A Voyage For Madmen - Softcover

Nichols, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060957034 ISBN 13: 9780060957032

Publisher: HarperPerennial, 2002

Synopsis

In 1968, nine sailors set off on the most daring race ever held: to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. It was a feat that had never been accomplished and one that would forever change the face of sailing. Ten months later, only one of the nine men would cross the finish line and earn fame, wealth, and glory. For the others, the reward was madness, failure, and death.

In this extraordinary book, Peter Nichols chronicles a contest of the individual against the sea, waged at a time before cell phones, satellite dishes, and electronic positioning systems. A Voyage for Madmen is a tale of sailors driven by their own dreams and demons, of horrific storms in the Southern Ocean, and of those riveting moments when a split-second decision means the difference between life and death.

About this title

Review:

Rich with excitement, accomplished, gripping and authoritative, A Voyage for Madmen is the story of the yachting tournament from hell written by a man who is himself a gifted sailor as well as writer.

Peter Nichols' previous book, Sea Change, was the telling account of his own crossing of the Atlantic in a ridiculously small wooden boat. Now he's taken the skills he employed in that much-praised slice of autobiography to relay another quixotic tale. The subject this time is the infamous Golden Globe yacht race of 1968, when nine men, some French, some English, all bonkers (hence the title), undertook the most challenging adventure of their lives. The goal was to sail around the world solo, a feat no one had yet achieved; to make matters just that extra bit tricky some of the sailors were total novices.

The book analyses the fate of each sailor in turn. Using polished, craftsman-like, clear and sometimes moving prose, Nichols describes how the nine fought through storms and collisions, through the roaring 40s and the furious 50s, and how each man experienced those moments of solitary despair, lonely disappointment and occasional mystical elation that are unique to long-haul solo sailing. One of the most commendable features of the book is the way Nichols discusses the technical side of yachtsmanship with verve and passion without ever turning into an anorak. This is a fine and absorbing true-life tragicomedy, suitable for landlubbers and sea dogs alike. --Sean Thomas

Review:

"Reads like a suspense novel."--Booklist

"Fascinating...A great story...an excellent examination of the world's first nonstop, solo race around the world."--San Diego Union Tribune

"A haunting story...[that] succeeds on the grandest scale."--The Oregonian

"A riveting account of the triumphant human spirit."--Publishers Weekly

"Spellbinding."--Wall Street Journal

"Extraordinary ...One of the most gripping sea stories I have ever read."--Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperPerennial
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0060957034
• ISBN 13: 9780060957032
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336