Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of Captains Courageous

Captains Courageous
Captains Courageous
Author: Rudyard Kipling
ISBN: 9094
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1

4 stars, based on 1 rating
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Write a Review

8 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

perryfran avatar reviewed Captains Courageous on + 1223 more book reviews
Captains Courageous is the classic tale of Harvey Cheyne, a rich, spoiled fifteen-year-old boy who falls overboard after smoking a cigar and becoming seasick on a ship bound for Europe. Luckily, he is picked up by a fisherman in a dory and put aboard a fishing schooner called the We're Here. The owner and captain of the boat, Disko Troop, is not pleased to have the boy aboard but tells him that he will pay him ten dollars a month and board until the schooner docks in Gloucester the following September. The captain's son, Dan, is glad to have someone his own age aboard the fishing boat, and he soon becomes a friend of the castaway. Gradually, Harvey becomes accustomed to the sea. There are times of pleasure as well as of work. Eventually, they return to port and Harvey is reunited with his parents who had thought he was dead. But in the end, Harvey became a man while at sea and was better for it.

Overall, an interesting sea tale. However, sometimes Kipling overused the use of New England vernacular to the point where some passages were indecipherable. Otherwise, a mild recommendation.

I have seen the movie version of this with Spencer Tracy which was very enjoyable. I would actually recommend it over the book.
reviewed Captains Courageous on + 3352 more book reviews
Kipling's classic story about a young student who falls overboard from a luxury liner and is rescued by a fishing ship. The fishing captain does not believe him and so this student winds up working as he has never worked before. If he wants food and a berth he must toil mightily for the fish. A gripping portrait of the sea and its men.
reviewed Captains Courageous on
This is a great story of a boy, Harvey who has never done any work of any kind. His father is a multi-millionaire, never training his son; and his mother a lovely lady who just spoils their son. On a trip to Europe by ship, he falls overboard and is picked up by a schooner, the We're Here. On board the schooner Harvey learns how to work, and he and the Captain's son, Dan, become best friends. Eventually, the We're Here puts into port, and Harvey and his parents are reunited. This is a story of the sea, and of men who earned their living from it, of what it meant to them.

I think that everyone should read this story.
soupermom avatar reviewed Captains Courageous on + 33 more book reviews
This classic tale should be read by everyone. Rudyard Kipling is at his best in this wonderful tale.
readabk avatar reviewed Captains Courageous on + 62 more book reviews
A classic! But beware, you may need your encyclopedia to understand the sea language. And one of the best parts of the book has to do with a boat, a knife and hmmmm..is that a fish??
reviewed Captains Courageous on + 597 more book reviews
This is a classic about a boy growing into a man on a fishing schooner.
reviewed Captains Courageous on + 162 more book reviews
Excellent!
gnosis avatar reviewed Captains Courageous on + 5 more book reviews
In my opinion, this book is the way the world is, not the way it should be. Not for the politically correct.