"Ned Myers; of A Life Before The Mast" edited by James Fenimore Cooper
What a great book. Ned Myers ran away to sea at age 10 and he says of it ;
"Some idea may be formed of my recklessness, and ignorance of such matters, at this time, from the circumstance that I do not remember ever to have known the name of the vessel in which I left Nova Scotia. Change an adventure were my motives, and it never occurred to me to inquire into a fact that was so immaterial to one of my temperment. To this hour, I am ignorant on the subject"

His whole carreer seems to be like this. One of shifting sands and impulse.
Some of his stories seem to be a little far fechted, he seems to have mastered the art of the 'Sea Story' or 'Whopper' and could revial Mark Twains "Tall Tales"

He is full of regret for the lost opprtunities that he squandered, and the dangers of too much grog. He doesn't spend alot of time beating himself for this but does warns younger men not to waste them if they come their way. He uses witty sayings all though the book to great advantage;

"Sailors make their money like horses, and spend it like asses"
or "... it being the fate of seaman to encounter the greatest risks and hardships in company, and then to cut adrift from each other, with little ceremony, never to meet again".

Overall it was a great read. Not so much about the day to day living like Dana's Two years Before the Mast, Meleville's White Jacket, Bluejacket: An Autobiography by Fred J. Buenzle or "Man-Of-War Life: A Boy's Experience in the United States Navy, During a Voyage Around the World, in a Ship of the Line" by Charles Nordhoff , but like a fine painting the whole colorfull pallat of a mans life. ( )