This is a book about a captain and his ship, the Clementine. The sailor tells the story of his vessel from the early 1930s, when it was built at the shipyard, until its demise. Having boarded the Clementine as a boy, he spent almost his entire life on this cargo ship, working his way up from cabin boy to captain. With the Clementine, he was able to see the whole world: Havana and Valencia, Panama and New York, Lisbon and Liverpool. The Clementine visited the most exotic countries with peaceful cargo, during the war it carried ammunition and equipment for the Red Army through the waters of the Arctic, and at the end of its long working life it found peace on the seabed. The captain stood at the helm of his Clementine until its demise. Together they make a journey that will last a lifetime. The ship and her story come to life in Roberto Innocenti’s amazing, detailed illustrations, which show how the world changed from the 1930s to the 1980s. Together with the sailors, we witness successive historical events: the Spanish Civil War, World War II, the strikes of the 1980s in Poland, and admire the diversity of landscapes from the most diverse corners of the world: Polynesia and India, America and Europe, a volcanic eruption, Arctic ice, scenes of peaceful life and sea battles. The story of the ship’s life is complemented by a map of the peaceful and military routes of the Clementine, as well as diagrams of the ship’s internal structure from bow to stern and from masts to hold. The Clementine itself is a fictional vessel, but its fate repeats the stories of many cargo ships of that time.
Recommended reader age: 7+
Author: Roberto Innocenti
Translation: Olga Varshaver
Year of release: 2018
Publisher: On foot in history
Pages: 42
Cover type: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-5-905474-98-9