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Richard Halliburton (1900-1939), considered the world's first
celebrity travel writer, swam the length of the Panama Canal,
recreated Ulysses' voyages in the Mediterranean, crossed the Alps
on an elephant, flew around the world in a biplane, and descended
into the Mayan Well of Death, all the while chronicling his own
adventures. Several books treat his life and travels, yet no book
has addressed in detail Halliburton's most ambitious expedition: an
attempt to sail across the Pacific Ocean in a Chinese junk. Set
against the backdrop of a China devastated by invading Japanese
armies and the storm clouds of world war gathering in Europe,
Halliburton and a crew of fourteen set out to build and sail the
Sea Dragon-a junk or ancient sailing ship-from Hong Kong to San
Francisco for the Golden Gate International Exposition. After
battling through crew conflicts and frequent delays, the Sea Dragon
set sail on March 4, 1939. Three weeks after embarking, the ship
encountered a typhoon and disappeared without a trace. Richly
enhanced with historic photographs, Richard Halliburton and the
Voyage of the Sea Dragon follows the dramatic arc of this ill-fated
expedition in fine detail. Gerry Max artfully unpacks the tensions
between Halliburton and his captain, John Wenlock Welch (owing much
to Welch's homophobia and Halliburton's unconcealed homosexuality).
And while Max naturally explores the trials and tribulations of
preparing, constructing, and finally launching the Sea Dragon, he
also punctuates the story with the invasion of China by the
Japanese, as Halliburton and his letters home reveal an excellent
wartime reporter. Max mines these documents, many of which have
only recently come to light, as well as additional letters from
Halliburton and his crew to family and friends, photographs, films,
and tape recordings, to paint an intricate portrait of
Halliburton's final expedition from inception to tragic end.
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