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The Sea Runners (Contemporary American Fiction)
The Sea Runners - Contemporary American Fiction
Author: Ivan Doig
In 1853, in the farthest outpost of the Czar's empire, many of the laborers were indentured servants -- seven-year men no better off than slaves. In New Archangel, now Sitka, four of them, all Scandinavians, stole a canoe and pointed it south toward Astoria, in Oregon, twelve hundred miles away. This adventurous story pits its characters agains...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780140067804
ISBN-10: 0140067809
Publication Date: 10/27/1983
Pages: 288
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 16

3.5 stars, based on 16 ratings
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Sea Runners (Contemporary American Fiction) on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Based on an actual 19th century incident, the always wonderful Ivan Doig tells the story of four indentured servants escaping by sea from Russian Alaska to Oregon and freedom.
jazzysmom avatar reviewed The Sea Runners (Contemporary American Fiction) on + 907 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Story based on actual incident of 4 men toiling as indentured servents in the farthest outpost of the czar's empire in 1853. The only way to freedom for these men meant stealing a canoe and traveling down the dangerous Pacific coast from Alaska to Oregon. The Sea Runners as they were called, battle unrelenting high seas and fierce weather, hostile Tlingit Indians, struggle against starvation and exhaustion and endure their own quarrels.
This author takes you mile by terrible mile with these poor men. There's alot of drama within these pages and considering it's based on true facts recorded 164 years ago, it makes it twice as hard to put the book down. I highly recommend if you like a good history read.
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ralegh avatar reviewed The Sea Runners (Contemporary American Fiction) on + 126 more book reviews
A fictionalized version of a real event Doig had read about, he brings his story to life with a wonderful group of characters who escape from indentured servitude by making their way down the Pacific Coast of America in a Native Alaskan canoe. Their struggles, both physical and mental, seem real and heartrending. Stuck together out of necessity, they are hardly a smooth-working machine, but oh what they accomplish! Another wonderful book by Ivan Doig.


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