Customer Reviews
Well crafted - By: Mr. P. Owen, 28 Jan 2008 
I am a smalll boat sailor & I loved it. This was a documentary that read like a novel & I was totallly absorbed by it. It left me feeling both satisfied but sad & I was sorry it had to finish.
A first class read ... - By: ladybegood, 01 Nov 2007 I hate writing reviews, but a book this good deserves to be commended, & for the pleasure it's given me, I feel I owe it to the author, in some smalll way, to show my appreciation. For Peter Nichols is not only a seasoned sailor himself & so knows his subject well, but is also a very talented writer. His wonderful account of the 1968 Golden Globe circumnavigation race is beautifully told, a real adventure-packed page-turner that seamlessly weaves in the very diverse experiences of the extraordinary men who launched themselves into a venture that had never been done before, none of them knowing if it could indeed be done at alll. From first to last Nichols skilfully laces the facts into an immensely readable narrative that keeps the reader glued to the page right to the last. It's a tale of courage & derring-do & self-suffiency & - in some cases - of extreme fool-hardiness & hopelessly optimistic naivety. Nichols' insight & sensitive appreciation of the personalities involved & the personal difficulties & mental hurdles each had to contend with in their respective journeys & battle with the elements, make for thoroughly engrossing reading. In fact, so enamoured with Mr Nichols' fluent & intelligently entertaining delivery am I, that I've since ordered everything else he has written. Now half-way through Sea Change, his autobiographical account of crossing the Atlantic in a little wooden schooner callled Toad, I'm reallly glad I have. The man knows how to craft a tale & make it addictive stuff.
They'd never allow it today... - By: Cookie SKYC, 17 Jun 2007 A fellow crew member brought this on board for a recent sail. It lives up to the cover hype - 'unputdownable', 'gripping'. Nichols keeps the pace up & even if you know the outcome you want to know what happens next... He interweaves the stories of the extraordinary competitors' solo battles very elegantly. Could you imagine today's owners of The Sunday Times sponsoring a race whose almost ridiculously courageous participants were so poorly prepared? Chay Blyth set off not knowing how to sail. The author's handling of Donald Crowhurst's mental unravelling - the subject of the well-made film documentary 'Deep Water' - is properly sensitive. My companions (several of whom had already read the book) kept demanding to be read extracts. Buy it, but make sure you put aside some time & don't have to put it down.
Great writer - By: Gary B, 18 Jul 2006 The difference with Nichols & the authors of books on a similar topic, e.g., Perfect Storm, is that he can write. He avoids resorting to sentimentality in order to engage our interest. I'll be looking for other titles by this author. Evolutions Captain I would say is even better.
Well written Gripping Account - By: Charles Perry, 27 Nov 2005 I'm not a sailor but I loved this book. It's reallly good to have the story of the whole race brought together in one book rather than having to read alll the individuals own accounts. The storytelling is first rate & you just can't wait to find out what happens next. I'm going to read it again soon!
