Rating: 
Summary: Addressed a lot of my questions and concerns
Review: Very practical and written in an easy-to-read style. We've done local cruising, but I wasn't sure what I should be concerned about for our upcoming cruise to the Caribbean in '01 or '02. I now know what classes I personally need to attend, that my time at the gym is a good investment in my safety, I don't need to know how to tie every blasted knot known to mankind, windvanes are worth looking at, what goodies to put on my Christmas and birthday list(!),what to bring for sail repair, medicine, etc. Since I'm usually in charge of food for short cruises, Anna Gleckler's notes on preserving cheese, bread, juice and eggs without refrigeration AND making jerky and corning beef were, well, things my mother didn't teach me and I probably wouldn't have thought to ever ask her! I just feel more at ease and I anticipate that in the next year or so that I will be better prepared if I act on the advice in this book. I plan to re-read it every six months or so to make sure I'm working on those things (health, reading, education) to make our trip the best it can be.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Primer, But Could Be Better
Review: Walt Gleckler's "All About Cruising" is an enjoyable and easy read that broadly covers just about all the important topics for offshore cruising. I particularly liked the appendix that includes a thorough medical kit list as well as a list of what to put in an "abandon ship bag". However, the body of the book reminds me of something a high school English teacher once told me. "If you've got a small number of pages to work with, you can choose to go for depth or breadth, but not both." Walt went for breadth. The book skims over many topics that deserve more in-depth treatment. To the book's credit, it doesn't omit important topics, it instead says (figuratively) "This is important, you can find out about it somewhere else". Another gripe I have about the book is that the pictures are pretty poor in quality. A couple of them are so dark that I can't identify the subject. Nonetheless, this is a good book if you're looking for something to get some info on offshore cruising without having to slog through a lot of detail.However, if you are looking for detail, an excellent book on the same topic is Bill and Laurel Cooper's "Sell Up and Sail", now in its third edition. But to get the additional depth, they add 100 more pages and a much more dense print font (about 650 words per page instead of 450 on a page without pictures) and far fewer pictures. Bill can get preachy about certain topics, but overall the book is filled with a ton of good info.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Primer, But Could Be Better
Review: Walt Gleckler's "All About Cruising" is an enjoyable and easy read that broadly covers just about all the important topics for offshore cruising. I particularly liked the appendix that includes a thorough medical kit list as well as a list of what to put in an "abandon ship bag". However, the body of the book reminds me of something a high school English teacher once told me. "If you've got a small number of pages to work with, you can choose to go for depth or breadth, but not both." Walt went for breadth. The book skims over many topics that deserve more in-depth treatment. To the book's credit, it doesn't omit important topics, it instead says (figuratively) "This is important, you can find out about it somewhere else". Another gripe I have about the book is that the pictures are pretty poor in quality. A couple of them are so dark that I can't identify the subject. Nonetheless, this is a good book if you're looking for something to get some info on offshore cruising without having to slog through a lot of detail. However, if you are looking for detail, an excellent book on the same topic is Bill and Laurel Cooper's "Sell Up and Sail", now in its third edition. But to get the additional depth, they add 100 more pages and a much more dense print font (about 650 words per page instead of 450 on a page without pictures) and far fewer pictures. Bill can get preachy about certain topics, but overall the book is filled with a ton of good info.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Primer, But Could Be Better
Review: Walt Gleckler's "All About Cruising" is an enjoyable and easy read that broadly covers just about all the important topics for offshore cruising. I particularly liked the appendix that includes a thorough medical kit list as well as a list of what to put in an "abandon ship bag". However, the body of the book reminds me of something a high school English teacher once told me. "If you've got a small number of pages to work with, you can choose to go for depth or breadth, but not both." Walt went for breadth. The book skims over many topics that deserve more in-depth treatment. To the book's credit, it doesn't omit important topics, it instead says (figuratively) "This is important, you can find out about it somewhere else". Another gripe I have about the book is that the pictures are pretty poor in quality. A couple of them are so dark that I can't identify the subject. Nonetheless, this is a good book if you're looking for something to get some info on offshore cruising without having to slog through a lot of detail. However, if you are looking for detail, an excellent book on the same topic is Bill and Laurel Cooper's "Sell Up and Sail", now in its third edition. But to get the additional depth, they add 100 more pages and a much more dense print font (about 650 words per page instead of 450 on a page without pictures) and far fewer pictures. Bill can get preachy about certain topics, but overall the book is filled with a ton of good info.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest book for preparing and taking your bluewater cruise
Review: Walts experience teaching sailing at Orange Coast College has taught him how to write a book on cruising that breaks it down into simple realistic situations you will encounter on your cruise; everything from Anchoring to Zinks with wonderful additions from the gally by his wife Anna. I thought I knew it all until I read his book and found out what I needed to learn. I am now one step closer to that "cast off" party.
|
