Shelly's Book Journal

This is in part the real story of Nathanial Bowditch, a poor New England boy living in post Revolutionary Salem, MA. He is quite intelligent, but instead of getting to go to school, he is indentured out to a chandelry. During his indentured period, he learns many things through self study including French and Latin. He learns about the stars - everything is about "mathematics". He later becomes the navigator for ships - using new techniques to help sail through treacherous waters.We read this as part of our homeschool curriculum, and it was an excellent book. It reflects life in the new country at the time and talks of some of the hardships faced by the people - including the challenges of life on the sea. While the book is not a true biography - the author takes liberty with conversations and sequence of events - it gives one the sense that any person can be anything as long as they apply themselves. A good lesson for kids and a good reminder for adults.