Richard Henry Dana has 4 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4★ across 8 ratings. The most-rated is Two Years Before the Mast.

4 audiobooks
Cover art for Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

6 ratings

Summary

Richard Henry Dana referred to this book as "a voice from the sea". It influenced Conrad and Melville, and has become a maritime classic that has inspired legions of men with a passion for the sea. Dana, a law student turned sailor for health reasons, sailed in 1834 aboard the brig Pilgrim on a voyage from Boston around Cape Horn to California. (Hence the city name Dana Point.) Drawing from his journals, Two Years Before the Mast gives a vivid and detailed account, shrewdly observed and beautifully described, of a common sailor's wretched treatment at sea, and of a way of life virtually unknown at that time.

(P)1995 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Narrator: Bernard Mayes
Length: 16 hrs and 30 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

2 ratings

Summary

Richard Henry Dana called this book a "a voice from the sea". It had an influence on both Joseph Conrad and Herman Melville, both of whom sang its praises. Dana was a law student at Harvard College who decided, in 1834, to take a break from his studies in order to experience the "real world" by signing on as a common sailor for a two year voyage from Boston around Cape Horn to California. He kept a journal which he turned into a book after the voyage. In it he gives a vivid and detailed account of his fantastic voyage. The book is many things: a history, travelogue, a social documentary and an adventure story. W. Clark Russell, one of the best writers of sea-stories in English, called it "the greatest sea-book that was ever written in any language", and Ralph Waldo Emerson said, it "possesses...the romantic charm of Robinson Crusoe".

Public Domain (P)1988 Jimcin Recordings

Narrator: Jim Killavey
Category: History, World
Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Summary

Two Years Before the Mast is an American classic published in 1840. This is the account of Richard Henry Dana’s two-year adventure as a sailor. Throughout his time sailing around Cape Horn on the brig Pilgrim, Dana kept a diary, and on his return to Massachusetts, he wrote this now-loved classic. While attending Harvard College, Dana was stricken with measles, which would ultimately have a detrimental effect on his eyesight. Instead of going on a Grand Tour of Europe as most young men did in that era, he decided to work as a sailor, believing the open sea would be good for his health. Born in 1815, Richard Henry Dana was an American lawyer and politician who would become best known for being a champion of the common man.

Public Domain (P)2017 A.R.N. Publications

Narrator: David McCallion
Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins
Available on Audible
Cover art for Two Years Before the Mast

Two Years Before the Mast

Summary

This is the true story of a Harvard graduate who forsook his studies for two years of the grueling life of an ordinary seaman. This exciting tale was the first to realistically describe the lives of the roughly treated, poorly paid sailors of the merchant marine.

Public Domain (P)1995 Audio Book Contractors, LLC

Narrator: Athur Addison
Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
Available on Audible