Hello again, dear readers! I am here with another fantastic adventure for you to embark upon! Buckle up and prepare for a journey on some rather rough seas.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Available: NOW!
Book Blurb from Goodreads.com:
The true story of five castaways abandoned on the Falkland Islands during the War of 1812―a tale of treachery, shipwreck, isolation, and the desperate struggle for survival. The best-selling author of Black Flags, Blue Waters tells the story of a wild encounter between an American sealing vessel, a shipwrecked British brig, and a British warship in the Falkland Islands during the War of 1812. Fraught with misunderstandings and mistrust, the incident left three British sailors and two Americans―including the captain of the sealer, Charles H. Barnard―abandoned in the Falklands for eighteen months. A tale of intriguing complexity, with surprising twists and turns throughout―involving greed, lying, bullying, a hostile takeover, stellar leadership, ingenuity, severe privation, endurance, banishment, the great value of a dog, the birth of a baby, a perilous thousand-mile open-ocean journey in a seventeen-foot boat, an improbable rescue mission, and legal battles over a dubious and disgraceful wartime prize― Left for Dead shows individuals in wartime under great duress acting both nobly and atrociously, and offers a unique perspective on an important moment in American history. 8 pages of full-color illustrations.
My Review of Left for Dead:
When I read the blurb for this book, I thought I was in for a good story, and some history. But boy, was I wrong. It was a FANTASTIC story, with a lot of history.
Shipwrecked, several British subjects are wondering if they are destined to spend their last days on the small island in the Falklands. Salvation comes from a small group of American sealers, who, despite the War of 1812 raging, take pity on the castaways. They strike an agreement with the British, who are very ready to leave the island behind for good. But the story will not end here. There is going to be a mutiny, treachery, a stolen ship, and a group left behind, and later feared dead by their loved ones.
Get settled in and prepare to lose yourself in a story that will not seem real. That anyone could survive the harsh winters, and persevere to return home is amazing enough. But then there is the stolen ship to deal with (and here you are going to want to rough up the moron that decided it was a good idea). Then, the treacherous British castaways (who should have just been left where they were, for all the trouble they caused), and the determination and grit of the American crew to not only get home, but recover their property.
I absolutely LOVED this book. I was hooked from the start. I listened to an audiobook version, and the narrator was absolutely perfect for this read. While I love history, this was one story from the War of 1812 that has not been widely covered, nor have we really considered the heroism that these men displayed, despite the war that was raging.
This piece of history that is going to leave you picking your jaw up off the floor more than once! Adventure awaits!
