October book of the month - very readable account and great for sailors

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Product Description

Harvey Cheyne is the over-indulged son of a millionaire. When he falls overboard from an ocean liner her is rescued by a Portuguese fisherman and, initially against his will, joins the crew of the We're Here for a summer. Through the medium of an exciting adventure story, Captains Courageous (1897) deals with a boy who, like Mowgli in The Jungle Book, is thrown into an entirely alien environment.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #259183 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author
Rudyard Kipling, (1865-1936), English short-story writer, novelist and poet. Kipling was the first Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (1907). His most popular works include The Jungle Book (1894) and the Just So Stories (1902), both children's classics though they have attracted adult audiences also. John Seelye is a Graduate research Professor of American literature at the University of Florida. He is the author of two novels and a number of books dealing with American culture from the colonial period to the twentieth century.

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Customer Reviews

The Great American Novel - As Written by an Englishman
Kipling is difficult to figure. On the one hand we have his notoriety (to a large extent deserved) as an unrepentant imperialist. On the other hand stands the Kipling who spoke fluent Hindi, wrote virulent criticisms of British imperial rule, & was even, for the latter reason, politely shown the door from British India for a while.

In that line it would be easy to claim that Captains Courageous - ostensibly a wholly *American* novel about the maturing of a rich Californian boy on a Massachusets fishing ship - has nothing to do with British imperialism - or at least with the reasons Kipling was obsessed with it.

This isn't quite true. His familiar ideal, of self-reliance earned by strenuous, often manual endeavour, supervised by stern but benevolent mentors, animates Captains Courageous. But the trick in this case is that whether or not you endorse Kipling's message, you can largely abstract from it & enjoy a simply excellent story, beautifully written.

The novel opens as young Harvey falls overboard from his pampering mother & a luxury liner, almost into the arms of a Portuguese fisherman, part of Captain Troop's crew. Harvey first tries his old brat antics, but regrets it, & as Troop's son Dan has quickly taken to this unexpected companion, he is gradually taught the wearisome, but organic team work required on a cod schooner. The practice of the time - individualistic only on appearance - was that each of a ship's fishermen would row out, from the anchored mother ship, in his personal little boat or "dory", & get his large catch with hooks & baits.

Later we learn how unimaginably dangerous this livelihood is, but what Harvey doesn't know doesn't hurt him, & he soon proves a very acceptable member of the crew.

The relation between Harvey & his own father is picked up only late in the novel. The rich Cheyne Sr proves fully equal to the frugal Captain Troop - or is he entirely equal? Kipling may have left that judgment to the reader.

Either way, the story would be intolerable without Kipling's flair for minute details & dialogue, effectively "discovering" the New England cod schooner of the 19th Century. Just as Melville, with Moby Dick, immortalized the whaling ship of that age.

(I recommend the Penguin Classics 2005 edition, with a solid introduction by John Seelye.)

Adventurous and tender at the same time
“Captains Courageous” tells the story of how Harvey Cheyne, young son of an American multimillionaire, travels back to America on a fishing schooner called the “We’re Here”, by one of whose crew he was saved from drowning. He’s taught in turns by all the crew different skills every fisherman has to have and hears wild, colourful stories round a table. Kipling’s vivid descriptions add to the enjoyment of this classic book, which I think can appeal to most children, and also to some soft-hearted adults.

This book is great for theadventorous, and the domestic.
I read this book, and absolutely enjoyed it! It's a fast reading, adventorous book, with a slight twist. Not only do you get to read a great book, but this book actually teaches you about boating, have you ever heard the term Dory, or a jonah, or where we got the term "Teach you the ropes" This book is great, and full of wonderful information you otherwise wouldn't think to learn, yet it's very intruiging!