Before the Wind - by Charles Tyng (Paperback)

About the Book

This memoir of an American sea captain's adventures from 1808-1833 has been hailed as a superb contribution to seafaring literature--one that "no admirer of Americana or sailing ships should miss" ("Atlantic Monthly"). Preface by William LaMoy of the Peabody Essex Museum. Afterward by Thomas Philbrick.

Book Synopsis

Charles Tyng's quarter century under sail took him around the world half a dozen times at the begining of the nineteenth century. Fortunately, he proved to be as natural a storyteller as he was a sailor. Before the Wind has been hailed as a superb contribution to seafaring literature, alongside such books as Two Years Before the Mast and the novels of Patrick O'Brian. Both Tyng's life and the way he recounts his years at sea are full of wonder: He survives shipwrecks, squalls, and pirates. He makes and loses fortunes in tea, sugar, and cotton. He meets Lord Byron as well as the British princess (later queen) Victoria. Sailors, armchair travelers, history buffs, and lovers of pulse-quickening maritime stories will find this book as seductive as the siren song of the sea.

From the Back Cover

From mermaids to mutinies, the life of Charles Tyng was a nonstop adventure as the nineteenth century opened. His quarter century under sail took him around the world half a dozen times. Fortunately, he proved to be as natural a storyteller as he was a sailor. Both Tyng's life and the way he recounts his years at sea are full of wonder: At thirteen he takes his first voyage to China, where he wanders into dark opium dens. He survives shipwrecks, squalls, and pirates. He makes and loses fortunes in tea, sugar, and cotton. He meets Lord Byron as well as the British princess (later queen) Victoria. Whether you're a sailor yourself, an armchair traveler, a history buff, or a lover of pulse-quickening maritime adventure stories, you'll be as drawn to this book as Charles Tyng was to the siren song of the sea.

Review Quotes

"Original and rich". -- New York Newsday

About the Author

Charles Tyng was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1801. His voyages took him across the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Caribbean, visiting Cuba, China, Europe, Indonesia and the Sandwich Islands among other ports of call. He died in Rhode Island in 1879.