Erskine Childers' "The Riddle of the Sands", an analysis of German naval ambitions pre-WWI masquerading as a tense work of fiction. Joshua Slocum's "Sailing Al

Erskine Childers' "The Riddle of the Sands", an analysis of German naval ambitions pre-WWI masquerading as a tense work of fiction. Joshua Slocum's "Sailing Alone Around the World". Slocum does that. George Ade, any of his works: he was the logical successor as a humorist to Mark Twain, yet his work doesn't wear all that well since he was in love with turn-of-the-20th-century slang. With some effort his portrayals of character turn surprisingly deep and sympathetic.