"Independent book reviews for independent readers"
Formac Publishing has produced a beautiful book about the Bounty, both the infamous ship that was captained by William Bligh as well as the replica ship that was constructed in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia for the epic 1962 MGM film Mutiny on the Bounty starring Trevor Howard and Marlon Brando.… Continue reading
The official year of Canadian confederation is 1867, but we need to turn back the calendar to the Charlottetown Conference in 1864 when representatives from Canada West and East came to the city of Charlottetown PEI to try to convince the Maritime delegates to favour confederation rather than a Maritime union which would not benefit the Canadians at all.… Continue reading
I am a landlubber, but I love all things maritime whether it is naval ships, submarines, or the days of wood and sail. It started with Joseph Conrad’s sea stories and carried on through those of James Fenimore Cooper and C.S.… Continue reading
Joseph Conrad’s autobiographical short story Youth, we are introduced to Marlowe, who upon initially sighting the ship he is to join in his first commision wistfully states:
“There was a touch of romance in it, something that made me love the old thing – something that appealed to my youth!”
Similarly, when Arrow’s Flight protagonist Jared Kane sights the wooden ketch Arrow for the first time:
“She was laying into the sunset and seemed to float in a coppery sea of light, her tall amber masts suspended above her.… Continue reading
Clarence Vautier was born in 1972 in La Poile, Newfoundland. He moved away to attend high school, and after high school, he fished with his father, Clarence Sr., and his brother Raymond for a short time. He later went to work as a deck officer on the Great Lakes, first for P & H Shipping, then for Algoma Central Marine, where he remains today.… Continue reading
here is a meme floating around the Internet that states: “Don’t live the same year 75 times over and call it a life”. For at least two years of her substantial life (born in 1927, she is still alive as of this writing), Rosalie Lombard could not be accused of any sort of repetition as she served as a nurse for the Grenfell Mission in St.… Continue reading
The story of the SS Newfoundland sealing disaster of 1914, in which 78 of 132 men died on the ice, is told in arresting fashion by Newfoundland author Gary Collins in Left to Die (2014, Flanker Press). Known as “The Story Man” in his native Newfoundland, Mr.… Continue reading
This book is part of the “Stories of Our Past” series published by Nimbus. The look and feel of this book is very polished. It is only a little over 120 pages, but Mr. Casey manages to condense a full lifetime of Captain Slocum’s adventures and trials into these few pages.… Continue reading