I love books like this!

Sent to BXer LabMomNM as part of a virtual book box.

Received from jamesmum as part of PokPok's virtual bookbox - thanks!

7/28/04 - I finished reading this today - what an amazing book! Not just because of what he went through, but of how he did it and how well the story is told. I also really like that he's put in diagrams of his "survival gear" and lists of what was in his emergency kit; he mentions a survival book that he had with him which is now out of print, but I think this book could be used in a similar way. This link tells a bit of what he's been doing since the circus following his rescue died down.
http://www.equipped.com/callahan_bio.htm

I'm going to send this back out as a limited ray - several other people requested it from PokPok's virtual bookbox and I've contacted them to see if they are still keen to read this. The order:

martinburo (Germany) - can ship anywhere
catwoman (Canada) - North America shipping
abs (CA) - prefers to be last

7/31/04 - mailed to martinburo

Thanks labmomnm. TBR.

It is strange how SC describes his experience on the one hand as living in hell, and on the other hand as a mystical journey. Like the way he describes that towards the end of his journey he is so starved that he can't muster the energy to fish for more than a minute at a time, but is still able to catch the amount of fish that prevents him from dying from starvation, which took hours at the beginning; how the fish just offer themselves up to be caught. Then he comes back and life instantaneously goes back to normal, as if life is not a separate category of being after all, but a set of chemical reactions, set in motion by chance, and kept running by a steady reshuffling of entropy according to the laws of thermodynamics.

"Often, when I have gone offshore, I have found myself to be somewhat schizofremic, though not disfunctional. I see myself divide into three basic parts; physical, emotional and rational. It's common for solo sailors to talk to themselves, to ask for a second opinion about how to deal with a problem. You try to think as another person, to get a new outlook and to talk yourself into a positive action. When I am in danger or injured, my emotional self feels fear and my physical self feels pain. I instinctively rely on my rational self to take command over the fear and pain. This tendency is increasing as my voyage lengthens. The lines that stretch between my commanding rational self and my frightened emotional and vulnerable physical selves is getting tighter and tighter. My rational commander relies on hope, dreams, and cynical jokes to relieve the tension in the rest of me.
In my log I write: 'The dorados remain, beautiful, alluring. I ask one to marry me. But her parents will not hear of it. I am not colorful enough. Imagine, bigotry even here! However, they also point out that I don't have a very bright future. It is a reasonable objection.'"
"I imagine two stone-faced poker players throwing chips onto a pile. One player is called Rescue and the other is Death. The stakes keep getting bigger and bigger. The pile of chips now stands as tall as a man and as big around as a raft. Somebody is going to win soon."

Thanks again labmomnm, this was a thought-provoking read. I will send this on tomorrow.

Received in the mail today. Will start this one soon!

This is the type of book that has me saying "I wonder if I could do that" by the end. I especially liked how he justified his continued struggle against the urge to give up - that it seemed silly to struggle for so long just to give up now. Waiting for abs' address and then I'll be sending this book on to continue its journey. Thanks for sharing this book with me.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to abs today to continue its journey. Thanks for sharing this book with me.

Thank you!

tbr thanks for the trade

this book is held for aramena

Received over the weekend -- thanks a bunch!

Well, it only took me a year to get around to reading this book, and it was definitely worth the wait! I so admire people like Steve Callahan, I'm sure I would not have lasted half as long! Towards the end of the book as I would read the title giving the day, I was getting more and more excited for the 76th day to arrive, knowing he would be rescued then. And even after that, I wanted to keep turning pages and reading about Callahan and his life!

I'm offering this in the forums to see if anyone wants it next!

Adrift is now sailing through the air to Yerese22!