Eight Bells and Top Masts by Christopher Lee

Eight Bells and Top Masts by Christopher Lee

The late 1950s saw the end of the trade in which old converted coal-burning ships would tramp from port to port, picking up cargo where they could. The author, who worked on these ships as a boy, faithfully recorded all he saw and heard and his diaries form the basis of this account.

I loved it.. it's beautifully written. It must be autobiographical because he knows sailing and the sea inside out and like you say it's a sort of lament for a lost era - Jeremy Clarke

He includes diary entries from the time, but they are wnderful. This sixteen-year-old biy has gone off with a song in his heart and the badge on his cap polished and he's terrifically naive... - Louise Doughly

... magically evokes what life was like aboard a tramp steamer... has the delightful freshness and naivete of his boyish discovery of the world and its seamen and the discovery of vanishing British way of life - Daily Mail

Key Reviews 'The book does come out as being a truthful one and I love books about ships and the sea, I'm a great fan of Patrick O'Brien and I used to read Conrad as a child. I loved it [Eight Bells and Top Masts] all. I loved all the descriptions' - Sir George Martin

,Viewing the times with wisdom and hindsight... particularly good on the rigid hierarchy of the seas' - Daily Telegraph

A funny, vivid, unsentimental, effortlessly informative book, highly recommended to seafarers both actual and imaginary - Times Literary Supplement

Christopher Lee was born on the banks of the Thames and learned the trade of a sailor aboard a Thames sailing barge. A historian by training, he sailed the world on tramp ships before embarking on a career as writer.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780747274926
ISBN 10	0747274924
Title	Eight Bells and Top Masts
Author	Christopher Lee
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Headline Publishing Group
Year published	2001-06-14
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.