I read this book around 10 years ago. It was a very good read, and the part at the end of the book where he visits California many years later was quite interes

I read this book around 10 years ago. It was a very good read, and the part at the end of the book where he visits California many years later was quite interesting. Not only does Dana describe what California was like in the 1840s (very empty) and talks about the economy (based off of ranching and cow hides), but he writes a lot about ships and sailing. He started off the voyage as a Harvard University student who knew little about sailing, and he learned as he went. I particularly enjoyed reading about the Hawaiian sailors that were crewing ships in the area. Hawaii is referred to in the book as the Sandwich Islands. It took a while before I remembered that the Sandwich Islands was what the Europeans named the Hawaiian Islands when they were discovered by European sailors. The book became a best seller during the Gold Rush, as it was one of very few books about California available at the time. I very much recommend it, especially since it's freely available on the Internet due to the copyright having expired.