Book excerpt: Excerpt from The World's Revolutions Have yon ever been adrift on the ocean in an open boat? Have you ever been all alone in that mighty solitude of sky and sea, with only one-half inch of wood between your life and a salt water grave five thousand fathoms deep? Did you ever realize what it means to have nothing but your own isolated brain, bone and muscle to pit against the overwhelming forces of nature? One man, and one tiny boat, against a thousand miles of heaving brine and the unbridled winds of heaven! One brain to foresee and overcome the storms, the giant waves, the scorching heat of the noon day sun, the drenching rains, the treacherous currents, the cold and lonely nights, and to control the wild ravings of your animal body that would turn you against yourself, that would prompt you to devour your scant supply of food and drink in a few mad feasts. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.