New
AcquisitionsTaking on the World; Ellen MacArthur; Michael Joseph, 2002; £17.99; CA 16121
My first response was gloom receiving this to review. A quick dip into the thick tome suggested it would have benefited from another round of editing. More worrying was what I would say, starting with an existing sense of unease about young women, sponsorship and extreme sport.
Then I set off reading, surfing down the front of each wave to the end, over a couple of days. I was carried along by Ellen’s energy and enjoyment, and began to gain confidence for her. From childhood, she has been acquiring DIY skills; James Stevens was her Yachtmaster Instructor examiner; other people and boats I have met came into the picture; there had been a lot of experience in the work up to the Open 60. The anguish of the post-Vendee year is horrible, but I was left feeling that writing the book had helped Ellen to make sense of her plans for the future. For the reader, it provides Ellen’s own background to the newspaper headline story. - JT
Page prepared 2 October 2002
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Acquisitions |