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Editorial Reviews
From
Publishers Weekly
Photojournalist and expedition organizer
Dalton writes of author/explorer Tristan Jones (1929-1995): "I
uncovered the elements of a story woven from the exotic fabrics
of deceit, ego, skill, immense courage, tenacity, sexual
differences, and, eventually-murder." These qualities all appear
prominently in Dalton's arresting study of a sailor who invented
himself as a modern hero and kept embellishing the legend until
truth and fiction were impossible to pinpoint. Dalton believes
Tristan's supposedly seafaring mother was in fact from
landlocked Lancashire. Following several voyages, which he later
fictionalized, Jones decided to pursue writing seriously. His
editor at Sail pronounced his first submissions "dreadful," then
suggested he write his experiences in the form of a long letter,
which enabled Jones to find his style. This talented mythomaniac,
who claimed "[a]ll my stories are true. I just remember them
differently each time," also took a stab at theater, invented a
marriage no one could verify and, according to Dalton, was
secretly gay. Alcoholism led him to brawls; health
tragedies-amputation of both legs, emphysema-discouraged but
didn't destroy his pugnacious spirit. Occasionally, in the
author's zeal for accuracy, he makes Jones such a dark,
unpalatable figure that he loses his mythic status and even
human dimension. But Dalton achieves stark poignancy when he
claims Jones was endowed with "extraordinary talents as a
sailor. Given time he could have accomplished all that he
claimed." Jones's story as related here should appeal to all
those who love adventure, as well as to those who enjoy
analyzing the wreckage of damaged, enigmatic and fascinating
personalities. Maps.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book
Description
The first biography of sailing's best-known
storyteller exposes a life of invention and lies
Tristan Jones--author, sailor, adventurer--is an immortal
icon in the sailing world. He boasted a worldwide following of
tens of thousands, thirsty to hear tell of his latest
extraordinary adventure from the Arctic ice to the Dead Sea.
But, as Wayward Sailor so eloquently proves, most of what we
thought we knew about Tristan Jones is wrong.
This meticulously researched and fascinating biography has
taken Anthony Dalton all over the world and introduced him to
Jones's closest friends, personal letters, and the logbooks he
never wanted the world to see. In it we learn that Tristan
Jones--the rollicking and ribald "Great Gatsby of the Sea"--was
an invention of his own brilliant imagination.
More than the unmasking of an icon, Wayward Sailor is a
voyage into the soul of a mysterious adventurer and an
exploration of the human spirit triumphing over fate.
ISBN 0071402519
$24.95
336 pages with 4 maps and 42 B & W
photographs
Order NOW!
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