A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea (Paperback)

by David Vann (Author) "THERE'S MORE ART in this world than we think..." (more)
Key Phrases: admiralty marshal, ditch bag, winter charters, Coast Guard, Virgin Islands, Nick Bushnell (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
From Alaskan author David Vann, a harrowing—and heartbreaking—true story of one ordinary man’s misadventures at sea

"A Mile Down would be a cautionary tale for anyone who dreams of the freedom of the high seas—if only it wasn’t so damn exciting. . . ." —STEWART O'NAN, coauthor with Stephen King of Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season and author of The Night Country

"At once memoir, confession, travel book, and thriller, David Vann’s A Mile Down is so vivid and intense you will dread to see it end. . . . The book is a testimony of passion and courage in deadly storms and scarier calms, of a man wrestling with his ghosts and gifts in the very shadow of paradise." —ROBERT MORGAN, author of Gap Creek

"A Mile Down is pure adrenaline. Vann by all rights should have died at sea, and yet he’s lived to tell about it. But the thrill comes also from other kinds of risk—risk of repeating his father’s suicide, risk of financial disaster, risk of prosecution, risk of losing everything including who he believes himself to be. This story won’t let you go." —MELANIE THERNSTROM, author of The Dead Girl and Halfway Heaven

"A Mile Down is far more than a tale of ruin at sea. It’s also a story of desire and shame, of the struggle to escape our histories and know our dreams. Vann writes that ‘A life can be like a work of art, constantly melted away and reshaped,’ and he shows us this reshaping, this rebirth of hope from despair and ruin, so powerfully I couldn’t put the book down. You have to read this book, even if you care nothing about sailing or the sea. Just read it." —LALITA TADEMY, author of Cane River

"A Mile Down is a riveting and truthful account of a good man’s attempt to stay afloat on treacherous waters. This book reminded me of Robert Stone’s 'Outerbridge Reach,' or John Casey’s 'Spartina,' but in many ways Vann’s odyssey is more unforgettable. The fact that Vann lived to tell it is an achievement in itself." —TOM BARBASH, author of On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, & 9/11: A Story of Loss & Renewal

"A Mile Down is suberbly crafted. As in the great epics, the protagonist faces an unrelenting crush of disasters, bad luck, and ill will, yet picks himself up over and over to carry on. . . . David Vann has created a tale of hubris and endurance that is both exciting and beautifully written." —KEITH SCRIBNER, author of The Goodlife and Miracle Girl

"Riveting, heartbreaking, and redemptive . . . A Mile Down is a memoir as engaging as the most compelling of novels . . . This is an immensely moving and exciting book—it’s as if one of the heroes of A Perfect Storm had lived to write his memoirs." —JULIE HILDEN, author of 3 and The Bad Daughter

"A Mile Down is mandatory reading for anyone who’s ever flirted with thoughts of a life spent at sea." —A. MANETTE ANSAY, author of Vinegar Hill

From the Inside Flap
A harrowing—and heartbreaking—true story of one ordinary man’s misadventures at sea

"A Mile Down would be a cautionary tale for anyone who dreams of the freedom of the high seas—if only it wasn’t so damn exciting. . . ." —STEWART O'NAN, coauthor with Stephen King of Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season and author of The Night Country

"At once memoir, confession, travel book, and thriller, David Vann’s A Mile Down is so vivid and intense you will dread to see it end. . . . The book is a testimony of passion and courage in deadly storms and scarier calms, of a man wrestling with his ghosts and gifts in the very shadow of paradise." —ROBERT MORGAN, author of Gap Creek

"A Mile Down is pure adrenaline. Vann by all rights should have died at sea, and yet he’s lived to tell about it. But the thrill comes also from other kinds of risk—risk of repeating his father’s suicide, risk of financial disaster, risk of prosecution, risk of losing everything including who he believes himself to be. This story won’t let you go." —MELANIE THERNSTROM, author of The Dead Girl and Halfway Heaven

"A Mile Down is far more than a tale of ruin at sea. It’s also a story of desire and shame, of the struggle to escape our histories and know our dreams. Vann writes that ‘A life can be like a work of art, constantly melted away and reshaped,’ and he shows us this reshaping, this rebirth of hope from despair and ruin, so powerfully I couldn’t put the book down. You have to read this book, even if you care nothing about sailing or the sea. Just read it." —LALITA TADEMY, author of Cane River

"A Mile Down is a riveting and truthful account of a good man’s attempt to stay afloat on treacherous waters. This book reminded me of Robert Stone’s 'Outerbridge Reach,' or John Casey’s 'Spartina,' but in many ways Vann’s odyssey is more unforgettable. The fact that Vann lived to tell it is an achievement in itself." —TOM BARBASH, author of On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, & 9/11: A Story of Loss & Renewal

"A Mile Down is suberbly crafted. As in the great epics, the protagonist faces an unrelenting crush of disasters, bad luck, and ill will, yet picks himself up over and over to carry on. . . . David Vann has created a tale of hubris and endurance that is both exciting and beautifully written." —KEITH SCRIBNER, author of The Goodlife and Miracle Girl

"Riveting, heartbreaking, and redemptive . . . A Mile Down is a memoir as engaging as the most compelling of novels . . . This is an immensely moving and exciting book—it’s as if one of the heroes of A Perfect Storm had lived to write his memoirs." —JULIE HILDEN, author of 3 and The Bad Daughter

"A Mile Down is mandatory reading for anyone who’s ever flirted with thoughts of a life spent at sea." —A. MANETTE ANSAY, author of Vinegar Hill

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; illustrated edition edition (May 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560257105
• ISBN-13: 978-1560257103
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #422,794 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars David Vann's "A Mile Down", May 24, 2005

By	Patricia N. Williamsen (Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Why do men go down to the sea in ships? The power of the ocean has long compelled men to go, hearing in the windy sea a siren offering the secrets of fame, sustenance, fortune, romance. Author David Vann went down to the sea to forge a career, to free himself forever from "the endless treadmill of middle-class labor." To accomplish his dream, Vann commissioned a sleek sailing ship in Turkey and sold educational charters to ancient ports in the Mediterranean Sea. He then embarked on a voyage so riddled with misfortune and danger it could only exist in another man's nightmares -- his ship is hopelessly flawed. But when his boat sinks, "A Mile Down" in the Caribbean, David Vann finds the key to a mystery that has haunted him for many years. "A Mile Down" is more than an adventure story; it is a memoir of discovery and reconciliation written to inspire even confirmed landlubbers. If you read only one book this summer, make that one book "A Mile Down."

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drowning out a shout, July 4, 2005

By	K. Hug (Henderson, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Near the end of A Mile Down, an angry charter agent shouts, "I am ashamed of the name David Vann." By then, the reader has arrived at an understanding of Vann that causes the hateful shout to fall on deaf ears. David Vann's memoir puts the reader at his side for two years as he pursues his dream of owning and operating a 90-foot sailboat. From Vann's words and actions, the reader becomes acquainted with a dreamer and a doer. No one is more critical of Vann than Vann himself. Yet, time after time, friends and associates come to his aid, freely giving of time, talent, and money. It is the cumulative sound of these silent voices that drowns out the shout of the charter agent. David Vann is somebody . . . somebody whose dream can be embraced. His craft (the sailboat) goes a mile down in a freak storm, while his craft (as a writer) allows him to go a mile down to discover enough truth about himself to sail again.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two exhilarating reads later..., September 4, 2005

By	David H. Fixsen "Dave Fixsen" (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

and I'm a bit worried to go out on my own sailboat! The way David brings readers along on the journeys is brilliant. I'm looking forward to his next novels making it down to New Zealand.