Max Wood served his apprenticeship on the very last commercial voyages of any cargo square-rigger. His book is a piece of living history, documenting in great detail work practices and a way of life now totally gone by. It is also a vivid and honest account of the life of "true" sailors". A natural story teller, modest and good humoured, Max tells it all as it really was: the exhilaration, the camaraderie, the constant hard work, the fears, the terrors at times, the frequent boredom, the sexual frustration, the immense fatigue...and also the pride...the pride of being in the number of those who throughout the ages have heroically challenged the awesome forces of nature for little reward but a spartan life.