Barnes's remarkable life stories are shared through twelve comfortably-sized, engaging-written chapters, each one a pleasing combination of fast-paced action, sincerity of expression, quick wit, and below-decks perspective.
'Rolling Home' makes a fine addition to this important series, whose affordability, portability and animated writing style makes this history accessible to broad audiences. It will be of particular interest to those seeking adventure and a good yarn and may even hook others into delving deeper into the study of seafaring.

The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord

The tenth in this excellent series is a brisk, episodic account of a sailor’s life. Born in 1850, Barnes was from a Canadian seafaring family in St John’s, going to sea as a boy at age 11 , and it is clear he was a tough, pugnacious character, often in fights, and even once threatening to decapitate a difficult crew member with an axe. He remarks that an officer, certainly a bosun or mate, had to be able to best any of the men in a fight, of which there seem to have been many. Many of his trips were to the Caribbean and Brazil with attendant hazard from yellow fever, whose origin was not then understood. Once, as captain, he was taken for dead after drinking and drugging himself to cure fever, and astonished the crew, who were ready for his burial, when he emerged from his cabin. His account was recorded by a New York couple in the early 30’s, and as Vince McInerney remarks in the introduction, is unusual in that it describes his on – off courtship of his wife in some detail, and his other relations with women. Her death, and the fate of his children, are however, only mentioned in passing. He lived for the moment, and the crowd. He seems to have been quite restless, and fearless, preferring the incident of the sea to the monotony of land life. In his mid 60’s, he volunteered to serve for England in WW1, and had several remarkable adventures. I checked the sinking of the Saxonian, and the detail is all as described, except the U boat was U54, not U39. You will have to read the book to find out more! Recommended

South West Soundings

This original work has now been sensitively edited by Vincent McInerney and formatted as an edition within the very successful 'Seafarers' Voices' series from Pen and Sword. This true account includes many fascinating ancedotes and includes the exotic woman the author fell for who turned out to be a German spy. This is an extraordinary and valuable book that provides an insight into life under sail and the transition steam, the experiences of peacetime voyages and the experiences of war near the end of an exciting life at sea.

Firetrench Reviews