From Library Journal

McCamish, an Australian journalist and playwright based in London, sets out to reach various port cities of the Mediterranean, Africa, and India aboard freighters. His aim is to describe not only the ports he visits but also the crews and the far-from-glamorous life onboard. His journey begins in Marseilles, then proceeds to Tunis and ports in Corsica, Sardinia, mainland Italy, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. On the next leg of the journey, he starts in the Canaries and then travels to Capetown, the east coast of Africa, and finally southern India. For the most part, life aboard ship is exciting but often miserable, with terrible food and poor quarters. But despite the hardships, McCamish preserves his humorous style till the very end. For the American reader, some of the British/Australian language and references may be hard to decipher. Also, some photographs of the ships or the port cities would have lent a great deal to the prose. Recommended for public libraries. George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, PA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

The wide, unbounded oceans of the world have always fascinated travellers, as have the restless port cities that connect land to sea. But has the romance that has always surrounded sea travel survived in an era of rationalised ports and sparsely crewed container ships?

Thornton McCamish sets out from London, one of the world’s great maritime cities, in search of whatever remains of the rough-and-ready life of those who work and travel by water. In ports big, small, ancient, modern and deservedly forgotten he seeks for the world of sea dogs, old salts and adventure – and finds bad food, themed bars, model ships and prostitutes. As he circumnavigates the Mediterranean and follows the ancient spice and slaver routes around Cape Horn and across the Indian Ocean to Kochi, he gradually finds that the mystery and menace of the oceans endure beneath and parallel to our globalised world. Supercargo is a penetrating and wickedly funny study of a way of life and travel that