Steward Edward White (1873–1946)

Written the early 1907, this is a maritime mystery along the style of Jules Verne in writing and subject.

The Laughing Lass, an abandoned schooner, is found off the coast of a volcanic island in the South Pacific, by the U.S. cruiser Wolverine. There is no one aboard the ship, so the Wolverine’s captain puts a crew on board with the idea of bringing it back. The following day, that crew is missing.

The naval crew find a skiff with a survivor barely alive. He is brought aboard and the tale of show more the ship, its missing crew and all that happens is told by the survivor.

The tale is about the man who hired the ship for its mysterious voyage, the Laughing Lass crew of cutthroats and the fantastical happenings during the long months spent on the island. It is a tall tale that is told.

The style is verbose and liberally sprinkled with nautical terms. Someone up on old sailing vessels or has read books of this topic/style will understand them.

I did enjoy it and felt I had to finish it. Sometimes reading books from another era, on subjects I don’t normally read about, can make the little grey cells work a bit more. show less

This is a turn-of-the century (as in 19th to 20th century) book that wound up in my collection, then sat and waited quietly for me to find it. It tells the story of the men who worked the logs on the rivers, back when that was the main way to get lumber from the forests to the cities. The author writes the story as fiction but there is so much detail and knowledge that you immediately buy in to the main characters.

Plus, there is a twist. A simple twist, yet one I did not expect. That kept show more me going as I hungrily ate it all up. Now, I can hold dinner conversations about the logging industry back in the late 19th century. Sawmill, shawmill. show less

No book changed my life more radically than "The Betty Book," because it is so well-written and credible yet flies in the face of mainstream science, which, until I read "The Betty Book" in 2002, I used to have faith in.

A classic pioneer novel that begins with the spontaneous marriage of Sally and John Murdock, met in the morning and wed by the afternoon. John had been a cowboy but soon was working in the timber industry. Shortly he ends up at a lumber mill in Seattle. John then purchased a ketch sailboat, and he and Sally are joined by a friend as they head up the coast to Alaska. This vintage homestead novel (1940) follows the couple's adventure as they search for a homesite that sticks. (lj, Mar 2015)