Canadian Yachting June 2017 - 41

Readable Relics Book Reviews
Reviewed by: R. John Garside AP

Swallows and Amazons
Author: Arthur Ransome
Pages: 501
First Published: 1930
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 9780099572794

Echoes of the Red
Author: J. J. Gunn
Pages: 246
First Published: 1930
Publisher: Press of the Hunter-Rose Co. Limited
Library of Congress Number: n/a

This volume was full of surprises. When I first began reading it the story of whaling was something that I had read about before but never in
this much detail. The author takes you on a classic
whaling voyage of the Cachalot and delves into
all the small crevices of whaling at the turn of
the century. The book actually became "the" text
book of whaling and I was most fortunate to find
it in my local used bookstore in Picton. The book
was well received by the public and has been reprinted many times, so the version you may come
across may not look the same but certainly will be
the same in content.
My version even came with a surprise bookmark! Inside, about a third of the way in, was
a small piece of paper that had been an admission ticket to a theatre. This ticket though was not
printed in English but in French and Arabic! I sent
a scanned image of the ticket to an Arab speaking
friend of mine and he quickly informed me that
this ticket was from a theatre in Cairo, Egypt from
the early 1900s! So you never know just what
might be found in an old book.
The book itself was a very interesting read and
the author takes you on the voyage through the
eyes of a deckhand. Each chapter is well laid out
and you really feel at times you are at sea and are
part of the great whale hunt. In addition to being
a very well written book the volume also has several very interesting plates showing the artwork
of the times, no colour then, but the pictures are
very interesting and informative.

Some of you may have read this book as a child
and those that did will certainly benefit from a
re-read, or reading it to your grandchildren! The
author wrote this book in 1930 and it is the first
of a series of twelve books involving the same
main characters. I really enjoyed the story line of
exploring and camping by the main characters as
they spend a summer at an idyllic English lake.
This reminded me of my summers at remote
cottages and all the interesting things that can
occupy a child during the course of the day. There
is always something to do or something new to
try. The book, though written in 1930, reads very
well today and I found it quite a source of information regarding small craft boating on an English lake. Not everyone has outboard motors, so
getting about takes some thought and planning
as the main characters find out as they explore
their lake and local rivers.
So should you have the opportunity to read
this volume to your grandchildren, there are
thirty-one chapters, each one not too long, but
full of adventure, interesting boating lessons and
personal development. Over a two week vacation
the whole book could be easily covered and just
might spark an interest in their reading more!
Note the book has been reprinted several times
so a copy should be available in your local library
or bookstore. I will be certainly be re-reading this
one this summer as I explore new territory on my
yearly Lake Nipissing boating vacation.

I have a soft spot for southern Manitoba as I have
spent many interesting vacation days there and
subscribe to four small town newspapers. Each
one of these small towns has a museum and I
have visited each one of them and followed the
story of the province and the people, and this
book, Echoes of the Red, was a perfect fit into my
expanding knowledge base of Manitoba.
The author J. J. Gunn was born in 1861 in Manitoba just north of the present day Winnipeg City
Hall and became quite a self-educated man and
an expert on the local flora and fauna of Southern
Manitoba. The Gunn family was well connected
and very well read as books were always part of
the author's life. As a result he began writing in
the late 1890s and focused on the story of Manitoba, its people in 1890 and those that had come
before.
There are sixteen chapters in the book and
each of them deal with a small slice of Manitoba
history either through the eyes of the indigenous
native people or the new comers and homesteaders of the late 1800s. The author died on his farm
in 1907 as a result of a goring incident, and a
descendant, Eleanor F. Gunn coming across his
writings many years later decided that it would
be a fitting tribute to have his works published
once again, but this time in a book form. So I
was most fortunate to come across this volume
and the read was most enjoyable and informative.

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THE PORT HOLE

The Cruise of the "Cachalot"
Author: Frank T. Bullen
Pages: 375
First Published: 1898
Publisher: William Clowes & Sons Limited
Library of Congress Number: n/a

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting June 2017