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Title: A Great Sailor: A Great Writer: An American Classic
Review: I waited 58 years to read Two Years Before the Mast! It was always on my list of books to read, but I had never reached it until recently, when my interest was sparked by a comment made by David McCullough (the author of the great biography of Truman) that this book greatly influenced him when he read it as a very young man. It is a a beautifully written book --- prose as good as any I have ever read. Dana's accurate and detailed narrative of his own life at sea on sailing ships in the 1830's, and his time spent on the coast of California,when it was true wilderness, is an unforgettable reading experience. The book has a personal intimate quality about; it is as if the author is a friend writing to you from abroad about his extraordinary adventure. This book deserves its esteemed place in American and world literature.
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