Laurie Gwen Shapiro has done an exquisite job of bringing to life the times and trials of that Polish stowaway 'Billy' Gawronski. Her author's note following this work, telling of the steps and luck involved in uncovering the story of the life of this stowaway is as extraordinary as the tale itself. This is a book I was not able to put down.

Every decision Billy makes, from the approach most hidden while swimming through the dark port waters in the small hours to stow away on the 'City of New York' and trying to talk his young 17 year old self into becoming a member of the crew on the first American expedition to Antarctica under the direction of Commander Byrd, to how to secure employment for himself in the height of the Depression highlight the drive and worth of William Gregory Gawronski. However you want to spell that last name. The Stowaway gives us insight into New York City in the roaring '20's, the intricacies of fielding an exploratory force into unknown territories and an environment completely hostile to mankind, to what makes the call of the sea so compelling to some souls, to New York during the Depression and the effects of World War II all around the world. This is a book I can recommend to my friends and family, of all ages and all walks of life.

I received a free electronic copy of this biographical history from Netgalley, Laurie Gwen Shapiro, and Simon Schuster in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work

The Stowaway tells the story of a young, feisty boy named Billy who attempted to join the Byrd expedition to Antarctica by stowing away on the boat in New York . But this is a true story, and Billy was captured and caught along with several others. Rather than admit defeat, he follows the boat down the coast and tries again . . . and again. Ultimately, the press coverage of his never-say-die attempts caught the eye and hearts of the country . . . and Admiral Byrd and Billy was, in a press boon, added to the crew. A very early-last-century fairy tale with feel of that time captured well in the writing. It is well researched, and would absolutely appeal to history buffs. For me, who prefers a rollicking narrative, it was bit chock-full of factoids which sometimes feels clunky to me, but overall a good read.

Adventures change you. Let's say, I have never been one to have looked out new adventures. I am that girl who prefers not to have surprises, and to have complete control over my life. I have definitely never been an adventure-junkie.

I am still not, but I have learned to appreciate change and recognize that, without it, your life will be dull, you will never learn to take what life throws at you, and you never grow. A few years ago, I went to Costa Rica. My husband is completely the opposite from me, and wanted to do an adventure trip. I promised him that I would do the activities such as zip-lining and rappel, as long as we could go to the Sloth Sanctuary. So, it was a deal. Those adventures changed my life.

And, in this nonfiction book, Billy finds his own adventure - a bigger one than ziplining. He becomes a stowaway on a ship heading to the Antarctic.

I think I smell a possible movie in the making with this nonfiction work. 


The Cover and the Title

The first thing I have to mention is the cover. It is a beautiful life-like drawing, or just a beautiful photograph that brings the feel of the Antarctic: snow, ice, and a classic ship. The font is clear, and one that shows an interesting story is to be unfolded.

The Stowaway is obviously the perfect title of the book. The life of a teenager completely changes because of his bravery and decides to become a stowaway and hide on the ship heading for the Antarctic for the first time. Billy's life is completely changed from this experience, and it reminds you that sometimes the biggest moments of bravery are the ones that change your life completely. Like when I decided to zip line in Costa Rica, when I cannot even go on a rollercoaster! This story magnifies the outcomes of changing our destiny.


What to Expect

In all honesty, I am not a nonfiction reader. I blame my too-many years at university, which does not allow me to read nonfiction for pleasure. So, I did have a somewhat difficult time finishing this book. The only way I finished reading this is because it is extremely well-written. At the beginning I was confused because it was written more like a novel than a traditional nonfiction book, which pleased me. I actually had to go back to Goodreads to confirm that this was a nonfiction work. Obviously, we could not go into any of the characters' heads, but the imagery was beautiful, and explanations were cleverly woven into the text. I would love to see this book turn into a movie - especially for those who dislike reading nonfiction. This is also one of those stories where truth is better than fiction, which also made me question if this was not a fictional story!

The only thing I would complain about, is that the author explains a lot of backstory of all of the characters and, because they have such a little part in the story, I could not remember them. I am not sure if all of this extra fluff was really necessary to tell the story. Some repeat characters do need this extra information, but some people's information seemed too thrown in to me. I would get lost with all of the characters at certain moments. And, I repeat, characters are essential to my liking a story.

