Word: sailor
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...worlds afire. But there are few American writers who can match him for consistent readability and excitement in the field of the short story. His famous The Girls in Their Summer Dresses (1939) says nearly all that there is to say about urban love; his vengeful Sailor Off the Bremen, after 18 years, is still powerful enough to make a reader wince. This new collection never quite reaches the same heights, but is similarly concerned with love and adventure, is written with clarity and intelligence, and makes a skillful record of the mid-century's "wandering and troubled years...
...nation's shorelines, lakes and waterways are dotted with boats; on the Great Lakes, the Detroit area alone counts 100,000; uncounted thousands more skim across the enormous man-made lakes formed by dam projects in the Tennessee Valley, the Colorado and Missouri Rivers. Says one deep-water sailor: "Thousands of farm families, who wouldn't know an auxiliary cutter from a lightship, are literally sailing over the bounding prairie -and loving every minute...
...combat lark compared to the close call at Omaha. Naval support was close to perfection, and Morison, who saw service on no fewer than eleven vessels, thinks the South of France invasion was the "nearly faultless" large-scale operation of the entire war. One thing the U.S. fighting sailor will readily acknowledge, whatever his theater: no other fighting arm in World War II has found a historian with the flair, sympathy and lucidity of the Navy's Morison...
...saddening to learn that only 9% of U.S. boatmen are sailboat enthusiasts. Even more so to conclude that the remaining 91% fail to experience or comprehend the beauty and sense of satisfaction a sailor receives when he combines his skill with the forces of nature to make white sails glide...
...other two plays are far less successful. The evening begins with The Long Voyage Home, a small story of a sailor's being shanghaied. Here, over-acting is at its highest, although Mikel Lambert, in a bit part as a barmaid, is excellent. John Baker plays a bartender with all the fervent cliches of a barber-shop tenor; Cyrus Hamlin, as the poor Swedish hero, is also exaggerated, but with an amiable naviete which suits his role surprisingly well. Jan Baltusnik, as the inevitable whore, adds occasional wistful effectiveness. The director, Edward McKirdy, shows pleasant and exceptional skill...