Customer Reviews

World Voyagers (INDIE and IPPY book awards winner) The True Story of A Veterinarian, a Renaissance Man and Stewart the Cat

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE STORY OF AMY AND PHIL'S JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD IN THE BOAT THEY BUILT IN GEORGETOWN, MAINE IS MORE THAN SIMPLY AMAZING. I COULD NOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN, READING STRAIGHT THROUGH FOR TWO AND HALF DAYS. THE SHEER AMOUNT OF COURAGE AND SKILL AND HUMOR NEEDED TO TRAVEL TOGETHER FOR THREE YEARS, TO BE VULNERABLE IN THE OPEN OCEAN AND THE VARIOUS COUNTRIES VISITED TAKES A KIND OF AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY SORELY LACKING IN THE CULTURE OF TODAY THAT DICTATES DO EVERYTHING QUICKLY AND WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES. THE CONSEQUENCES OF A POOR DECISION ON THE HIGH SEAS OR VISITING A HOSTILE COUNTRY COULD BE LOSS OF LIFE. THIS BOOK SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO GIVE THEM A TRUE PORTRAIT OF BRAVERY, CREATIVE ENDEAVORS AND HOW TO BE BE REAL IN A SOCIETY THAT HAS SLIPPED THE RAILS.

CRISTINA JORDAN
JONESBORO, MAINE

First, I will take exception with the person who reviewed this book as "amateurishly written." I found it to be of amazing quality in expressing insight, relating details of the journey, expressing the story largely through dialogue rather than simply a flat chronology of facts (as with the last such book I read.) The story is told with compassion for those she encounters along the way, for her two companions (yes, I did cry. Actually, I would have to say that Madagascar will always be a marker of sorts for this story.)

Okay, so what was I going to say about the book? Oh, yes - it's one of the best sailing books I have read. I put Amy right there with Fatty Goodlander and Jenna Cawrse Esaray. I would put Josh Slocum there, but that might be a little disingenuous - that's a different kind of book, really. Still...

Stop reading this and buy the book... :) Thanks, Amy and Phil (actually, I just noticed that it was co-authored.)

I teach a continuing education class on writing and do-it- yourself book making. I use this book as an example of neat, clean, illustrative writing void of unnecessary adjectives and adverbs. Wood uses the pen like a film score composer uses the bass and violin sections. Early on, she is timid and fearful. As her confidence in herself and her abilities grow, so too does the depth of the book and flow of the pen. Sentence structure is long and languid, during prosaic periods on passage, to give the reader an actual sense of the rhythmic, monotonous motion of a sailboat at sea. During tense moments- pirate chases, tempests and the demise of friends and acquaintances, the sentences structure and pace quicken. It is a carefully crafted book, which even a non-sailor will enjoy. This book is a poignant portrait of a period in history when Americans lost their innocence and the world became changed forever. I would give it six stars (if possible) for the writing, five for the pictures, and four for the copy editing- which has a few flaws- but nothing egregious. It is very nearly a written work of art, and could easily become an American classic.

_World Voyagers_ is a thoroughgoing delight.
This handsome, hard-cover book (it even has a blue ribbon built in for keeping your place) tells how Amy P. Wood, her husband Philip J. Shelton and their cat Stewart P. Wood built a barn in their back yard in Maine, built therein a solid sailing ship, and sailed the thing around the world. They brought it home again to Maine, where they sold it. Now Phil is talking about building a bush/seaplane to fly in the Far North. (It seems the guy can do anything technical.) If there's a book about it, I want to read that one too.
_Voyagers_ is rich in dialog, but in some of the best parts Amy is describing place and people they have encountered along the way. The book does seem to be in Amy's voice, though both people and even the cat are credited as authors.
It is rich in photographs, virtually all of which are too small. However, making them larger would have made the book either unreasonably large or unreasonably expensive, or both. In one of the photos, Phil is nude (as he apparently often was) and we see his bare bum. No such pix of Amy, though. Pity.
Being confined on a boat for months with just one other person sounds like it could be a trial. Amy and Phil took alternate days as captain, and seem to have managed the trip without bloodshed or even serious argument, mainly by showing kindness, consideration, generosity and respect for each other.
Endpapers show rough maps of the voyage, and there's a glossary explaining most of the salty terminology likely to be inevitable in such a book.

