9 h 2 minAudiobook12 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a writer builds a boat and trusts a largely untrained crew to cross the Pacific?
In The Cruise of the Snark, Jack London turns a dream of sailing around the world into a frank account of adventure and mishap. His wife Charmian joins him aboard the small ketch, along with friends and hired hands. Most know little about the sea. Ahead lie open water, unfamiliar islands, and the daily work of keeping their boat going.
From San Francisco Bay, the voyage leads to Hawaii, the Marquesas, Tahiti, and the Solomon Islands. London describes riding waves at Waikiki, visiting a leper colony, and reaching the valley of Typee, known through Herman Melville. Storms, ruined engines, bad plumbing, and illness test the dream. His casual, funny voice keeps the hardships close and the story moving.
What you’ll discover
- A dream under sail Follow London's wish to build his own boat and write his way around the world.
- An unlikely sailing crew Meet Charmian and companions whose enthusiasm comes with little experience of the sea.
- Hawaii beyond the horizon Share London's delight in Waikiki and his descriptions of riding waves on boards.
- The work behind adventure Discover the hard routines, repairs, and discomforts that sit beside the island discoveries.
- Humor when plans fail Enjoy a storyteller who reports ignorance and mishaps as frankly as moments of wonder.
Who will love it
For readers who love sea stories, island travel, or the life of Jack London himself, and anyone who enjoys a funny, honest tale of a plan going wrong.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A man decides to build his own ship
- A crew of friends who know little
- Twenty-seven days to reach Hawaii
- Surfing and the leper colony in Hawaii
- The Marquesas and the valley of Typee
- Tahiti and the islands of the South Seas
- Fever and danger in the Solomon Islands
- How London tells the story
- What the voyage left behind
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- 15-minute summary
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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The Cruise of the Snark
by Jack London · 1911
Jack London sets out across the Pacific in his own boat, where storms and broken gear test his dream.
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In short
The Cruise of the Snark is Jack London's own account of a sea voyage he began in 1907 and cut short two years later. London was already a rich and widely read author of The Call of the Wild and The Sea-Wolf.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A man decides to build his own ship
London tells how the idea began. He had read the sea tales of others and he had sailed small boats on San Francisco Bay. Why not build a stout boat, he asks, and go wherever the winds and his curiosity might lead? He planned a trip of seven years around the world, with no fixed schedule and no master but himself.
The boat he wanted was a ketch, which carries two masts, with the shorter mast set toward the stern. She would be small enough for a few people to handle, but strong enough to cross oceans. London explains the thinking behind the design with great pride. He wanted a ship that could ride out rough water and carry supplies for months.
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What is The Cruise of the Snark about?
It is Jack London's account of his 1907 voyage in a small boat he had built, sailing from California to Hawaii, the Marquesas, Tahiti and the Solomon Islands, and of the troubles that ended the trip early.
Is The Cruise of the Snark a true story?
Yes. It is a nonfiction travel memoir based on London's real voyage, which began in 1907. It was published in 1911 and drew on magazine pieces written during the trip.
Why was the boat called the Snark?
London took the name from Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark, in which a crew chases a creature nobody can describe. It suited a trip with no fixed goal.
The author
Jack London
1876–1916 · American novelist and journalist
Jack London (1876–1916) was an American author, journalist and social activist. He was born in San Francisco and lived in California. He wrote novels, short stories and essays. His novels include The Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea-Wolf (1904), White Fang (1906) and Martin Eden (1909). He died in California.
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