The Log from the Sea of Cortez

by John Steinbeck

In 1940 John Steinbeck and his great friend Edward Ricketts, director of the Pacific Biological Laboratories and the original of Doc in "Cannery Row", joined forces for a six-weeks' fishing trip to collect marine specimens in the Gulf of California, once known as the Sea of Cortez. In 1948 Ricketts was killed in an accident, and Steinbeck was moved to write down everything he could remember about his extraordinary friend - scientist, philosopher, eccentric and womanizer. This affectionate profile is published alongside the day-to-day account of their maritime expedition, a blend of scientific research and riotous adventure.

• ISBN10: 1440664641
• ISBN13: 9781440664649
• Publish Date: 1 November 1995 (first published 17 September 1951)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Out of Print: 11 April 2013
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Penguin Books
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[brokentune]

Late, late in the night we recalled that Horace says fried shrimps and African snails will cure a hangover. Neither was available.

I called a stop to this @ 63%. I skim read to the end to see if the log ever changes into something that has a structure - or a point.

It may be that I am not in the right mood for this book, but from everything I have read, I get the impression that to be in the right frame of mind to read this book I would have to be on that boat, with a beer (not the first of the day), and develop a sudden liking for pointless meandering, unsubstantiated general philosophising, and killing things just to collect them.

And I just can't.