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However cliched the words important and classic have become in the reviewer's vocabulary they perfectly describe Richard Henry Dana Jr's "Two Years Before the Mast."

A classic because it has stood the test of time and can still be read, and reread, to provide the reader with something new and fresh; important because it provides a simple, but nonetheless powerful, portrayal of the past.

Important, too, because it speaks to people with wide and varied interests; the maritime historian is presented with a document of unusual clarity; the sociologist can learn about total institutions as well as gaining insight into the dynamics of social class. Students of industrial relations can examine the harsh realities of management/worker relationships; there is a particularly vicious and unnecessary example of this which it would be unfair to reveal to prospective readers

Those with less rigid academic interests, however, can simply enjoy a rattling good sea adventure. It is outstanding as one of those sea yarns that grip the imagination, transporting the reader to a different world.

Taking, for reasons of health, what might these days be termed a gap year in his studies Dana embarked on a voyage round Cape Horn. Unusually for his time and station in life he sailed as an ordinary seaman before the mast.

On the face of it this is a simple narrative of a return voyage from Boston to California undertaken by Dana in the 1830s. Part of its magnitude stems from the fact that there is virtually no other literature of its kind available. Not only did he recall his own first hand experiences as an ordinary seaman, he had the education and literary skills with which to relate them. As he points out in his foreword most literate men with experience of the sea were normally either officers or passengers.

This kind of document is not only a treasure trove for the social historian, providing a moving insight into a way of life long gone, it is written in a manner easily accessible for those with less academic interests.

Dana did worry about his use of nautical terminology, fearing that the general reader might find it incomprehensible. The finished work justifies his decision to use it. Nautical language, albeit specialized, hasn't changed radically in centuries. Thus, something first published anonymously as a journal some 170 years ago is presented in a language that hasn't become archaic. The modern reader will recognize many of the terms as specific to the milieu of ships and will certainly

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