Each piece is photographed in colour and/or Black & White, discussed and given brief measurements. The "disembled" photos are of great use to anyone who wishes to reconstruct any of the items from the book, as well as satisfying the just plain curious. Some of the gadgets are fantastic.

Unfortunately, like most books of this type, the author is limited by the pieces that he can access within a year or two. I know there were 'Campaign' folding rocking chairs, and I an certain that there are other examples of furniture, with other systems of assembly ( Louis Vouton made a folding-bed-in-a-trunk for the Brazza Expedition in Africa in the late 1800's which survives - there is a single picture in 'Treasure Chests').

I can only hope that the author will be encouraged to keep looking & photographing, and that we may see a second volume in years to come.

Sorry Amazon, you just don't have enough stars........

Devoid of any attempt to overanalyze, the authors start this book with an account of Crowhurst's early years. The daredevil character that is portrayed is well in line with a personality that would feel challenged by an impossible task like the one facing Crowhurst later. On top of that, the recurrent theme of a person breaking into new territory to leave tangled situations behind gives an important clue to his behavior under the stress of his sailing voyage.

Having burned his bridges and created a presumed win or lose all situation, Crowhurst sets out ill-prepared on a partially finished boat, that has already shown clear design flaws and was put together in too much of a hurry. Rather than face obvious defeat Crowhurst chooses the risk and the impossible mission of sailing around the world. Although he initially tries to make the most of the situation, he soon realizes that he will not win the race and possibly not survive a trip through the rough waters beyond the Cape. In a Shakespearean 'to be or not to be situation' this Hamlet decides to perpetrate fraud rather than admitting failure. Making up false nautical positions along the way and forced to radio silence not to give away true position, Cowhurst never leaves the Atlantic Ocean, makes some repairs in Argentina and bides his time while some competitors drop out or make real progress. Ending up in winning position Crowhurst turns himself in a real life Raskolnikov and philosophizes himself into madness and ultimately suicide.

Especially, since the approach in this book is entirely journalistic, analytical and objective this story gives a rare detailed 'play-by-play' account of someone going of the deep end. Based on a twisted interpretation of a line in Einstein's own book on Relativity, decent skills in mathematics and analytical reasoning and quite a bit of creativity, Crowhurst sets his mind on a track that degenerates in self destruction. While this is in no way the first account of advancing psychopathology, both Crowhurst isolation and hardships and the impossible task he has set himself make this a heart wrenching story. Thanks to the excellent introduction there is ample indication that both Crowhurst nurture and nature on the one hand, and Mother Nature on the other, provided him with a challenge he failed to meet.

Thanks to the journalistic approach and excellent writing this story is still gripping in a world whose technical advances have made a repetition of Crowhurst's attempt at pulling a fast one all but impossible. Thus, the portrayal of the sailor's slow mental degradation competes with the very best accounts in fiction.

This is not a sailing book -- it is a detective story about what pressure and isolation can do to the human mind. The authors do a wonderful job of assembling and presenting the evidence.

It doesn't matter at all that you know the complete story before you start: A guy's marriage and business ventures are in shambles; he hoodwinks a town into building him a bad plywood trimaran for an around-the-world race; he gets scared and fakes everything by staying in the Atlantic and sailing in circles; he goes nuts and walks overboard.
An amazing study of the human mind under pressure -- I commend the authors.

This book will shake you up. The necessary antidote is "The Long Way" by Bernard Moitessier, a lyrical story about the same race by the man who was winning it, but was so raptured by the Deep that he forfeited the prize and just kept on sailing...

Nor did I want to become the kind of mother who emasculated her son. His father was out of the picture, for our own safety. I did not want him to grow up like so many of the men I saw around me. I wanted him to discover and unfold whoever he really was, and I wanted him to be happy with that.

Now, he is 24 years old, and we are so close it scares us sometimes. I wonder if I was wrong, and he assures me that though it was difficult, he's sure that I was right. He can make me laugh with his magnificent insight into my soul, he sees things about me that no one else can see ... and sometimes, I swear he doesn't see me at all, even though he's sure he does. And then there is that terrible awkwardness when we push each other away because neither one of us wants to suffocate the other...

