The Last American Sailors: A Wild Ride in the Modern Merchant Marine (Paperback)

~ Michael R. Rawlins (Author)
Key Phrases: watch partner, pilot ladder, perfect ship, The Last American Sailors, Jake the Third, Emerald State (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A sadistic captain puts his crew on edge. A young officer has a breakdown in a near-collision. A sailor jumps to the bottom of the sea. The Last American Sailors recounts one man's decade in a misunderstood industry-the merchant marine, a fleet with a glorious past and an uncertain future. If On the Road met The Perfect Storm, we would have The Last American Sailors, the definitive travelogue of a merchant seaman and an encompassing look into the mysterious world of merchant shipping.

About the Author

Michael Rawlins left the world of broadcasting for a life on the water. From ordinary seaman to officer, Rawlins? career has taken him to over three dozen countries on almost 20 different ships. When not shipping out, Rawlins resides in the Southwest desert.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse (December 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595301177
• ISBN-13: 978-0595301171
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #352,996 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Michael does a great job in bringing mariners to life, July 26, 2004

By	Rev Sinclair Oubre (Port Arthur, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While standing the 12-4 watch on a clear winter night in the Gulf of Mexico, I was recounting to my watch partner, the Second Mate, a scene that had happened a day or two earlier in Jacksonville, Florida.

While standing cargo watch at the tanker's manifold, a young QMED struggled up the gangway with his gear. Helping him on board, I introduced myself, and assisted him with his gear.

After we were relieved from cargo watch, I ran into the QMED in the stairway passage, he noted that he had just come out of Piney Point, and this was his first job as a QMED. At that moment, the captain came down the ladder, and feeling hospitable, I introduced the new man to him. Instead of saying when he could come to his office and sign on, the captain's first words were, "Your late!" The poor QMED just melted in front of the captain, and stuttered something about getting lost trying to find the dock.

As I stood looking out the forward bridge windows, I asked the Second Mate what kind of training officers received in human relations and employee motivation. He thought for a moment and reflected on his recent classes at Maine Maritime Academy, and responded, "Well, we called that class 'hockey'."

In reading Michael Rawlins' new book The Last American Sailor, my mind remembered good crew men and officers, and those who had taken the hockey course. His book reminded me of my personal theory of maritime crewing, "It is required that every crew have at least one certified sociopath to keep things from getting to harmonious and enjoyable."

Reading through The Last American Sailor, I recognized some shipmates that we had sailed with at different times and on different vessels. I could also share the anxiety that is so well recorded about steering a vessel for the first time.

This seems like such a basic function of an Able Bodied seafarer, but in fact, is one that is becoming a lost art. Because vessels are put on auto pilot as soon as possible, and since mates are generally required to sail as straight as possible, and because half of the AB's are day workers and do not stand navigation watches, it is the general custom for an AB practice his or her steering technique while the vessel is in the tightest and most difficult conditions possible. For instance, while the ship is traveling up the Houston Ship Channel and playing Texas chicken with another vessel heading down the channel. There is not a lot fo room for screwing up. Numerous times I have feared becoming the famous or infamous AB who caused the greatest marine disaster in United States History.

Mr. Rawlings does a wonderful job of capturing the challenges and difficulties of being a member of the United States Merchant Marine. He also brings to life the characters that make up the crew of a U.S.-flagged merchant ship.

Though it does not have the telescoped insanity of Buckley's Steaming to Bamboola, it delivers a warm and respectful vision of the life and personality of the men and women in the U.S. Merchant Marines.

Fr. Sinclair Oubre, J.C.L.
Able Bodied Seamen - Limited
President
Apostleship of the Sea of the United States of America

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Find -- Great stories, great writing., July 3, 2004

By	Sore back "maizoids" (Summit, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

Review by Robert R. Frump, author of "Until the Sea Shall Free Them." This is a great find! "The Last American Sailors" -- Subtitled appropriately enough, A Wild Ride in the Modern Merchant Marine. These are the stories of Michael R. Rawlins, a merchant mariner for more than a decade, who can indeed turn a phrase. This is among the very best writing I've seen in recent years not just because Rawlins can turn a phrase but because he writes from first hand experience. Yes, John McPhee can hitch a ride on a boat and Langewiesche can do what he does so well (see below). Rawlins is not so seasoned a writer as those two, but what he lacks in polish he makes up for in authenticity. -- and a first hand knowledge and ease that neither of the two more famous authors will ever muster on this topic. What we have here is the unvarnished world of the merchant mariner told by a nautical Everyman with a great ear for dialogue and a great eye for character. Rawlins announces he will take the romance out of the sea for us but of course in the course of his story telling, he firmly establishes it. We hear no modern day tales of piracy -- but a day cleaning out a chemical tanker's holds is in its own way a modern day scarier tale. Buy it. Encourage this guy. Perfect for the son or daughter who thinks they want to go to sea, and for the uncle or father or grandfather who was there in an earlier day. Immensely readable and valuable.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Union Mariners, July 27, 2005

By	Jerry C. Donnelly "Astoria Jerry" (Astoria, OR United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book entertaining at first, with Sea-stories that I could relate to. But as the book moved on I noticed the stories repeating themselves, and as with any good drinking session, it burned out.

I have sailed with union and non union ships. There is definately more wild stories with union sailors, especially the union sailors that have always been with the union from the start and don't know anything else. This book's take is all union.

I reccomend reading it, but don't think the Merchant Marine is full of odd-balls.