The Riddle of the Sands; A Record of Secret Service Recently Achieved (Paperback)

from reading_fox

Meanders. Slow but otherwise interesting mostly sailing story with a little bit of espionage thrown in. Nowadays its probably of more interest fro its insights into 1900s life. Two young chaps (ie in their mid to late 20s) set off in a cramped 7m "yacht" (ie dingy) to sail around the sands and ba...

from yosarian

This book has been called the 'first modern thriller' and is one of the first spy novels that uses masses of verifiable information and real locations, a style later used to great effect by some modern day giants of the thriller genre such as John Buchan, John le Carre and Ian Fleming (though Ers...

from neurodrew

The Riddle of the Sands Erskine Childers February 28, 2011 A Folio Edition. Written in 1903, at a time of tension between Britain and Germany. The story is a description of sailing journeys along Jutland and the Baltic, unraveling the mystery of suspicious activity of German spies and naval vesse...

from bezoar44

A bored young man employed at the British Foreign Office receives an invitation to join an old college acquaintance who is sailing along the Dutch and German coasts of the North Sea. Thinking he is departing for a cruise on a smallish yacht, he instead finds himself on a two-man converted lifeboa...

from PhileasHannay

Childers seems to have had several agendas besides writing an entertaining adventure story: to write about messing about in small yachts, and to wake up England to the impending German threat. There were times, early in the book, where I wondered if I should continue. If I wasn't so interested in...