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If you're looking for a book about the realities of cruising-sailing around the world, it does a nice job of conveying those realities. However the book falls short in many areas. Most glaring, the book is written in quoted dialogue. We're reading a non-fiction account and yet we're expected to buy into the quoted conversations. Further, as we don't speak in full sentences in real life the dialogue feels stilted and artificial. Example would be full sentence dialogue supposedly spoken during a storm or trying situations. Lastly, one can tell where an editor added a phrase for either flare or further clarification.
There is also an incredible amount of detail about the veterinary care of animals, especially cats. While "Veterinarian" is mentioned in the title, a book about sailing AND veterinary care is presumably written for a very narrow audience. As an armchair SAILING book, it's a pretty good read. As a sailing BOOK, I'd skip it.

First Off....Amy and Phil have produced a volume that is one of the most beautiful/handsome books that I own...and...I Have MANY!! I found myself handing my copy to the "book -lovers"and librarians(each of whom have ordered their own copy) in my life...just to observe their reactions...a superb effort....I am currently stepping the masts and finishing up a similar cruising vessel..38foot wooden Double ender..with plans/hopes to take her to New Zealand. This unvarnished contemporary account of two circumnavigators and their joys and travails while circling the globe..accompanied by many beautiful photos....is priceless for it's honesty and detail. As an indicator of this book "as an experience" they have included a Blue satin Place marker...integral to the binding...which leaves a feeling of being..."cared for"...by the authors as you accompany them from Georgetown , Maine around the world and home again. Sailors will recognize many familiar mental scenarios as they decide whether to continue from the galapagos....when "HOME" in Maine tries to call them back....how they deal with illness and/or seasickness...for themselves or their beloved FELINE crewmember... decide how to handle the "boat kids" in many anchorages...no holds are barred...no punches pulled... We watch and read how they made THEIR decisions...and are left with the opportunity to make our own decisions/mistakes!! when the time comes!!

WORLD VOYAGERS is authentic accounting of a Lifetime adventure....by a couple who have chosen to live their life TOGETHER, while recognizing that our contemporary lives are often fraught with emotional upheavals and "chapter changes"...family dilemmas and decisions that don't always "go as we might have planned". Congratulations to Amy and Phil on a job/book....WELL DONE!! Fare Forward World Voyagers!!

I never wanted to sail around the world but I admire those who do. This story was both entertaining, very funny and educational. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the remote islands that were stops along the way on the long ocean crossings. These are places that you would never discover unless sailing around the world. Another great feature of this book is the descriptions of Phil and Amy's relationship and how they managed so cooperate and get along although they lived 24/7 together. And lastly Stewart's story is probably my favorite part!

This is a wonderful book. A true story. A picture of three plus
years in the lives of two pretty unusual people. It is also the story
of others like them who make the choice to live around the globe
and not on a tiny spot such as most of us choose. There is humor, adventure
and grief. There is fear and the joy that comes with conquering
what seems to be insurmountable odds against these two travelers.

If you are looking for fine literature, look somewhere else.
This is not the work of a practiced author. This is a book for someone
who is looking for a good story well told.

Here you will find not only word pictures of places most of us only long to visit,
but you will find actual pictures. There is a story to be had from every port
along the way. You will meet the people they met, and learn those stories too.

What is it like in Tahiti? What are the people like? What do they eat, wear
or care about? Here is where you will find it. Have you ever dreamed of Island life?
sailing the ocean in a beautiful craft? Living life on your own terms? This is the story
of two people who did just that. Only much to their surprise, their own terms had to be
adjusted on an almost daily basis.

Amy, is veterinarian in the book. She is typically caring.. but has a wide streak of
pragmatism that shows up now and then. Her husband the boat builder is the dreamer,
I think? This book is far from typical. Just have a look at the cover, which gives the tiniest of hints
to the unusual adventure that you will find within.

Recommended 4 stars.

Amy and Philip and Stewart the cat's grand adventure deserved a magnificent, padded hardcover tome filled with great photographs and everything they left out of the website log. This is it. Only people who built their own boat and then sailed it around the world could tell a tale like this, then put it together in such a handsome package.

We echo the many accolades given to the "World Voyagers". It's a book that you can't put down or find something on every page to share with anyone within hailing distance. We espcially enjoyed Amy's analogies.
This past fall we so appreciated having Phil and Amy as our guests to relate this adventure to the Pen Bay Alumni Chapter of the Maine Maritime Academy. Attending alumni represented nearly 5 hundred man years of maritime experience as naval officers,merchant ship captains,mates,pilots, and engineers. To say that we were intrigued and impressed with the combined talents and courage of this couple would be a huge understatement!!!
Lou and Jo Violette
Spruce Head, Maine