Billy is one of those characters that you have to love, though. Even through you do not enter his head, you do understand a lot of what Billy was thinking, and you could feel the excitement coming off of him - even if you did not know him intimately. Shapiro was extremely successful with this.


The Final Word

If you like nonfiction, you will love this book. It is extremely well-written, and has an extremely interesting storyline. It is a story that you never would have heard about, but one you should know. It is a story of epic proportions and emphasizes the importance of the scientific discoveries we make today. If you do not like nonfiction, you may have trouble getting through it but, when you do, it is worth it!



Who Should Read This Book

Adventure-lovers
Christopher Columbus wannabees
Nonfiction readers
Those who are not HUGE fans of nonfiction, but can handle it
History buffs

I want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with this pre-released copy of the book for an honest review.

A fascinating read about a bit who showed away on Byrd's first expedition to Antarctica. The nonfiction reads like fiction with great flow and pacing. The author gives great background on the time period as well as Billy himself. I found it highly enjoyable and learned a great deal as well!

A rousing non fiction book written by an author who has successfully done fiction,and is also a well known filmmaker. In it she tells an almost forgotten story of a boy fresh out of high school in New York City that successfully stowed away on a ship leaving for Antarctica. The book reads almost like those written by Jack London revolving around the men that go down to the sea in ships. The events depicted took place at the end of the roaring twenties beginning in 1928. Richard Byrd had organized an expedition to visit the mysterious seventh continent and planned to use aeroplanes to more fully map out the Antarctic area. What they might also discover remained a most intriguing question. Animal life? Areas of more temperate climate?,strange creatures? It was an adventure that might be likened to the furor about the first landing on the moon a few generations later.
Billy Gawronski was the son of Polish immigrants that had settled in a section of Queens county a borough of New York City. The father successfully started an upholstery business and had visions of taking Billy into it to help build it up. But Billy developed a mind similar to many other people at that time. He was in love with the idea of making the trip to Antarctica with Byrd. When he was not selected as part of the crew going he decided to sneak aboard the ship as a stowaway and try and convince the captain to take him along in any capacity.
Billy was successful in sneaking aboard and began an adventure without parallel. The adventure took him to Panama, going through the canal, to Tahiti and than to New Zealand as the jumping off place for the trip to Antarctica. Ms Shapiro uses a style of simply relating the facts she has garnered through research. The amazing adventures of this young man are described without trying to put conversations into his mouth. This approach makes the story even more realistic. Billy had passed away when Ms Shapiro made the decision to write about him, but his widow was still alive and contributed letters and photographs to the telling of the story.
A final section is dedicated to Billy's further career which continued to involve great adventure. A well told story about a heretofore little known event.

The Stowaway is about a young Polish boy in New York City named Billy Gawronski who had a love, as I do, of adventure tales. He takes this love to extremes by stowing away on Admiral Richard Byrd’s expedition to Antartica in 1928. The story follows Billy’s journey across the globe while simultaneously sharing the ups and downs of the expedition as a whole.

Shapiro details the traceable parts of Billy’s life before, during, and after the expedition. There are enough gaps that he never came to feel like a friend, though I admired his pluck and was eager to continue reading each time I picked up the book. I knew nothing of Byrd’s Antartica expedition before The Stowaway and am interested to research if any artifacts still exist. I’d love to see them.

I could NOT put this book down. It was so interesting, so heartfelt, and just so unbelievable. Yet, it is/was all true. I could not help but rally for Billy to keep fighting, to keep wanting adventure out of life, to keep up his "pluck". I felt that I was right there with Billy unloading a ship onto Antarctica. Overall, a wonderfully written book about a true event.
Downside...no pictures.

This is a fast paced, fascinating slice of American history. How a teenager stowed aboard Richard Byrd’s Antarctica expedition, what that expedition was like and how it effected all those involved. Readable, fun and filled with factoids I’m sure you didn’t know this book is perfect for fans of Eric Larson.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I cannot believe this is a nonfiction book! Billy lived such an exciting life! Billy was determined to join Robert Byrd's planned trip to Antarctica and leave his job working in the family business in New York City. He decided to stow away and that is just the beginning of his adventure. This book grabbed me and would not let me go! I think that it was all the more enjoyable because it is a true story!