Down To The Sea

About the Book

For those who go down to sea in ships life has always been exciting but ever dangerous. Brutally treated, under paid and subjected to greed of the ship owners and misguided government policies that conspired to keep the seaman in a condition of poverty and near slavery. Change only came about with the advent of the of the Maritime Unions and World War II. But no sooner had the war ended conditions on American Merchant vessels began to revert the old ways. The ship owners, with Government acquiescence, began to register their fleets under foreign flags in an attempt to break the power of the maritime unions. This activity give rise to the continual, and bloody, labor disputes of the 60’s and 70’s. Those prolonged lockouts and strikes were finally responsible for the virtual demise of the Merchant Marine. So ended the dream for we who love the sea and had made it our lives.

About the Author

Born on November 13th in Brooklyn, New York to a young Jewish mother and her unemployed Electrician father in 1939 because of their financial situation decided to move to Los Angeles, California. Arthur dropped out of Washington High School at fifteen and a half to join the Merchant Marine. He was able to do this by lying about his actual age. Soon he was out on the high seas where his spirit of Adventure got him into endless troubles and many close escapes. After eleven years of wandering he gave up his love of the sea. And, heroically attempted to settle into a life of marriage and abject boredom. He did not succeed.