Rating: 
Summary: When The Sirens Sing
Review: Ernest Gann has written a memoir of what happens when you hear the Sirens singing and follow them. I loved this book as the sea-going counterpart to his marvelous memoir of flight, Fate Is the Hunter; there's the same wrily witty, compassionate observations on the vicissitudes of the sea and those who sail upon it, particularly himself, the same amused humility in the face of the perversities and miracles of chance, whether they be a failing engine at the height of a tempest, intransigent bureaucrats of the Panama Canal, a balsa raft costing less than sixteen dollars which can leave a scientifically designed catamaran in its wake, or a wild voice singing in the Greek Islands. Whether recounting desperation in a great storm off the Oregon coast, or the nostalgic reminiscenses of his earlier sailing boats and shipmates, or the languid monotony of a long tropical ocean passage, or the nature and the workings of what he terms the 'Dock Committee' (which has membership worldwide), even the time he was masterfully conned by a crafty old sailor on the wharves of New York, Gann maintains a close and humorously affectionate eye on the sometimes clear, sometimes problematical, but always interesting relationships between the mundane acts of everyday and the greater universe which lurks behind every common act and thought.Above all, there is in Sirens, as in all his books whether fic or nonfic, a love of the sea, of boats, of living fully in and of the world and of us frail, fallible and funny humans in it. In Fate Is the Hunter, it is the world of the air and those who fly; in Song of the Sirens, the sea. A wonderful read.
Rating:
Summary: A masterfully written true adventure.
Review: Ernest K. Gann is, quite simply, a great writer. In Song of the Sirens he writes about his adventures aboard the many ships he has owned. His writing skill takes the reader, even a landlubber like me, along with him to experience what it is like to ride out a storm 50 miles off the coast of Oregon in a fishing trawler or to sail across the Atlantic Ocean with an old, rusty, leaky training boat with a suspect engine. The book is slanted more for the boating afficionado. While he does explain some of the technical terms, a lot of them are obviously for someone who knows sailboats. There are no pictures, either. Pictures of the ships (not boats because, as he explains in the book, a boat is carried by a ship)would have been helpful. All in all, though, this book will greatly appeal to Ernest K. Gann fans, those who enjoy adventure stories, and those who enjoy sailing stories.
Rating:
Summary: A masterfully written true adventure.
Review: Ernest K. Gann is, quite simply, a great writer. In Song of the Sirens he writes about his adventures aboard the many ships he has owned. His writing skill takes the reader, even a landlubber like me, along with him to experience what it is like to ride out a storm 50 miles off the coast of Oregon in a fishing trawler or to sail across the Atlantic Ocean with an old, rusty, leaky training boat with a suspect engine. The book is slanted more for the boating afficionado. While he does explain some of the technical terms, a lot of them are obviously for someone who knows sailboats. There are no pictures, either. Pictures of the ships (not boats because, as he explains in the book, a boat is carried by a ship)would have been helpful. All in all, though, this book will greatly appeal to Ernest K. Gann fans, those who enjoy adventure stories, and those who enjoy sailing stories.
Rating:
Summary: A must for every sailor and/or lover of good writing
Review: Ernie Gann takes the reader along on his life long love of the sea. The only books of comparable quality are those he wrote about his other great love---flying. You will be enthralled!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent sea and sailing yarns
Review: I read as many sea and sailing stories as I can get my hands on. This is one of the best. Read the other rave reviews here of this book--they pretty much say it all.
I would just emphasize that this is one of the few contemporary sailing books that has a lot about sailing square rigged boats.
Also an interesting twist is that Gann's Albatros is the boat that Sheldon lost in White Squall.
Rating:
Summary: A witty, gripping account of Gann's adventures at sea.
Review: I'm a frequent reader of Gann's aviation fare but I was equally captivated by this account of his adventures at sea. I read this book when I was about 16 years old and was moved by Gann's vivid description of life on the ocean amid both fair weather and foul. Gann's love for the beauty and vagarities of ships and the sea permeates this fine novel.
Rating:
Summary: The nautical side to E.K. Gann
Review: I've read several book by Ernie Gann and being a pilot I was in awe of Mr. Gann's story telling ability in "Fate is the Hunter" and thought this is surely the best autobiography ever written. Now having read "Song of Sirens" I have to re-evaluate this opinion. It makes you want to run out and buy a boat!
Rating:
Summary: The nautical side to E.K. Gann
Review: I've read several book by Ernie Gann and being a pilot I was in awe of Mr. Gann's story telling ability in "Fate is the Hunter" and thought this is surely the best autobiography ever written. Now having read "Song of Sirens" I have to re-evaluate this opinion. It makes you want to run out and buy a boat!
Rating:
Summary: An absolute MUST for anyone who loves sailing!
Review: If you love the sea and sailing, you won't be able to put this one down.
Rating:
Summary: An impassioned account of sailing and seafaring.
Review: This is one of the most impassioned accounts of seafaring you will ever read, and all the more enjoyable because it is beautifully written. Gann's love of seafaring (especially sailing his beloved square rigger ALBATROS) is told in a style which is authentic, witty, obsessive, intelligent and charming. Gann eventually sold ALBATROS, which met a tragic end as portrayed in the movie WHITE SQUALL. An altogether captivating book, a must for anyone who loves the sea and sailing.
|
