In 1938 an eighteen-year-old boy signed
on for the round trip from Europe to
Australia in the last commercial sailing
fleet to make that formidable journey.
The four-masted barque Moshulu ended
up as a dockside restaurant in Philadelphia;
the young apprentice went on to become
one of the greatest travel writers of
this century. The Last Grain Race is
Newby's spellbinding account of his time
spent on the Moshulu's last voyage in
the Australian grain trade.
Newby's sharp eye for detail captures
the hardships, danger, squabbles, companionship
and sheer joy of shipboard life - bedbugs,
ferocious storms, eccentric Finnish crew
and all. By pure chance, he witnessed
the passing of the era of sail, and his
tale is all the more significant for
being the last of its kind.
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