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WILLIS,WILLIAM: : THE EPIC VOYAGE OF THE Seven Little Sisters: A 6,700-mile VOYAGE ALONE ACROSS THE PACIFIC.[Author SIGNED copy.]

LONDON.HUTCHINSON,1956.

ISBN No ISBN.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,author SIGNED,1st edn. VG/VG-.No owner inscrptn,but author's neat,blue ink signature to title-page, price-clip to dw/dj.Colour pictorial artwork illustrated upper dw/dj+spine/backstrip with shelf-wear to edges and corners,closed tears to top edges(4),top corners and to one bottom corner and foot of spine/backstrip.All nicks/tears affected with minimal rubbing+chipping, incuring some miniscule loss.Described hard but fairly and honestly.Top edge slightly dust-soiled and minimally aged/ darkened with light,sporadic spotting/ foxing - as usual/normal,fore-edges also slightly aged but with much less spotting/ foxing; contents bright,tight and clean - no dog-ear rading creases to any pages' corners.Publisher's original,plain blue cloth bds with crisp,bright,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip,gilt ship's silhouette to upper bd's lower,right-hand corner,with a small stain/splash to centre of same bd,some spotting to spine/ backstrip and generally clean,plain white eps.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,SIGNED,1st edn,6-244pp [paginated] includes acknowledgements, contents+illus lists/tables,32 chapters, envoy,mixture of 43 contemporary b/w+ colour photographs interspersed throughout the text and the book,8 b/w charts+ sketches,and an appendix; plus [unpaginated] half-title-page,colour photographic frntis,SIGNED title-page and dedication. On October 15th,1954,William Willis achieved the impossible.Alone on a sinking raft,battered by nearly four months of storms and wind,exhausted from lack of sleep,he landed at Pago Pago in British Samoa,6,700 miles from his starting point in Callao,Peru.He had sailed not only farther,but also faster than the Kon-Tiki expedition,to complete what has been called "the greatest solo trip since Charles Lindbergh's famous flight." In this inspiring book Willis tells the full story of this epic adventure.It is a saga of raw courage and dogged determination,of a man's faith in himself that could not be weakened by any blow of fate.He set out to prove that castaways,with minimum equipment,could survive; he discovered the unimaginable delight in existing alone with Nature - beyond time and space - where the expected battle with the wind and waves became instead a fusion of himself with the tremendous natural forces around him.Raising money to outfit such a "hair-brained" project was not easy.He searched for months for the seven balsa logs of the right size to make his famous raft,which he then christened The Seven Little Sisters.He had to find native workmen to help him build the raft according to his own unique design,and he had to find a way to convey it 700 miles down the coast from Guayaquil to Callao in order to take advantage of the Humboldt current and to avoid,if possible,the worst of the hurricanes.The greatest test began on June 23rd,1954,when he was at last alone at sea,out of sight of land,with only his cat and parrot for company.The spiritual adjustment required to endure the endless,lonely days; the constant activity needed to sail the raft; exhaustion from too little sleep - these were the daily stresses,as ever present as the wind and the waves.But there were harder trials in store.A mysterious illness almost paralysed him with pain for 30 hours; most of his drinking water went bad; heavy storms ripped his sails.There was the terrible moment when,while trying to free his fish hook from a shark's mouth,he fell overboard and,with bleeding hand,had to haul himself back with the help of the frail,frayed fishing line.And finally cane the awful realization that the water-soaked balsa logs were sinking lower and lower in the water.It is an extraordinary saga of a man who dared to dream of the impossible - and made his dream come true.Very uncommon title/edn to find SIGNED. Please contact seller,because of the value of this item,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,SIGNED,1st edn.
Author's signatue.

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