Title: The Captain Nemo Cookbook Papers, by Hal Painter
Author: Hal Painter
[$20, first edition rare collectible hardcover. Non-US pays excess postage. Out of Stock — looking for more copies!]
The full title of this amazing book is: “The Captain Nemo Cookbook Papers: Everyone’s Guide to Zen and the Art of Boating in Hard Times Illustrated, A Nautical Fantasy.” Sounds like fun, eh?
It’s one of the only real-world (affordable) boat culture/lifestyle books.
It’s a novel offering a comic 60’s look at the world of boating through the eyes of a variety of escapees from the rat race. It’s a great period piece that just the same offers great wit and excellent antidotes to the crass consumerism that’s taking over modern boating. It’s from the 80’s but it depicts an attitude that came on strong in the 70’s (and before, for sure)—where boating was part of a path to affordable, wholesome liberation, and not a way to spend money, keep up with the joneses or offset a terrible work life on the weekend. It’s a lesson worth keeping alive and in the forefront of all our cultural and social activities.
Zen nuggets, marina etiquette, boat fixer-uppers and appearances by wildly mythic heroes of boating all combine for a rare literary addition to the boating bookshelf. A rare chance to add literary zest to your boat book collection. This is the revival of a ‘hippy’ classic.
