The Private Journal of William Reynolds

One of the finest nineteenth-century first-person narratives of a sea voyage in existence and a principle source for <i>Sea of Glory</i> <i>The Private Journal of William Reynolds</i> brings to life the boisterous world traversed by the six vessels that comprised America's first ocean-going voyage of discovery the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842. With great eloquence and verve Midshipman William Reynolds describes the harrowing 87000-mile four-year circuit of the globe and relates the story of how the abusive commander of the Ex. Ex. Lieutenant Charles Wilkes gradually lost the support of his crew. With a seaman's understanding and an artist's appreciation for the wild beauty that surrounds him the <i>Journal</i> is a tour de force combining meticulous observations with a young man's sense of wonder and on occasion terror as he is tossed about by the tremendous seas.