Sailing Alone Around the World

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 1,573 ratings

Price: 12.8

Last update: 12-23-2024


About this item

Challenged by an expert who said it couldn’t be done, Joshua Slocum, a fearless New England sea captain, set out in April 1895 to prove that a man could sail alone around the world. A little over three years and forty-six thousand miles later, the proof was complete. This is Slocum’s own account of his remarkable adventures during the historic voyage of the Spray.

Whether Slocum was more accomplished as a writer or sailor is hard to say. His writing style is fast paced, witty, and exhilarating, an absorbing match to his harrowing adventures - adventures that included being chased by Moorish pirates off Gibraltar; escaping a fleet of hostile canoes; being submerged by a great wave off the Patagonian coast; an encounter with Black Pedro, “the worst murderer in Tierra del Fuego”; and foiling a nocturnal attack by savages by strewing carpet tacks on the Spray’s deck.

Captain Joshua Slocum (1844–1909) was the first person to circle the globe alone entirely by sea. This remarkable achievement made Slocum the most famous North American sailor of all time.


Top reviews from the United States

  • csrussian53
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love This Book - Why?
    Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2021
    My maiden name is Slocum, and Joshua Slocum is a distant relative. My father was his great nephew which would make me his great, great niece - I think!! So, when I have a friend who is a sailor, I always buy her/him this book. It's quite technical, and it is NOT an autobiography. There are other books written by Joshua and his son that tell his life story, which is very interesting - and I would say this even if I where not a Slocum. Getting back to this book, he tells how he sailed around the world alone on a sloop called the "Spray" which was hardly even sea-worthy. I have read this book several times, and am always amazed how he lived to tell the tale. His adventures in this endeavor were truly a marvel...now that I think of it, why hasn't someone made a movie out of his adventures, not only sailing around the world alone, but his other adventures on the "high seas?"

    STORY: Years ago, my husband to be took me to meet his uncle in Cape Cod, MA. He was a sailor with a 42' teak sail boat. He reluctantly - at the "encouragement" of his wife - took us out for a quick sail. When I walked down the steep steps into the cabin there was a sign that said, "SLOCUM WAS RIGHT." When I asked him if he was acquainted with Joshua, I instantly became his favorite niece! He was wearing a belt that he had someone needlepoint for him that had the phrase, "SLOCUM WAS RIGHT" written all around it. He also had every book written by Joshua and his son and anyone else who had written anything about him. Every time we went to Cape Cod, we would visit Uncle John, and he would take my husband and me (or sometimes just me) for a sail (No encouragement needed!!). He always wanted to know anything I might have picked up about Joshua, which wasn't much, but I was privy to a few bits of information not written in the books!!

    Finally, if you love being on the ocean, or adventures on the high seas, this book and all the others about Joshua Slocum are worth a read.
  • David R. Ward
    5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2021
    This is one of those books that is simply fun to read. It is an amazing story of an adventure told simply and in a matter of fact way without hyperbole or pomposity. It makes you feel that you, personally, can accomplish major undertakings by doing every day tasks methodically, well and with study and preparation.

    The wiring style is clearly that of over a hundred years ago, yet easy and enjoyable to read. My only criticism is the narration. This is an American story. Why is it being read by someone with an English accent? And I sometimes have a hard time understanding the narrator.
  • Tarancela
    4.0 out of 5 stars A further addition to my own dreams
    Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2013
    I have always wanted to read this book having so often dreamt of doing some serious long distance sailing myself - but never having had the courage to put my dreams into practice. Joshua Slocum's story is that of a truly amazing man who is resourceful, has incredible stamina, is truly courageous under the most adverse weather conditions and to cap it all obviously had a wonderful manner about him that encouraged so many people around the world to fete him and assist him in so many ways at his many ports of call.
    My only criticism of reading the book on our Kindle is that that device does not allow images such as line plans of the "Spray" to be magnified along with the text. A small complaint and not one that impaired my enjoyment of the book and the racing of my imagination as I followed Mr Slocum across the oceans.
  • DaveF
    5.0 out of 5 stars Slocum's skill, resourcefulness, and courage are simply astounding!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2015
    Joshua Slocum was the first person to sail completely around the world alone! The voyage lasted three years and approximately 46,000 miles; and was accomplished on a 36' ordinary wooden sloop (The 'Spray'), typical of the 1890's. He kept a journal of the experience and that was pretty much the sole basis of his book. His fortitude (months spent totally alone), skill, resourcefulness, and above all - courage are simply astounding. He encountered hostile natives, pirates, terrific storms, uncharted hazards, and more. Although he gained some considerable fame for the accomplishment, his story is now pretty obscure.
    The book is not a towering feat of literature. Slocum was a skilled sailor and handyman, not an accomplished writer. But his simple, straightforward style is easy and enjoyable to read. And the events of his journey, told in a matter-of-fact style, are nothing short of amazing. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in sailing, history, or simply the sea and seafaring.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Around The World In...
    Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2024
    Holy Moly! Imagine taking an old sloop, just under 37 feet long, that was hanging upright in someone's barn, fixing her up, adding new planking and caulking, and then sailing around the world... alone! That's what Joshua Slocum did from 1895 to 1898.

    Picture it: He left the New England area, went up to Nova Scotia (that's where he was born), then sailed across the Atlantic and down and to Gibraltar (he left from there quickly because pirates were on to him), then back across the Atlantic to Brazil, then down along and stopping at cities along the South American continent, then through the Strait of Magellan, then back down again around the Horn and back up to and through the strait a second time, attacked by Indians, then a stop-over at Juan Fernandez's Island (Robinson Crusoe's Island), then across the Pacific to many of the islands (Marquesa, the Friendly Isles) in the south Pacific, to Auckland, then up the east coast of and north of Australia, across the Indian Ocean, and around the Cape of Good Hope, then back up diagonally the entire length from south to north of the Atlantic Ocean... and home. Three years and over 46,000 miles later!

    Slocum was married, and one must wonder if the Missus wanted him to leave when he left, and more so, after three years when she heard he was soon to return, if she wanted him to return, lol.
    What an adventure!

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