Rating: 
Summary: A fun, fast read
Review: I almost didn't buy this book based on the other reviews but that would have been a mistake. The writing ain't that bad. There's certainly worse out there. But then, this is not literature, it's a sailing story. Yes, he refers to his wife as the "mate" but so what? Technically that's correct. He also refers to her as miss "prim and proper" and other "cute" names befitting certain situations. Also, Jim Moore is human and he did some stupid things, like the event with the rifle. But who among us hasn't done something stupid (or several somethings?)All in all, it's a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: By Way of Not-So-Great Writing
Review: I read sailing books because I am a sailor and I love reading about sailing. I do not read sailing books with the expectation that I will encounter great writing or even good writing. However, my appreciation for a sailing book is contingent on the writing not getting in the way. I found Moore's references to his wife as "the mate" distracting. This coupled with rather superficial naratives left me bored and not wanting to finish the book...which is a rare occurance with me. There are lots of good sailing naratives out there so unless your running out of things to read, keep looking!
Rating: 
Summary: Just OK
Review: I was a bit disappointed in this book - the stories were a bit mundane - the type any sailor would have. I want to read about things more exciting than the norm!
Rating:
Summary: By Way of Not-So-Great Writing
Review: If you are interested in cruising on a sailing yacht, "By Way of the Wind" is an excellent book to read. Jim Moore is certainly no heavyweight as an author, but he is forthright and clear in his description of events and discoveries that he and his wife made aboard their yacht. The book is basically his recounting of experiences as they bought a hull, finished and fitted it out, and then sailed around the world in it. This was done with no prior experience and very little training. They learned a few lessons the hard way and he shares some of those lessons in his book. Any person who is thinking about going cruising could learn a few things from his book that would help with deciding whether or not cruising is for them. Learning from the Moore's mistakes could also make a first voyage a little more pleasant than it might otherwise be. Jim Moore is an opinionated man from an older generation and it shows in his writing. If you are a narrow minded person who childishly expects the whole world to toe your political line, your are not likely to enjoy this book anymore than the first reviewer did. If you can overlook differences in viewpoint to see some humor or learn a few things then you will probably like his book. I enjoyed it and learned a few things.
Rating:
Summary: A readable narrative of sailing experiences.
Review: If you are interested in cruising on a sailing yacht, "By Way of the Wind" is an excellent book to read. Jim Moore is certainly no heavyweight as an author, but he is forthright and clear in his description of events and discoveries that he and his wife made aboard their yacht. The book is basically his recounting of experiences as they bought a hull, finished and fitted it out, and then sailed around the world in it. This was done with no prior experience and very little training. They learned a few lessons the hard way and he shares some of those lessons in his book. Any person who is thinking about going cruising could learn a few things from his book that would help with deciding whether or not cruising is for them. Learning from the Moore's mistakes could also make a first voyage a little more pleasant than it might otherwise be. Jim Moore is an opinionated man from an older generation and it shows in his writing. If you are a narrow minded person who childishly expects the whole world to toe your political line, your are not likely to enjoy this book anymore than the first reviewer did. If you can overlook differences in viewpoint to see some humor or learn a few things then you will probably like his book. I enjoyed it and learned a few things.
Rating: 
Summary: An account of our 4 year circumnavigation under sail.
Review: In 1972, married just two months, and faced with the mind-numbing prospect of spending the next couple of decades at working at boring jobs in Portland, Oregon, my wife Molly and I decided to build a sailboat and sail it to the South Pacific. At this embryonic stage of our "grand plan" we were long on enthusiasm and woefully short on practical boating experience. The fact that neither Molly nor I had ever set foot on a sailboat, or had the slightest inkling of how to build or sail one, never bothered us whatsoever - something we still wonder about. Undeterred by our dearth of eperience and by the improbability of our dream, we purchased a bare 36 foot fiberglass sailboat hull. Thereupon began a four-year period of almost unrelenting building and preparation; countless hours of studying piloting and celestial navigation, reading everythng we could find on boat building, and exhausting nearly all of our financial resources in the process. As a result of this ef! fort, the bare hull blossomed into our sailing yacht SWAN. After a bumpy and sometimes frightening maiden voyage to San Francisco we made our first ocean passage, an exhilarating 18 day downhill sleigh ride, running before the Northeast Trade Winds to Hawaii. Cobalt blue skies, warm blue water, leaping dolphins - we were hooked! Our island hopping through the South Pacific merely whetted our appetite for further adventure. Gaining confidence we entered Australia's Great Barrier Reef and traced Captain Cook's and Captain Bligh's route through 1,200 miles of coral-studded treacherous water that has claimed some 1,600 ships. The Southeast Trades blow mightily there, and we were not keen on the idea of beating back to windward out of that coral labyrinth. The answer was Greeleysque: Go west! (some of our cruising friends who know of our aversion to thrashing to windward have been known to say that SWAN and crew's circumnavigation was an accident born out of getting so far downwind! that circumnavigating was our only alternative!) The passa! ge across the Indian Ocean was a joy; rounding the Cape of Good Hope a bit terrifying at times; the South Atlantic a pleasant passage in the sun; transiting the Panama Canal awesome; and crossing our outbound track, four years and nearly 40,000 miles later in the mid-Pacific, was the culmination of a dream. BY WAY OF THE WIND chronicles this westward odyssey with a light approach to the cruising life and our adventures along the way. You are welcome to join Molly and me on the voyage. --Note:-- My second book, SWAN - THE SECOND VOYAGE covers a two-year 10,000 mile voyage from Hawaii to North Carolina with a 7 month sojourn in the Sea of Cortez. It is, in some ways, a sequel to BY WAY OF THE WIND, but it is also a "nuts and bolts" book with tips on boat building, sailing, and living aboard woven seamlessly as possible into the adventure narrative.
Rating: 
Summary: Does he think he's clever?
Review: Jim Moore gives a very average narrative of the quite real achievement accomplished by his wife and himself in making their circumnavigation. What completely destroys the book is the author's puerile humor. Are we supposed to roll around laughing as he repeatedly belittles his wife and refers to her as "the mate?" Of course he is "the skipper" and emphasises all his successes and ho ho ho all his drinking. I think a class of 12 year olds might be amused. For anyone older I'd just say that if you want to read about a circumnavigation choose any account but this stupid one.
Rating:
Summary: A very good read, funny and entertaining
Review: Jim Moore has a fine sense of humor and his book is a good mix of travel narrative and sailing tips. The writing is good and fluid. I rate it as high as Trekka, Flirting With Mermaids, or Fatal Storm.
Rating:
Summary: A 200 page vacation
Review: Jim's writing style stands out from the usual sailing stories. Lots of detail, a bit of romance, a lot of humility, and a quirky sense of humour that keeps me grinning from the first paragraph to the last. We are building a cruising sailboat and this book is definitely one of the reasons! If you're looking for a sailing story that's a bit different, you've found it ion By Way of the Wind.
Rating:
Summary: A 200 page vacation
Review: Jim's writing style stands out from the usual sailing stories. Lots of detail, a bit of romance, a lot of humility, and a quirky sense of humour that keeps me grinning from the first paragraph to the last. We are building a cruising sailboat and this book is definitely one of the reasons! If you're looking for a sailing story that's a bit different, you've found it ion By Way of the Wind.
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