the Argobuilder; Craftsmanship, Adventure, Enjoying Life!
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    • Building SCAMP "ARGO"
    • Compac 16 Pilothouse
    • Building a Kaholo SUP
    • Making a SUP Paddle
    • Ships' Provisions
    • True Seafaring Tales: Book Reviews
    • Nautical Fiction: Book Reviews
    • Seafaring and Boat Building Reference Books
  • The Woods of Arcady
    • Wisconsin Mushroom Hunting
    • Wisconsin Wildflower Photo Gallery
    • Making Apple Cider
    • Making Maple Syrup
    • Building a Stone Arch
    • Making Traditional Wooden Skis
  • The Homestead
    • The Warp and Weft >
      • Making a Large Tapestry Loom
      • Making a Small Hand Loom
      • Weaving Projects for Small Hand Loom
      • Beautiful Handmade Tapestry Beaters
    • The Merry Blacksmith
    • Making Cheese
    • Wooden Cheese Boxes
    • How to Make Pickled Pike
    • Wisconsin Bluegill Fry
    • Making Wooden Spoons by Hand
    • Handmade Wooden Dustpans
    • Making Broom-Corn Brooms
    • Making Horsehair Brushes and Brooms
  • The Muse
    • Poetry
    • Antique Typewriters >
      • Underwood Standard Portable 3 Bank Typewriter
      • Corona 3 Folder Typewriter Refurbishment
      • Typewriter Platen Replacement
      • Design of Rubber Parts for Antique Typewriters
    • Making an Alphorn
    • Alphorn Gallery
    • Making an Alphorn Bag
    • Viking Lur
  • The Model Maker
    • Making a booknook
    • Krick Alexandra Steam Launch >
      • Assembling Miniature Steam Model Clyde Oscillating Steam Engine
    • Ship Model FD 10 Arnanes Fishing Smack Johanna
    • Artesania Latina, Cargo Ship "Capri"
    • Building a Ship in a Bottle
    • Model of a Disney Water Taxi
    • BlueJacket Optimist Sailboat Model
    • Oseberg Viking Ship Model
    • Making a Cuckoo Clock
    • 3D Print Workshop
    • 3D Printed Object Gallery
  • Tales of Adventure
    • Sailing from Door County to the UP Michigan
    • Sailing Northern Door County
    • Sailing Lake Superior Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
    • Sailing Lake Huron: St.Ignace, Mackinac Island, Les Cheneaux Islands, St Martin Islands
    • From Manitowoc to Algoma and back on a small boat, 2017

Oh, my Captain! My Captain! noble soul!

Books Reviews of Nautical Fiction:

Moby Dick, by Melville 1851. Truly amazing novel. Wonderfully poetic writing, a tale that is a great adventure story on the surface, and that has meanings and metaphors as deep as the sea! My favorite book.

Billy Budd, Sailor, by Melville (begun in 1888, published pusthumously 1924). "Struck dead by an angel of God! Yet the angel must hang!"

Typee, by Melville 1846. Written based on his personal experience in the pacific. Insightful reading on the uncivilized nature of civilization, and the culture of the people that inhabited the pacific islands before the modern age. And it is worth reading it to read Melville's writing of Fayaway.


Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Coleridge 1798. Inspiring and beautiful adventure poem that tells of a wandering storyteller who now spends his traveling days being compelled to share his story of a brutal sea voyage in which he changes from a sailor who shoots an albatross, bringing death and despair to the voyage, to a person, as the sole survivor of the journey, who loves all creatures great and small. I'd get the version with engraved prints from Gustav Dore. "Water Water everywhere and not a drop to drink.....water water everywhere and all the board did shrink..."

Lord Jim, by Conrad 1900. Captain's, don't abandon ship with the passengers still onboard!!!!

The Heart of Darkness, by Conrad 1899. A dark journey into our human nature. A riverboat slowly works up the river in colonial Africa along with the mind of the narrator, towards.......Kurtz, and the Heart of Darkness....great title.

