Ma Toad may just be my favorite fictional character ever.

Ma Toad may just be my favorite fictional character ever.

“Wanderer” by Sterling Hayden. His recounting of his early days on sailing ships is some of the best nautical writing ever. He had his faults, to be sure, like naming names at HUAC and whining about how much money he was making for acting as compared to his sailing days. But when he wrote about life before the mast and his stint as the ship’s master, you soon forgot all about it. I’ve read it twice, possibly three times, but I’d definitely like to read it again for the first time.

“Wanderer” by Sterling Hayden. His recounting of his early days on sailing ships is some of the best nautical writing ever. He had his faults, to be sure, like naming names at HUAC and whining about how much money he was making for acting as compared to his sailing days. But when he wrote about life before the mast and his stint as the ship’s master, you soon forgot all about it. I’ve read it twice, possibly three times, but I’d definitely like to read it again for the first time.