CAPTAIN OF THE QUEENS: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CAPTAIN HARRY GRATTIDGE, FORMER COMMODORE OF THE CUNARD LINE, AS TOLD TO RICHARD COLLIER (Dutton 1956).
What I remember: Harry Grattidge was one of the last captains of the
RMS Queen Mary and
RMS Queen Elizabeth, once the premier ocean liners in the world and the pride of Britain's Cunard Line. CAPTAIN OF THE QUEENS tells Grattidge's story from his days as a lowly cabin boy aboard a sailing ship, his coming of age at sea, and his rise to the highest rank at Cunard.
The rest of the recollection: I read this in a volume of
Readers' Digest Condensed Books and recall being completely captivated. I don't remember exactly when I read it, but it would probably have been around 7th or 8th grade. I was fascinated by ships and airplanes and spacecraft and really cool acts of engineering in general.
 |
| Queen Mary in 1945, in troopship livery |
A couple details stood out, though, that had nothing to do with the engineering itself. The first was an anecdote about how the captain of a ship has to be on top of every detail, even those that seem the least important. To illustrate this, Grattidge related a story of how he had to change the chaplain's Sunday hymn selection when the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were traveling aboard
Queen Mary. The hymn that got axed?
Crown Him with Many Crowns.
The other was on the order of "don't get cocky kid:" On his first voyage as captain of
Queen Mary, he ran her aground in harbor...
And now: Still a fascinating and captivating read of a bygone era, telling Grattidge's life story wrapped around an account of his last voyage in 1953 as captain of
Queen Elizabeth. Although written for adults, I think it would still appeal to young adults who enjoy history or historical fantasy of the steam and diesel eras.
THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON, by Johann Wyss (orig. pub. 1812)(Pictured cover is from Yearling 1999 edition). A Swiss clergyman and his wife and four sons are stranded on a (really big) desert island when their ship crashes onto a reef in the middle of a storm. There, they survive alone for a decade, encountering an extraordinary array of flora and fauna, build a tree house, and generally bring civilization to the antipodes.
This was one of my favorite books as a kid. I remember taking it out of the library in third or fourth grade and never wanting to return it. Just the idea of having to make do without modern conveniences was intriguing. And it actually hit fairly close to home, since many members of my family grew up without many of the basics (plumbing, electricity, cable TV) we take for granted today.
I also found interesting the details on how they went about building the tree house, installing the plumbing, etc. The animal and the botany lectures were also fun, although even than, I knew that certain, er, liberties were being taken. It's still an absolutely terrific adventure and worth the time.
Finally, I always wondered why the family's last name was "Robinson," since they were Swiss and all, and it wasn't until recently that I discovered it (probably) wasn't. The title was a reference to the fact that the book was a
robinsonade, a
Robinson Crusoe-type adventure.
DANNY DUNN AND THE ANTI-GRAVITY PAINT, by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin (orig. published 1956)(ages 8-12).
What I remember: In the DANNY DUNN series, Danny and his friends (Joe and Irene, etc.) have various science fiction-y adventures. In this one, they accidentally set loose a spaceship and go traveling across the solar system...
I didn't read the entire series, but do recall DANNY DUNN AND THE HOMEWORK MACHINE and DANNY DUNN AND THE SWAMP MONSTER.
The rest of the recollection: I remember always liking these books and am a little surprised I never read them all (especially since there's one about them being trapped on a desert island). I also remember ANTI-GRAVITY paint feeling a little dated, but that was kind of one of the things
I liked about it.
And now: It's still a bit dated, but still fun (The science, even apart from the "anti-gravity paint," doesn't quite work...).
In addition to Danny and his friend Joe, we're introduced to Danny's mother, and to Professor Bulfinch and Dr. Grimes (The jolly chubby scientist and the more saturnine tall, thin one must have been popular back in the day (it's also featured in
THE ENORMOUS EGG)). Irene apparently doesn't join the cast until book 3. And, it's illustrated by
Ezra Jack Keats!
I have that book on my bookshelf!