Shaw has done it again! David captures the personalities of the men who designed, built and raced America. This isn't a story about the most famous Yacht race the United States ever participated in, it's a story about the human spirit, and nerves men had years ago to cross oceans and take on all comers. you think the race started in England, think again. As pilot captains these men knew how to race to earn a living; it was their way of life. Read no more of this review. Purchase the book and read a fascinating account of what became the greates sailing race of all time. You'll be surprised where America ultimately met her fate.

Two intrepid men set out to row across the Atlantic, at a time when new exploits were filling the news. The two men thought their feat, if successful, would bring them fame and fortune. Being life long watermen, they were well suited to the daunting task, and it was a near-deadly challenge! David Shaw masterfully captures the dangers of storms at sea and the physical and emotional challenges involved. The men were Norwegian immigrants to the US and were having a difficult time earning a living in the 1890s. The idea of rowing across the Atlantic seemed to be within their capabilities and might possiblty be a path toward 'real money'. Against all odds, in an open, small row-boat, they succeeded. But they never excited the imagination of the public and their gains never materialized. If you like adventures and challenge writing, or if you like sea stories, this is for you.

Great read--Shaw really paints a vivid and compelling picture of what Harbo & Samuelsen must have gone through in their row across the Atlantic. My only complaint is that there were too many visits to the psychological side, which can only be pure speculation. A little bit of psych spec is good, but he went back to the well too often. Still, a very good book. Makes me feel like a wimp for cancelling my planned row across Lake Michigan!

In 1997, my cousin Jerry Bryant wrote a wonderful sea shanty/folksong simply titled "The Ballad of Harbo and Samuelson - a tribute to these two remarkable men after Jerry had completed a lot of research (but not as much as Mr. Shaw). "We'll see you in France or we'll see you in heaven, cried Harbo and Samuelson out on the bay" goes the chorus. After hearing this song, I began looking for more on this voyage, that as one previous reviewer of this book said, "has been kept a remarkable secret". And I found it in this book. Anyone with a thirst for doing the impossible, with a taste for adventure, and an amazement at the human spirit, will enjoy this book immensely - I read it in one night.

A very informative and gripping story about sailing clipper ships "around the horn" in the 1850's. Ellen Creesy was truly a woman ahead of her time who, as navigator of the Flying Cloud, stood along side her husband, Perkins, in setting a world record of 89 days for passage from New York to San Francisco. This book gives a good idea about what life was like aboard ship, not just for the officers and crew, but also for the passengers. It took an intrepid person to embark on such a journey, willing to face unknown dangers and take enormous risk. David Shaw has done an excellent job in a compelling and well-written account of one such voyage.

If we are to avoid repeating the mistakes of history, we need to continue our attempts at understanding how people lived; How did they feel about their surroundings? What kinds of personal conflicts or demons did they face?

In this excellent chronicle of the maiden voyage of Flying Cloud, Shaw takes plenty of liberty in trying to piece together the feelings, fears and motivations of the Captain, his navigator/spouse and other characters.

While many would argue that historical accuracy is sacrificed to make the story interesting or that Shaw's lengthy dialogues from the character's thoughts and perceptions are totally contrived, I would stress that these insights may allow many who do not have prior historical background to appreciate the economic impact of the clipper ship on the rapid expansion of the American economic engine of the 19th century.

While this does certainly limit the credibility of this book for pure historical research, Shaw's writing style serves to bring the excitement and risk of the voyage into a more reasonable and understandable perspective than most "pure" historical accounts ever could.

If the reader seeks a broader understanding of the impact of the era of the Clippers and their ultimate demise to the domination of the steamship, then this book is a welcome supplement to the bibliography.

This book is a must read that will appeal to a wide range of readers. Any one who has a love of sailing will be immediately swept away by this tale of the great clipper ship Flying Cloud and her maiden voyage from NYC to San Francisco. At the time of her first voyage, the Panama Canal had not been built yet and ships had to sail all the way around South America and the feared Cape Horn. Flying Cloud set a new-world record of just under 90 days on her first trip. She would later better her own record. The author does a wonderful job of describing the conditions of sail and the perils and problems faced by the captain, and the crew.

The armchair sailor, without much experience but a desire to dream of distant places will also enjoy this book as it takes you on a remarkable trip on the high seas. The writing is clear and descriptive and makes it easy to close your eyes and imagine yourself standing on the pitching deck or climbing the slippery ratlines to reef the sails. The author has included descriptions within the narrative (and a glossary) that make it easy for a landlubber to understand the nautical references describing the actions taking place. In fact, I learned that "dead reckoning" is actually short for "deduced reckoning" - see the book to learn more!

