Rich Man's Coffin: The Legend of Black Jack White, An American Slave in New Zealand [Paperback]

Kenneth Gardner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kenneth Gardner began writing at the age of six with his first book, The Devil's Gold. His first novel, Rich Man's Coffin, was written while he enjoyed a sabbatical in New Zealand. His busy career includes graduating from the University of North Carolina with honors as a National Merit Scholar, a stint in the Navy aboard nuclear submarines, and traveling the world. He lives in San Diego, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 388 pages
• Publisher: Xlibris (May 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401049699
• ISBN-13: 978-1401049690
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,042,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rich Man's Coffin - An Unusual Adventure, October 10, 2002

By 

Author/Reviewer Denise Clark (Covina, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rich Man's Coffin: The Legend of Black Jack White, An American Slave in New Zealand (Paperback)

Rich Man's Coffin
By Kenneth Gardner
Xlibris Corp-2002
ISBN: 1-4010-4969-9 soft cover
Reviewed by Denise M. Clark
Denise's Pieces Book Reviews
...

Based on a true-life figure, Rich Man's Coffin is a novel revolving around the life of
`Black Jack' White, a former slave who escapes from captivity in his native Mississippi
in 1828 and ultimately finds work on a whaling vessel in New York. He sails around the
Cape to Australia and New Zealand as a cabin boy. Upon his arrival in the South Pacific
however, his life undergoes major changes.

Rich in historical details, customs and dialog, Mr. Gardner has written an ambitious tale
with his story of Arthur H. Alesworth, a black man who shrugged off the chains of slavery
to become a valued member of the indigenous tribe of Maori who live in New Zealand. The novel sweeps the reader into a captivating world of whaling, Maori customs, lifestyle, massacres and forbidden love.

With an easy flowing narrative style, Mr. Gardner brings the South Pacific alive until
the reader can literally feel the sting of sea spray and smell the whale fat boiling in
cauldrons on the beach. In addition, his ability to breathe life into a historical
character is very well done without taking outrageous liberties with the truth,
creating a semi-documentary approach to explore the life of a fascinating yet little known
character of the early 1800's and beyond.

39 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars tortured, turgid, Thesaurus-ridden prose, January 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Rich Man's Coffin: The Legend of Black Jack White, An American Slave in New Zealand (Paperback)

I was severely disappointed by this book. The Amazon reviews said it was good. The basic story seems intriguing. I expected a good read at the very least. But I found that I often couldn't make sense of the story and the sentences were tortured, turgid, or obvious misuses of near-synonyms from Roget's.

-- I didn't realize how bad a book could be until I got my hands on this one. If I could return it, I would. I will end up throwing it away just to keep it off some unsuspecting reader's hands. That's how much I didn't like it. In fact, I got to about page 40 and stopped.

Turning to any page, randomly, I find the following sentences:" Arthur tied his end of the chord to the mast" (43). Cord. "Black Jack was surprised to notice that his ghastly brew was nearing its bottom, along with those of his mates" (79). Misplaced modifier.
"Brothy ocean vapor saturated his heaving lungs and threatened to suffocate his mental valence" (173). What can I say; I'm not making this up.

It's not just the sentence structure.
The arch description of oral sex on page 52 is sniggering, utterly non-sensual and, as we used to say in fourth grade, upid-stay.

More odd sentences below.

The Captain nodded and smiled in assumptive approval. Assumptive?
Standing behind the strongbox, he dispensed each man with a sum and a salute. Dispensed?
As the ship began to turn into the setting sun, he [the Captain] flitted about the deck cheerfully, even stopping to make idle conversation with random members of the working crew.

I do not recommend this book. There are many wonderful books I do like. In fact, I teach literature and enjoy a wide range of classic and modern novels. But this one badly needs an editor and a deep revision.
s

8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich Man's Triumph!, October 18, 2002

By 

Tom Clancy (Phoenix) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rich Man's Coffin: The Legend of Black Jack White, An American Slave in New Zealand (Paperback)

This kid can write! I was more interested in the sentence structure and just the way the words went together than I was in the story. And that is a nailbiter too. Seriously, I found myself rereading paragraphs just for the enjoyment of it. Anywhere you find yourself with this book, make sure you don't mind being embarassed. You will laugh out loud, and carry your hanky. Really!