Sail Away: Stories of Escaping to Sea [Paperback]

Lena Lencek (Editor), Gideon Bosker (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2001

Something happens when men and women put a plank between themselves and the water and set out on a voyage, whether for a day or a lifetime. Now Sail Away brings together the very finest writing about travel on water by a stellar crew of writers. Among those to be included are Joseph Conrad, Jacques Cousteau, Roald Dahl, Lawrence Durrell, F. Scott Fitzgerald, E.M. Forster, Ernest Hemingway, Thor Heyerdahl, Jonathan Raban, Paul Theroux, Mark Twain, Jules Verne, David Foster Wallace, and Evelyn Waugh. Packaged as the perfect companion to Beach, with atmospheric photos by Beach photographer Mittie Hellmich, Sail Away will be an important addition to the tradition of best-selling books about ships and the sea.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Despite the security of terra firma, people have long romanticized the idea of being on the water. In this collection of short stories, novel excerpts, and narrative nonfiction, editors Lencek and Bosker (Beach: Stories by the Sand and Sea) have compiled selections from an impressive list of authors, including Jules Verne and Paul Theroux, to reflect on the diversity of nautical endeavors. In the introduction, they write, "We've heard it said that 'on a ship, there is fate in every plank'...no two voyages are ever alike." And no two stories are alike, from Ann Davidson's account of her solo transatlantic voyage in "My Ship Is So Small" to Daniel Duane's reflections on perfecting the art of surfing in Caught Inside. Most impressive are Nobel laureate Ivan Bunin's "The Gentleman from San Francisco" and Langston Hughes's The Big Sea, both stories that epitomize the transforming power of the ocean. This is a book for sea-gazing landlubbers. Recommended for all public libraries. Stephanie Maher, Warwick, RI
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Lencek and Bosker posit in their introduction that "it was in the spirit of the great escape" that they selected the 21 stories--fiction and nonfiction--in this collection that illuminate the range of navigational experiences. They have arranged the stories to progress by degrees from a tight focus on the material circumstances of being at sea to an increasingly abstract exploration of its psychological, social, developmental, spiritual, and finally, utopian dimensions. Some of the authors are well known, including Jules Verne (from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), Thor Heyerdahl, Roald Dahl, Paul Theroux, John Rolfe Gardiner, Langston Hughes (from his autobiography), Virginia Woolf (from To the Lighthouse), and W. S. Merwin. The other writers are lesser known; but this is a first-rate anthology of sea stories. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; First Printing edition (June 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569245843
• ISBN-13: 978-1569245842
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,874,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Harrowing to Haunting, August 22, 2001

By 

"herbschneider" (Norwalk, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sail Away: Stories of Escaping to Sea (Paperback)

An invigorating change from the current raft of "disaster at sea" books. The 21 stories cover the gamut from high adventure to psychological intrigue, from small boats to large ships, from contemporary to classic. All are engrossing and stimulate the full range of human emotions.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Go to sea, August 23, 2005

By 

---- Neil H. "A Trailer Sailor's Library" (Michigan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sail Away: Stories of Escaping to Sea (Paperback)

A collection of stories about going to sea. Some are wonderful, some are bizarre. NOT a collection of SAILING stories (as I had thought). Still, a nice way to be introduced to many different authors.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save your money, January 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sail Away: Stories of Escaping to Sea (Paperback)

With the book entitled "Sail Away: Storeis of Escaping to Sea," I figured it would be about people tired of the rat-race putting out to see for glorious adventures and exotic destinations. The first couple of stories held my interest. However, the last three quarters of the book is painful to read and contains material included for the sole purpose of making the book thicker.