Post Captain

What Hacker News says

1. jimhefferonMar 2020
   Twenty years ago I came down with a heart condition. I had two young children and a lovely wife, a nice life, and I found myself awake for hours every night, afraid.

   I read Mr O'Brian's books. They spoke to me, and I learned a great deal from them. I think of them as a twenty volume essay on what it means to be a man (or a person, but mostly a man).

   They are far from perfect. A person only thirty or forty year on winces on some of the things said, for instance. But I learned a great deal about people and I often think about the characters; if not daily then at least several times a week.

   If you give them a try, and I urge you to, then I'd suggest starting with the second book Post Captain (others will disagree but this is my $0.02), since I find that the first is more of an act of literature than I like. (Some people find the nautical detail puts them off. If so, just ignore it. The books are about the people.)

   Show morethread
2. jimhefferonMay 2018
   I have learned things from some of the ones mentioned. But I also have one that is a bit different than the others here so far.

   In 2001 I came down with a heart condition. I was 42, had two young kids, a good job, and basically did not know what to do. Spent a lot of nights up at 2 am. I read through the Aubrey-Maturin series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey%E2%80%93Maturin_series. On their face, they form an adventure series of historical novels (they fit into a category that Great Britian has, naval fiction). But it seemed to me then and still seems to me now that they are literature, an extended meditation on what it means to be a man.

   In any event, they fitted my circumstances. I learned a great deal. They helped me. (I advise starting with the second one, Post Captain.)

   Show morethread
3. lobster_johnsonAug 2017
   Another writer in the same league, writing about the same period (and who coincidentally was also a big admirer of Austen), is Patrick O'Brian. His Aubrey-Maturin cycle, about the 20-year relationship between a British naval captain and his physician, is fantastic. The second novel in the series, "Post-Captain", is something of an homage to Austen.
   thread
4. dminorOct 2009
   Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell

   Post Captain (well, basically all of the Patrick O'Brian series)

   thread
5. jpm_sdDec 2025
   Patrick O'Brian (author of the Aubrey/Maturin series) was a huge Austen fan and intentionally modeled his writing style after hers. Post Captain (book 2) is the most explicit homage, with a number of character names borrowed from Austen's work.
   thread
6. msgNov 2008
   I read all the time, no matter what my schedule is. It is an anchor in my life. Mostly sf and time-tested classics.

   I'm starting to read Aubrey-Maturin by Patrick O'Brian. I finished Master and Commander and I'm on the next one, Post Captain.

   I'm reading Bad Money by Kevin Phillips, which basically called the market failures early this year.

   I've got A Canticle for Leibowitz and Anathem, which I'm doing as a pair.

   I started reading Stephen King in chronological order a while back, and I'm up to Pet Sematary (early 80s).

   Also, Crockford's JavaScript book.

   Show morethread