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  • Published: 15 February 2015
  • ISBN: 9780099526292
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $32.99
Categories:

Down To The Sea In Ships

Of Ageless Oceans and Modern Men




Acclaimed nature writer Horatio Clare travels the great oceans on cargo ships, and witnesses the collision of two temperaments: man and the sea

'Magnificent' Robert Macfarlane

Winner of the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year

Our lives depend on shipping but it is a world which is largely hidden from us. In every lonely corner of every sea, through every night, every day, and every imaginable weather, tiny crews of seafarers work the giant ships which keep landed life afloat. These ordinary men live extraordinary lives, subject to dangers and difficulties we can only imagine, from hurricanes and pirates to years of confinement in hazardous, if not hellish, environments. Horatio Clare joins two container ships on their epic voyages across the globe and experiences unforgettable journeys. As the ships cross seas of history and incident, seafarers unfold the stories of their lives, and a beautiful and terrifying portrait of the oceans and their human subjects emerges.

'Tremendous' The Times

  • Published: 15 February 2015
  • ISBN: 9780099526292
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • RRP: $32.99
Categories:

About the author

Horatio Clare

Horatio Clare is the bestselling author of numerous books including the memoirs Running for the Hills and Truant and the travel books A Single Swallow, Down to the Sea in Ships, Orison for a Curlew, Icebreaker and The Light in the Dark. His books for children include Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot and Aubrey and the Terrible Ladybirds. Horatio’s essays and reviews appear on BBC radio and in the Financial Times, the Observer and the Spectator, among other publications. He lives with his family in West Yorkshire.

Also by Horatio Clare

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Praise for Down To The Sea In Ships

Stupendous and extraordinarily exciting... What Clare demonstrates, even beyond his undoubted gifts as writer, is his basic humanity. I read his wonderful book with gratitude for his insight – but also with increased admiration for the men to whom we owe almost everything in our comfortable and secure lives

Philip Hoare, Times Higher Education

Rich and dense, full of old sea-dog stories, with barely a word wasted, it’s a triumph of quiet artistry

Marcus Berkmann, Daily Mail

This is a warm and lyrical book about a tough trade in tough times

Sara Wheeler, Observer

Wonderful... Clare’s writing is fluid, light and eminently readable, but perhaps his greatest asset is his empathy

Philip Hoare, Sunday Telegraph

A lyrical, heartfelt but eye-opening chronicle... Both romantic and realistic, written from the heart but crafted with a seafarer’s "passionate precision", [Clare’s] book will steer you into the new year on a course that may deepen your grasp both of that world, and of ourselves

Boyd Tonkin, Independent

[A] beautifully written account of seafaring life

Ian Critchley, Sunday Times

Clare’s powers of plain description are tremendous

Libby Purves, The Times

A fabulous account... There is Conradian insight in Clare’s portrayal of the crews to which he is supernumerary, from the captain who hums as he negotiates narrow channels to the first mate constantly crunching carrots

Giles Foden, Condé Nast Traveller

There remains something majestic and timeless about the sailor’s life, captured here in moments of pure poetry

Alex Saril, UK Press Syndication

Remarkable... Clare has the two essential qualities of a good travel writer: a sharp observing eye and a generous spirit

Jane Shilling, Evening Standard

An epic and lyrical adventure in which Clare naturally recalls Melville, Conrad, Masefield and Coleridge to evoke a way of life that is so entwined with, yet alien to, our own

Carl Wilkinson, Financial Times

A lyrical but eye-opening chronicle

i

Clare's reportage is exemplary... He offers a fascinating insight into the often uncomfortable realities of an industry that relies on the cheap labour of Filipinos

Andrzej Lukowski, Metro

Encounters with crew members are interspersed with allusions to seafarers literary and historical. Clare's prose is at its most lyrical, however, describing the endlessly changing seascapes all around him

Oliver Smith, Lonely Planet Traveller

A true account of a remarkable journey by the extremely talented Welsh writer

Western Mail

[Clare] is a wonderfully energetic travel writer, as buoyant as a cork in a high sea

Saga

As wonderful as it can be terrifying, this glimpse into a seldom seen world cannot be missed!

UK Press Syndication

Acutely observed and surprisingly moving... Clare’s writing everywhere is of the highest order, assured, probing and alert. But it is his ability to convey the strange effect on the human spirit of being at sea that raises the book above the ordinary

Philip Marsden, Spectator

A smooth, compelling narrative. Above all, [Clare is] good company: sharp-eyed, empathetic, amused and endearing

Maggie Fergusson, Intelligent Life

A fascinating study of big businesses afloat, this is a moving tribute to those who live and work on the great waters far from land

Western Morning News

Somehow, Clare manages to describe these clunking behemoths of the ocean in exquisite, often poetic language… Unexpectedly riveting

Nic Bottomley, Bath Life

With an obsessive attention to detail, Clare captures the tales, trials and musings of mariners that would otherwise be lost to the tides

Food and Travel

Reading the account of [Clare’s] travels I am transported back to the bridge, and the sea, and the salt spray of the ocean

Helen Sampson, Guardian

A fascinating study into the realities of big business afloat and of humanity in extreme conditions

Welsh Coastal Life

We highly recommend it

Shiptalk

Wonderful… Clare’s account of his journeys with the officers and crews of container ships is gripping and stomach-churning in equal measure

Daily Telegraph

If you can't run away to sea (though I recommend you do), Clare's book is a warm and captivating companion to it

Guardian

This is far more than a travelogue. Packed with acute observations and sprinkled with historical seafaring tales, it’s a wonderful, insightful read

Julia Richardson, Daily Mail

[Clare] brilliantly evokes a way of life that is unfamiliar to most people, but essential to all our daily lives

Good Book Guide