Dana (The Harvard Classics)

I know many people cringe at the thought of reading a narrative that seems to greatly resemble Moby Dick, but I tell you this better than Moby Dick and easy makes it into my top ten books I have ever read! Occassionally the text bogs down in obscure sailing terms, but that is an exception and not a rule, otherwise, it is sheer poetry and lights the fire of wonder of exploration, and makes a sea voyage from almost 200 years ago spring to life. I give you my favorite short little passage, which explains it so much better. "So quiet too, was the sea, and so steady the breeze, that if the sails had been sculptured marble they could not have been more motionless. Not a ripple upon the surface of the canvas; not even a quivering of the extreme edges of the sail, so perfectly were they distended by the breeze. I was so lost in the sight that I forgot the presence of the man who came out with me, until he said, 'How quietly they do their work!'" Dana so perfectly described sea life you will be a part of the crew, you will feel his fear, his wonder, his joy and his awe. You will not regret reading this, philosophy disguised as a travelogue, a must-read!