A Furnace Afloat

The Wreck of the Hornet and the Harrowing 4,300-mile Voyage of Its Survivors

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Last edited by ImportBot
January 15, 2023 | History

A Furnace Afloat

The Wreck of the Hornet and the Harrowing 4,300-mile Voyage of Its Survivors

  • 0 Ratings
  • 1 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

When an accident with an open oil lantern set the American clipper Hornet alight in 1866, the 31 passengers and crew were forced to abandon ship. Cast adrift in three small lifeboats, they had less than 10 days' rations to share between them. They were over 1,000 miles from the nearest island. Over the next six weeks they were to encounter every danger the Pacific could throw at them. They were attacked by sharks and swordfish. They endured storms, and even tornadoes. Their hunger became so intense that they resorted to eating their clothes, and later, half-mad from the effects of drinking sea water, were driven to the edge of cannibalism. Of the 31 men who abandoned ship, only 15 ever saw land again. The newspapers of the time were quick to hail the survivors as heroes; however, as Joe Jackson shows, there was much about the behavior of the castaways that was far from heroic. In the confined space of the open boats tensions between the men ran so high that the threat of violence was constantly present. There was open talk of mutiny, even of murder, and gradually the normal rules of society began to break down. Here, for the first time, is the true story of the men who survived the wreck of the Hornet. Written by Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Joe Jackson, it is one of the rare great historical survival tales from the dying days of the age of sail. - Jacket flap.

Publish Date
Publisher
Free Press
Language
English
Pages
288

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: A Furnace Afloat
A Furnace Afloat: the wreck of the Hornet and the 4,300-mile voyage of its survivors
February 12, 2004, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Publishing Group, Limited
Hardcover in English
Cover of: A Furnace Afloat
A Furnace Afloat: The Wreck of the Hornet and the Harrowing 4,300-mile Voyage of Its Survivors
September 30, 2003, Free Press
Hardcover in English

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Book Details


First Sentence

"LATER, WHEN THE HEAT and thirst grew so torturous that his tongue swelled in his mouth; when his skin shriveled black and salt-water boils dotted it like smallpox; when Captain Mitchell complained of hearing strange music and the men in the bow stared at him in hunger; then and only then did Henry Ferguson recall his first glimpse of the Hornet and the drift ice crunching against her sides."

Classifications

Library of Congress
G530.H82 J33 2003

The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Number of pages
288
Dimensions
9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
Weight
1 pounds

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL7927625M
Internet Archive
furnaceafloatwr00jack
ISBN 10
074323037X
ISBN 13
9780743230377
LCCN
2003052756
OCLC/WorldCat
52271588
Library Thing
666914
Goodreads
1019347

Excerpts

LATER, WHEN THE HEAT and thirst grew so torturous that his tongue swelled in his mouth; when his skin shriveled black and salt-water boils dotted it like smallpox; when Captain Mitchell complained of hearing strange music and the men in the bow stared at him in hunger; then and only then did Henry Ferguson recall his first glimpse of the Hornet and the drift ice crunching against her sides.
added anonymously.

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History

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January 15, 2023 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
January 7, 2023 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
February 2, 2021 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
December 8, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
April 29, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from amazon.com record.