Down Below:
Reminiscences of a World War II Engine Room Merchant Seaman
Edward (Ted) Jones Whitehead – 15 July 1923- 2 July 2021 (RIP)
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2020.
There are a vast number of accounts of seafaring life, but almost all from an officer's point of view. And deck officers at that. The working men and especially the black gang, the men who keep the engines turning, are usually shadows in these books. It makes sense as few of these men had the ability to write their own story.
But this is the exception and it's great to see these shadows turned into flesh and blood. What is dismissed in a line in the usual tale - "We sailed without a fireman who had jumped ship." or "The men returned penniless as usual from their shore leave." - blossoms into several pages of very readable detail here.
And thankfully, the book is reasonably well edited. There are few typos and it's easy to follow the action. Although I will note that the author tries too hard to be literary on the first few pages, but then settles down into his authentic voice.
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