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Hull Down for Action
A vintage boys' book about four youngsters set adrift in the South Pacific by a German undercover agent who commandeers their boat during WII.
But they make landfall on Guadacanal, cross the island in a series of hair-raising escapades, and finally gaze out on a hidden lagoon where the beautiful brigg that was taken from them, the Island Queen, lies anchored. How they get her back is the stuff legends are made of.
"A modern day KIDNAPPED and ROBINSON CRUSOE rolled into one. A good introduction for younger readers to the sea, its opportunities and perils." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)
213 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1945
14 people want to read
About the author
Armstrong Sperry
115 books39 followersArmstrong Wells Sperry was an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. His books include historical fiction and biography, often set on sailing ships, and stories of boys from Polynesia, Asia and indigenous American cultures. He is best known for his 1941 Newbery Medal-winning book Call It Courage.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 4, 2018
This was an interesting book. I don't know why it was published with the "Teenage Mystery Classics" label because it wasn't a mystery, it was just an adventure, but as an adventure it was pretty fun. Really enjoyed reading how they survived the raft in the ocean, then their island adventures were really something. When they went there with Conk, oh my god, I did not see that coming and was actually really shocked.
Naturally for a book written at this time it was pretty racist and that was hard to get past at a lot of points, but it's a window into how people thought not too long ago. The pidgin talk was fun to read.
Overall a good book.
Naturally for a book written at this time it was pretty racist and that was hard to get past at a lot of points, but it's a window into how people thought not too long ago. The pidgin talk was fun to read.
Overall a good book.
June 10, 2009
Great action/adventure of young men in South Pacific in the early days of WWII.
July 30, 2014
"Hull Down for Action" is a novel I read in the 1960's. Judd and three friends: Ken, a Samoan, and Conit have some 1941 adventures after being cast adrift on a raft in the South Pacific.
November 12, 2025
SPOILER WARNING
Published in 1945 near the end of WWII the novel is set during late 1941 and early 1942 in the South Pacific. In 2025 it would be classified as a Young Adult novel. In 45 it would have been categorized as a Young Persons book or perhaps even a Boys Own Adventure".
A sailing vessel is on a commercial venture to collect rare shells, which in turn will be sold on the market in Hawaii. Rather implausibly the ship is captained by a twenty-year-old college student on sabbatical and two of his officers are equally young. The crew is a motley bunch of European sailors and a Japanese American manservant to the first mate who has a bad habit of slipping between English and American accents and speaking impeccable university level Danish - something that a rougher blue-collar Dane catches onto, but nobody else believes until it's too late.
Within the first fifty pages the ship is seized by the Axis sailors (they were all conveniently hanging out in San Francisco waiting to sign onto the ship when the commercial venture was put together) and the young heroes are sent off on a raft (without provisions) by the evil Japanese agent to die a horrific death. Why go to so much effort to hijack a sailing vessel? The plan is to convert the vessel into a type of "Q Ship" (heavily armed merchant vessel that appears to not be a ship of war to lure target vessels in close which then are attacked by the disguised ship) and raid the shipping lanes in the South Pacific.
Our young heroes barely survive their time adrift and eventually make landfall on Guadalcanal. On the island they have to deal with the Japanese, unfriendly tribes and the elements as they trek across the island. They finally stumble onto a hidden harbor where miracle of miracles they find their stolen ship anchored. Our young men retake the ship, capture the evil German officer and kill the Japanese agent. It ends with the U.S. Navy arriving on scene and everybody preparing to go to war.
Right off the bat it's apparent that this is a story that quickly falls apart with just a minimal amount of logic being applied. However, my 57-year-old brain reminded myself that at the age of 11/12 I wouldn't have caught onto the implausible plot points. This was an adventure novel written for tweens and early adolescents in the 1940s. I would have eaten it up in the late Seventies. I loved the young adult novels that Robert Heinlein, Issac Asimov and Arthur C. Clark wrote in the Fifties. Devoured them essentially and this would have been a big hit with me as well. In many respects the YA novels of today aren't all that far removed.
The book is very fast moving and exciting. However, it is also an eighty-year-old novel written during WWII. Naturally there is some political propaganda thrown in but isn't that heavy handed. However, there is a racial aspect that modern readers will find hard to accept. For example, the Japanese agent is described as a "small yellow demon, cocky strutting bantam, pygmy and little yellow man" multiple times. In addition, it is mentioned several times that the Japanese agent was born in the United States, but that he is a "true son of Nippon". With no mention of the internment camps, it is obvious that the author probably believed that Japanese Americans were wolves in sheep clothing. I would imagine this was a belief held by many Americans in 1945.
Once our heroes reach Guadalcanal the racial stuff continues. There is a local tribesman who acts as their guide for a while. He is untrustworthy and a thief. He is described as a "dark skinned savage, surly looking, shifty" and possessing a "cringing servility". A local Australian makes the following observation: "the darker the hide the darker the heart".
