THE CRUISE OF THE CONRAD ' By Alan Villiers
Mr. Villiers' book (Hodder and Stoughton, 20s.) is ' described on the title page as "A Journal of a Voyage round the World, undertaken and carried out in the Ship 'Joseph Conrad,' 212 tons, in the Years 1934, 1935, and 1936 by way of Good Hope, the South Seas, the East Indies and Cape Horn." But it is more than just that. It is the story of a venture such as many young men have dreamed of but no other has ever had the courage and enterprise to carry through. The acquiring of a full-rigged ship, the manning and equipping of her, and then the sailing of her round the world by routes where the steamer is seldom seen is a feat Which has not been attempted since the days of the privateers. During the whole 21 years' voyage the author, an Australian journalist, acted as surgeon, navigator, chief instructor to the cadets, and guardian of the younger boys, besides being owner and master. In spite of a slightly aggravating tendency to marvel at his own achievements and gird at decadent "civilisation," for both of which failings there is much excuse, he has made the telling of the story as fine a piece of work as the sailing of the ship—and that is saying much. The photographs are magnificent, though more maps might be expected in such an expensive book. The descriptions of the South Sea Islands, Bali, and the other alluring places visited would make the -boOk worth reading purely as an original kind of travel-book, but to most readers its chief attraction will lie in the account ,of the lovely little frigate. Nobody with a drop of adven- ture in him can fail to be stirred by her exploits, which form a worthy swansong to the epic history of the full-rigged ship.
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