Awards

• Short-listed for Society for Nautical Research Anderson Medal 2015 (UK)
• Short-listed for The Mountbatten Maritime Award 2014 (UK)
• Short-listed for Wales Book of the Year 2015 (UK)
• Winner of Dolman Travel Book of the Year 2014 (UK)
• Winner of Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year 2015

Overview

For millennia, the seaways have carried our goods, cultures and ideas, the terrors of war and the bounties of peace - and they have never been busier than they are today. But though our normality depends on shipping, it is a world which passes largely unconsidered, unseen and unrecorded. Out of sight, 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 (and they are mostly men) live extraordinary lives, subject to pressures we know - families, relationships, dreams and fears - and 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, travelling in the company of their crews and captains. Together they experience unforgettable journeys: the first, from East to West (Felixstowe to Los Angeles, via Suez) is rich with Mediterranean history, torn with typhoon nights and gilded with an unearthly Pacific peace; the second northerly passage, from Antwerp to Montreal, reeks of diesel, wuthers with gales and goes to frozen regions of the North Atlantic, in deep winter, where the sea itself seems haunted. In Clare's vibrant prose a modern industry does battle with implacable forces, as the ships cross seas of history and incident, while seafarers unfold the stories of their lives, telling their tales and yarns. A beautiful and terrifying portrait of the oceans and their human subjects, and a fascinating study of big business afloat, Down to the Sea in Ships is a moving tribute to those who live and work on the great waters, far from land.

Full Product Details

9780701183110

Table of Contents

Reviews

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 * 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 * 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 * 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 *

Author Information

Horatio Clare was born in 1973. He 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.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available