For the history buff, this book is a wonderful depiction of the clipper ships that played such a big part in Americas past. Not only that, but the Cloud's navigator was the captain's wife - which was truly remarkable considering that the Victorian era was a man's world that allowed women very few freedoms or liberties.

This book is a work of history that actually reads like a best-selling work of fiction. The author has captured the danger, excitement and adventure in compelling detail. Once begun it was impossible to put down. I recommend it highly.

This book contains a fact-based account of a tragic accident in the Grand Banks in 1854. The US steamship Arctic, charging through the fog at top speed (as was customary in the days when transatlantic speed records were a matter of national pride), collided with a smaller but hardier ship that ripped a fatal wound in Arctic's hull. Captain Luce made a mad dash for land, but there wasn't enough time to save his ship, and Arctic was seriously lacking in lifeboats. This desperate situation brought out the worst in some of the crew, whose cowardly actions helped cause the death of every woman and child on the ship (so much for the idea of noble seafarers). The crew wasn't the only problem; try to imagine the dread that passengers felt as they blew up inflatable life jackets only to see the defective items deflate seconds later. The ensuing chaos in which over 300 people died is described by the author in gruesome detail.

So why give this book only two measly stars? I should say that the author obviously has a vast knowledge of and love for the sea. But his writing style is ponderous and overblown, especially in the first half of the book when nothing much is happening. It is as if Mr. Shaw is afraid we will lose interest, so he empties his thesaurus in our general direction. The book is stuffed to the gills with pointless adjectives, blatant foreshadowing, and mind-melting statements such as "At sea, the ceaseless motion, the salt in the air, and the relentless ocean swells transport one's sense of identity, some say to the sublime." Huh?

Adding to my discomfort is the fact that although this book is advertised as a historical account, much of the filler material leading up to the collision is fabricated. Captain Luce isn't around anymore to tell us whether he "walked to the rail and gazed off into the gloom, shivering slightly from the dampness." We can imagine that Luce might have done that, but by blurring this and other hypothetical statements with the facts, Shaw has transformed the real-life captain into a boring fictional character. I didn't care about Luce as much as some of the other more minor but more real people in the book because I figured he would be back for the sequel.

I continued reading past about page 40 only because I wanted to see how bad the book could get. Fortunately, I was rewarded for my "patience" with a compelling description of Arctic's last hours. The horror of the events finally catches up to the horror of Shaw's writing around page 95. If you're going to buy the book, start reading at that point and spare yourself the harrowing experience I had.

I found this book to be a well written account of a tragic maritime accident. Captain Luce, the captain of the SS Arctic, comes alive on the pages. His love for his disabled son comes across strongly and makes Luce human across the distance of 150 years. The book introduces us to a time when the American shipping industry (taking advantage of the British being occupied with the Crimean War) led the world in transatlantic shipping. The author shows us how the competitive nature of the time to always be the fastest led to the disaster. When the tragedy strikes and the ship is damaged, the author brings the disaster to life as we see the crew abandoning women and children (not a single woman or child survived the sinking) as they steal the few lifeboats the ship carried. It is in discussing the events after the sinking where the book fails in my opinion. Nothing was done to punish the crew and the author doesn't really explain why the maritime courts never sought out the crew for punishment. Overall, however, the book is well written and informative.

It's always refreshing to find a book that tells me about a little known incident in American history. This book, concerning the 1854 sinking of the steamship Arctic, is one of those books. As an added bonus, it's extremely well-written, reading almost as if it were a novel. There are a lot of nautical terms thrown about, but there is a glossary to help those, like myself, who are unfamiliar with them. We get a capsule history of the Great Race across the Atlantic between competing British and American companies, and a bit about ship design 150 years ago, when most were wooden, with side paddle wheels. The story about the collision of the Arctic with another ship, and the subsequent tragedy that happened because many crew members ignored the adage "women and children first" is heartbreaking. The astonishing survival of some of the folks from the ship, including the captain, is quite riveting, in large part because of the excellent writing involved. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to others.

This book is so pointless that it's enraging. It looks like the author wrote it over the weekend after surfing a few personal homepages on some couple's frugal weddings. If you have never even considered what it means to work with a budget, this book could /possibly/ be helpful. But otherwise it is all trite, commonsense, insubstantial advice. A superficial book that barely skims over the surface of the topic. I found absolutely nothing helpful or new in this book. Please do yourself a favor and put the $ towards a copy of "Bridal Bargains", which provides an in-depth look at planning a wedding on a budget, with real-life examples and actual resources.