not suitable for a particularly young audience.

The story is of Dick Sands - a 15 year old crew member on a ship with an eclectic collection of people on board during this particular voyage. After a tragedy, he is left to run the ship himself. They eventually run ashore and (thinking they are in South America) meet a man called Harris, who generously offers to be their guide in getting back to "civilisation". However, he has more sinister plans, as it turns out they are actually in Equatorial Africa at the height of the slave trade. Capitalising on their delusion, Harris betrays them and the party is enslaved. The rest of the book is an account of their (especially Dick's) attempts at resistance and escape.

The book is great at showing the maturity, courage and resourcefulness of Dick, a classic case of having to grow up soon and doing very well at it. It also offers a shocking and brutal portraying of the slave trade (which is why it's not suitable for the very young), largely based on the accounts of the explorers Stanely and Livingstone. It is here that I think the book suffers a setback, as Verne overdoes it in an oft-too-dydactic way. It is understandable due to the fact that he comes from a context of a newly-found French liberalism and in his time, slavery was a more recent issue in terms of the US and other Western countries. So, the level rhetoric detracts from the book for a modern reader.

Still, it's an unyielding and sublime account of the unspeakable horrors of the Atlantic slave trade and a good adventure story too, so an enjoyable and accessible work of Verne here.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not What You Expect, consider for homeschool, February 6, 2010

By 

Anne Wingate (Salt Lake City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dick Sands, the Boy Captain (Kindle Edition)

If you were raised on a diet of Tom Swift and Bomba, the Jungle Boy, you approached--or didn't approach--this title, because it sounded like another too-good-to-be-true teen hero.

But that's not what it is. Dick doesn't start out as captain; he is shoved into the position because he is literally the only one left to take command. He shows considerable, but believable, intelligence, strategic thinking, and courage to get himself and his charges back to safety.

A grilling picture of the slave trade develops as the story continues. It is not a light and pleasant children's book, but I'd recommend it for homeschool while American history and/or Black history is being studied.