Such is the beauty of this book. Written from the point of view of a loving and devoted son, I now have a much clearer sense of the cautious territory in which I am privileged to tread. Written like the true love story that it is, Weinstock puts words together so beautifully (with the help of his mom ;-) that I no longer feel like I am walking blindly into a mine field. I understand the rhyme and reason of this madness that pulls us together while it keeps us apart, and I have a clearer sense of what to expect. I may not agree with everything the man says about the inevitable definition of what it means to be a man, but I can respect it, because if I cannot respect the man's point of view, I have no business mothering a son at all. It's been a tightrope walk from the beginning. Thanks to the awesome gift of this author, I am no longer walking on eggs.

This is a book that will stay with you. I've read it over and over again and I never get tired of Van Pallandt's witty and humorous prose.

Pastoral was written during WWII, and from a purely British viewpoint, unlike so many of the war books that were written long after the conflict by so many Americans. As such there is a totally different atmosphere to this book, a quietness, an acceptance of the conditions and requirements of the war as just something that is there, part of the daily routine. And it is within this atmosphere that Neville constructs a fine love story between the very experienced bomber pilot Peter Marshal (at age 22!) and a W.A.A.F signals officer, Gervase Robertson.

As perhaps is typical for war-time love stories, the war itself provides the conflict, the friction between the lovers, as Peter is duty-bound to continue flying bombing missions, and Gervase believes her own duties are important to the course of the war, and should not be given up merely to get married. Her decline of Peter's offer of marriage sends Peter into a mental tail-spin, seriously impacting his efficiency as a flyer. How this conflict is resolved and the events that happen because of this conflict form the main portion of this book. Before reaching that point, however, we are treated to a view of English morality and customs of the day, a code that says one mustn't go off alone with a member of the opposite sex, that married woman are expected to keep house, not have jobs, where the woman must defer to the man. A view that might seem dreadfully stifling and old-fashioned to a reader of today's world, but it shown in such a non-obtrusive way that the reader can accept it without question. Until, that is, the reader finishes the book, and realizes that Neville has been quietly showing (and mildly satirizing) both the good and bad qualities of such a code. This is typical of Nevil's writing - his points are made far more by showing, rather than telling, always a mark of a fine writer. Also noteworthy is the attitude towards the war that is displayed by all the characters here - that death is an everyday happening, but it won't happen to me, it only happens to someone else. An attitude that seems to belong to every young person.

Nevil's prose style tends towards the descriptive, especially of the countryside and everyday actions. His dialogue in this book is loaded with English slang, very typical of actual speech patterns of the day, but this does at times make it somewhat hard for the poor modern American reader to decode what is being said. And some of Nevil's expertise as an avionics engineer shows in his descriptions of the aircraft and the functioning of various parts of these machines, at times obviously assuming that reader knows more about aircraft than is normally the case. These, however, are very minor negatives, almost totally subsumed by the engagement of the reader in the story of these two very well realized characters.

One decided negative that has nothing to do with Nevil's writing ability is the production quality of the hardbound reprint edition. The typeface used is very close to an old typewriter font, with thin serifs and a fairly small point size, and the printing press seemed to have severe difficulty with maintaining an even ink flow - at places the print fades to near illegibility. This all makes for a very rough impact on your eyes. A pity that this fine work has such a botched job of production.

Regardless of the quality of the printing, however, this book deserves a look, if nothing else just to see how a romance really should be written, as opposed to the [junk] that passes for 'romance' on the book racks of today.

The story takes place in the midst of world war II terror and describes, in spellbinding detail, the flight missions over Germany, the dangers of cross fire and courage, during times when others have fear.

Peter's cockiness (not always at the right times), competence (in dodging enemy fire and bringing his crew home), and courage (in face of danger) win the reader's heart and make him a hero at his home station, even though he comes very close to losing is all: his aircraft, his crew and Gervase.

A marvelous story, despite its unusual start: catching a fish!

Perhaps this is Nevil Shute's best; his detail about the cold technicalities of cockpit war activity, set against the depths of an unforgettable love story makes "Pastoral" stand out above anything to be imagined. He just never ceases to surprise his readers!