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A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea

A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea

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(Paperback)-From Alaskan author David Vann, a harrowingand heartbreakingtrue story of one ordinary mans misadventures at sea "A Mile Down would be a cautionary tale for anyone who dreams of the freedom of the high seasif only it wasnt so damn exciting. . . ." STEWART O'NAN, coauthor with Stephen King of Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season and author of The Night Country "At once memoir, confession, travel book, and thriller, David Vanns A Mile Down is so vivid and intense you will dread to see it end. . . . The book is a testimony of passion and courage in deadly storms and scarier calms, of a man wrestling with his ghosts and gifts in the very shadow of paradise." ROBERT MORGAN, author of Gap Creek "A Mile Down is pure adrenaline. Vann by all rights should have died at sea, and yet hes lived to tell about it. But the thrill comes also from other kinds of riskrisk of repeating his fathers suicide, risk of financial disaster, risk of prosecution, risk of losing everything including who he believes himself to be. This story wont let you go." MELANIE THERNSTROM, author of The Dead Girl and Halfway Heaven "A Mile Down is far more than a tale of ruin at sea. Its also a story of desire and shame, of the struggle to escape our histories and know our dreams. Vann writes that A life can be like a work of art, constantly melted away and reshaped, and he shows us this reshaping, this rebirth of hope from despair and ruin, so powerfully I couldnt put the book down. You have to read this book, even if you care nothing about sailing or the sea. Just read it." LALITA TADEMY, author of Cane River "A Mile Down is a riveting and truthful account of a good mans attempt to stay afloat on treacherous waters. This book reminded me of Robert Stones 'Outerbridge Reach,' or John Caseys 'Spartina,' but in many ways Vanns odyssey is more unforgettable. The fact that Vann lived to tell it is an achievement in itself." TOM BARBASH, author of On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick,...
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User Reviews for A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea

Overall Rating: Star FullStar FullStar FullStar FullStar Empty ( 9 reviews )
  1. Star FullStar FullStar FullStar EmptyStar Empty Posted: May 29 2009

    I really enjoyed this book. However, I put it aside for six months because the writing was really poor and was apparently unedited. I ran across a series of sentences without any main clauses, some sentences completely without verbs. Perhaps I have been out of college for too long and this is a new accepted method of writing. This made me have to re-read passages to understand what was written, but this was not much of a setback. What really annoyed me was the way he blamed every pitfall in his adventure on somebody else. Every interaction David had with another human being, except his wife (for obvious reasons), ended in some degree of strife and resentment. The man who built his boat was constantly bad-mouthed even though he provided a tremendous deal on a beautiful yacht. Then when they departed, David promised to send his last payments just to get out of town safely. Instead of confronting the man to deny payment, he instead sent the man an irate email saying he would not send him another dime. I have never met this David Vann, but he sounds like a very convincing sort of person but there seems to be nothing behind his handshake. I really really want to like the protagonist of any book I read, but I found myself hoping his adventures would fail and then maybe he would grow up. I guess he hasn't so far, because fools keep handing him money. I sailed around the world as captain of a 97-foot yacht through 53 countries. I got into hassles with fewer than a dozen people, and none of them were bad enough to be worth writing about. Use a steady gaze, a smile, a firm handshake and live up to your commitments and you will go a long way in life. David Vann never learned this lesson, and he serves as a good example of where the human character crumbles. My message to him is: You're not better than the rest of humankind. Get a job and raise a family, That's where true nobility is.

  2. Star FullStar FullStar FullStar FullStar Full ( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Nov 30 2008

    From start to finish I was immersed in this book. I too own a business and could relate to the hardship's he was experiencing. He's now one of my favorite author's.

  3. Star FullStar FullStar FullStar EmptyStar Empty ( 2 of 3 found this review helpful ) Posted: Feb 3 2008

    I don't know, guys. I read the hype for this book, bought it, and dove in with great expectations. Overall, it is well written but the author's agenda - to blame everyone and anyone but himself for mistake after horrific mistake - overshadowed any merit to the story. It felt a bit like a deposition written in hopes that his former creditors might read it and exonerate him. I found it hard to feel badly for someone who used and abused other peoples' trust and money so that he wouldn't have to get a real job. Poor Mr. Vann!

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Product Specs for A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea

Author: David Vann
Number Of Pages: 256
Category: Paperback
Brand: Thunder's Mouth Press
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.45
Label: Thunder's Mouth Press
Product Group: Book
Publication Date: 2005-05-10
Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press
See item at: Amazon: $11.66

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