Paddle to the Sea, by Holling 1941. Kid's picture book, enjoyed it when I was little and I still do! Tells the tale of a carved wooden indian canoe placed in the snow above Lake Nipigon and the canoe's subsequent journey through the Great Lakes and out the St.Laurence into the Atlantic.

Robinson Crusoe, by Defoe 1719. A very thought provoking and impressive book. Great adventure, but I am still thinking what I would write regarding a review of all the meanings and impressions gained from reading the book.

Argonautika, "The Argonautika is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica tells the myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from remote Colchis." From Wikipedia. 

Treasure Island, by Stevenson 1883.  The ultimate pirate adventure tale.  The black spot, one legged pirates, treachery, adventure, and pieces of eight buried amongst the Live Oaks.  You must get to know Billy Bones, Long John Silver, Israel Hands, Captain Smollet, and of course young Jim Hawkins.  Read it when you're young for the adventure, then read it when you're old to feel young, and read it when you're old to find whats there that's more than just adventure.  "Pieces of Eight, Pieces of Eight..."

Copyright 2016 - 2022 www.argobuilder.com ALL photos and writing are by the Argo Builder and his crew, unless noted otherwise. Contact jason@argobuilder.com to request permission to use any writing or images from this site. Thanks. Use the information at your own risk, please ​make safety your first priority, the author does not claim responsibility for the accuracy ​or inaccuracy of any information on this site
  • Home
  • The Shipyard
    • Building SCAMP "ARGO"
    • Compac 16 Pilothouse
    • Building a Kaholo SUP
    • Making a SUP Paddle
    • Ships' Provisions
    • True Seafaring Tales: Book Reviews
    • Nautical Fiction: Book Reviews
    • Seafaring and Boat Building Reference Books
  • The Woods of Arcady
    • Wisconsin Mushroom Hunting
    • Wisconsin Wildflower Photo Gallery
    • Making Apple Cider
    • Making Maple Syrup
    • Building a Stone Arch
    • Making Traditional Wooden Skis
  • The Homestead
    • The Warp and Weft >
      • Making a Large Tapestry Loom
      • Making a Small Hand Loom
      • Weaving Projects for Small Hand Loom
      • Beautiful Handmade Tapestry Beaters
    • The Merry Blacksmith
    • Making Cheese
    • Wooden Cheese Boxes
    • How to Make Pickled Pike
    • Wisconsin Bluegill Fry
    • Making Wooden Spoons by Hand
    • Handmade Wooden Dustpans
    • Making Broom-Corn Brooms
    • Making Horsehair Brushes and Brooms
  • The Muse
    • Poetry
    • Antique Typewriters >
      • Underwood Standard Portable 3 Bank Typewriter
      • Corona 3 Folder Typewriter Refurbishment
      • Typewriter Platen Replacement
      • Design of Rubber Parts for Antique Typewriters
    • Making an Alphorn
    • Alphorn Gallery
    • Making an Alphorn Bag
    • Viking Lur
  • The Model Maker
    • Making a booknook
    • Krick Alexandra Steam Launch >
      • Assembling Miniature Steam Model Clyde Oscillating Steam Engine
    • Ship Model FD 10 Arnanes Fishing Smack Johanna
    • Artesania Latina, Cargo Ship "Capri"
    • Building a Ship in a Bottle
    • Model of a Disney Water Taxi
    • BlueJacket Optimist Sailboat Model
    • Oseberg Viking Ship Model
    • Making a Cuckoo Clock
    • 3D Print Workshop
    • 3D Printed Object Gallery
  • Tales of Adventure
    • Sailing from Door County to the UP Michigan
    • Sailing Northern Door County
    • Sailing Lake Superior Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
    • Sailing Lake Huron: St.Ignace, Mackinac Island, Les Cheneaux Islands, St Martin Islands
    • From Manitowoc to Algoma and back on a small boat, 2017