Joshua Slocum

Sailing Alone Around the World Annotated Joshua Slocum

Sailing Alone Around the World by Captain Joshua Slocum is a work of non-fiction. The book details Slocum's solo trip around the world, which logged more than 46,000 miles and took three years. The reader should note that the trip was not undertaken all at once. Slocum often docked for weeks or months at a time to refit the boat, visit people and landmarks, and to enjoy the scenery and the customs of faraway lands. Overall, the book is in chronological order, although Slocum has a tendency to refer to events out of sequence, which can be confusing. For example, Slocum tells stories about being in Australia and then leaving the country to head elsewhere. In the next chapter, Slocum returns the story to Australia and then jumps ahead. There are similar instances involving the sailor's time in South Africa and Brazil. Slocum starts out by talking about his homeland, Nova Scotia, and its maritime history. Joshua Slocum was born in 1844 in Mount Hanley, Nova Scotia. Slocum describes Nova Scotia as a maritime province of Canada, rife with hardy spruce from which many fine vessels have been carved. According to Slocum, "The people of this coast, hardy, robust, and strong, are disposed of to compete in the world's commerce, and it is nothing against the master mariner if the birthplace mentioned on his certificate be Nova Scotia"