Span Wire

by Thomas Bruce

Drawing on his own 15+ year career as a seaman, author Bruce delivers a raw and raucous inside look at life in the merchant marine. Freshly graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Third Officer Kevin Murphy is shipping out to the Pacific on his first shipboard assignment with the Government Sealift Command. In his travels, he learns the rhythms and realities of a life spent working at sea and playing in port. He meets the collection of crazy characters who give new meaning to the phrase "work hard and play hard." They will become his friends and shipmates, who show him the wonderful adventures that await in all the ports of call, including the unexpected pleasures of all the bar girls and Mama-sans who cater to a seaman's most hedonistic appetites -- and even more surprising, real love. What he really discovers is as simple as connecting with others. That's the real adventure of life.

499 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 25, 2011