The strange last voyage of Donald Crowhurst

33928945By: Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall
Location:NF 920 TOM
Genre: True story of deceit and sail racing

Now a major motion picture starring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz, directed by James Marsh (The Theory of Everything).

Donald Crowhurst proves that highly intelligent (and brave) men can make many bad decisions, leading to ultimate failure. This brings into question: what really is intelligence? The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst is a fascinating account of his last voyage. Taking part in the global race was not enough for him. Deceit and ramblings about disembodied intelligence are consequences of his vanity. Nevertheless, all fascinating stuff. A very interesting but deeply flawed man. The best decision would have been to wait the following year to embark on the race but to Donald Crowhurst, hesitation was minus time and action plus time. Neither he nor the boat was ready. There are many lessons in this book. 
-Simon- Goodreads.com



In 1968, Donald Crowhurst was trying to market a nautical navigation device he had developed, and saw the Sunday Times Golden Globe round the world sailing race as the perfect opportunity to showcase his product.
Few people knew that he wasn't an experienced deep-water sailor. His progress was so slow that he decided to short-cut the journey, while falsifying his location through radio messages from his supposed course.
Everyone following the race thought that he was winning, and a hero's welcome awaited him at home in Britain. But on 10 July 1968, eight months after he set off, his wife was told that his boat had been discovered drifting in mid-Atlantic. Crowhurst was missing, assumed drowned, and there was much speculation that this was one of the great mysteries of the sea.
In this masterpiece of investigative journalism, Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall reconstruct one of the greatest hoaxes of our time. From in-depth interviews with Crowhurst's family and friends and telling excerpts from his logbooks, Tomalin and Hall develop a tale of tragic self-delusion and public deception, a haunting portrait of a complex, deeply troubled man and his journey into the heart of darkness.
 

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