A tribe of pygmies is encountered. They are also initially believed to be treacherous until it is revealed that they are friendly. They are then treated in a condescending manner, much how one would treat puppies. "Dark smiling monkeys" is thrown out at one point.
Another tribe is shown as being more capable and formidable. Their physical features are important. "Their skin was less black than that of the pygmies or the Ringapats......their features too seemed less brutish and anthropoid."
Our three young Americans are accompanied by an American Samoan. Like all good Fridays and Tontos this character is a faithful "brown skinned native" who looks after his charges and is always loyal - like a good dog. At the end he proclaims that he is an American and wants to join the Marines. The response by a U.S. Navy officer is laughter and the remark that business is picking up. Essentially after having risked life and limb for the three Americans and helping stop an enemy ship he is patted on the head.
So, in the end it's a skillfully written novel. It is exciting and holds one's interest, but it is also very much an artifact when it comes to racial stereotypes. Unlike Mr. Sperry's famous award-winning novel "Call it Courage" this one has been out of print for many years and likely will remain so.
Published in 1945 near the end of WWII the novel is set during late 1941 and early 1942 in the South Pacific. In 2025 it would be classified as a Young Adult novel. In 45 it would have been categorized as a Young Persons book or perhaps even a Boys Own Adventure".
A sailing vessel is on a commercial venture to collect rare shells, which in turn will be sold on the market in Hawaii. Rather implausibly the ship is captained by a twenty-year-old college student on sabbatical and two of his officers are equally young. The crew is a motley bunch of European sailors and a Japanese American manservant to the first mate who has a bad habit of slipping between English and American accents and speaking impeccable university level Danish - something that a rougher blue-collar Dane catches onto, but nobody else believes until it's too late.
Within the first fifty pages the ship is seized by the Axis sailors (they were all conveniently hanging out in San Francisco waiting to sign onto the ship when the commercial venture was put together) and the young heroes are sent off on a raft (without provisions) by the evil Japanese agent to die a horrific death. Why go to so much effort to hijack a sailing vessel? The plan is to convert the vessel into a type of "Q Ship" (heavily armed merchant vessel that appears to not be a ship of war to lure target vessels in close which then are attacked by the disguised ship) and raid the shipping lanes in the South Pacific.
Our young heroes barely survive their time adrift and eventually make landfall on Guadalcanal. On the island they have to deal with the Japanese, unfriendly tribes and the elements as they trek across the island. They finally stumble onto a hidden harbor where miracle of miracles they find their stolen ship anchored. Our young men retake the ship, capture the evil German officer and kill the Japanese agent. It ends with the U.S. Navy arriving on scene and everybody preparing to go to war.
Right off the bat it's apparent that this is a story that quickly falls apart with just a minimal amount of logic being applied. However, my 57-year-old brain reminded myself that at the age of 11/12 I wouldn't have caught onto the implausible plot points. This was an adventure novel written for tweens and early adolescents in the 1940s. I would have eaten it up in the late Seventies. I loved the young adult novels that Robert Heinlein, Issac Asimov and Arthur C. Clark wrote in the Fifties. Devoured them essentially and this would have been a big hit with me as well. In many respects the YA novels of today aren't all that far removed.
The book is very fast moving and exciting. However, it is also an eighty-year-old novel written during WWII. Naturally there is some political propaganda thrown in but isn't that heavy handed. However, there is a racial aspect that modern readers will find hard to accept. For example, the Japanese agent is described as a "small yellow demon, cocky strutting bantam, pygmy and little yellow man" multiple times. In addition, it is mentioned several times that the Japanese agent was born in the United States, but that he is a "true son of Nippon". With no mention of the internment camps, it is obvious that the author probably believed that Japanese Americans were wolves in sheep clothing. I would imagine this was a belief held by many Americans in 1945.
Once our heroes reach Guadalcanal the racial stuff continues. There is a local tribesman who acts as their guide for a while. He is untrustworthy and a thief. He is described as a "dark skinned savage, surly looking, shifty" and possessing a "cringing servility". A local Australian makes the following observation: "the darker the hide the darker the heart".
A tribe of pygmies is encountered. They are also initially believed to be treacherous until it is revealed that they are friendly. They are then treated in a condescending manner, much how one would treat puppies. "Dark smiling monkeys" is thrown out at one point.
Another tribe is shown as being more capable and formidable. Their physical features are important. "Their skin was less black than that of the pygmies or the Ringapats......their features too seemed less brutish and anthropoid."
Our three young Americans are accompanied by an American Samoan. Like all good Fridays and Tontos this character is a faithful "brown skinned native" who looks after his charges and is always loyal - like a good dog. At the end he proclaims that he is an American and wants to join the Marines. The response by a U.S. Navy officer is laughter and the remark that business is picking up. Essentially after having risked life and limb for the three Americans and helping stop an enemy ship he is patted on the head.
So, in the end it's a skillfully written novel. It is exciting and holds one's interest, but it is also very much an artifact when it comes to racial stereotypes. Unlike Mr. Sperry's famous award-winning novel "Call it Courage" this one has been out of print for many years and likely will remain so.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews