I am a terribly practical person. I blame my parents, but digging any further into that is for therapy not a blog. What does this have to do with my review of Sailing Alone by Richard King? Simply, people who would choose to sail alone in the ocean seem ridiculous to me. They put their own lives in danger. They put potential rescuers in danger. And for what?

Guess who was ready for a practical skeptic (cynic?) like me? Richard King! King also tells a parallel story of his own solo sailing venture while looking at a few hundred years of other trips like his. If you are expecting to read about shipwrecks, this is not that book although a few bad things happen. This is instead about people who intend to sail across an ocean, if not the world, completely alone.

My skepticism about this book dissipated almost immediately when King plainly stated that he will try and answer the question of "why go?" for each single-handed sailor. Most importantly, King is not afraid to point out the things I thought throughout the book. Some of these sailors are heroic, determined, and take their journeys for unselfish reasons. Others are egomaniacs, mentally ill, or trying to be on a reality show (though I blame the parents of that one). King intersperses these stories with his own solo trip as well as chapters on various aspects of these voyages like birds, sharks, and near death experiences.

I would caution readers to know what you are getting into. King's writing is excellent from beginning to end. However, the book started to drag for me in the second half. Some of the stories seem to cover a lot of the same ground. This is absolutely a question of personal preference. If you are interested in sailing and the art of it, then you must read this book. If you are vaguely interested, this may drag as you reach the end. It's a great book for the right audience.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Penguin Group Viking.)