Captain Alex Maclean

Download or read book Captain Alex MacLean written by Don MacGillivray and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2008-11-01 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alex MacLean was the inspiration for the title character in Jack London's bestselling novel The Sea-Wolf. Originally from Cape Breton, MacLean sailed to the Pacific side of North America when he was twenty-one and worked there for thirty-five years as a sailor and sealer. His achievements and escapades while in the Victoria fleet in the 1880s laid the foundation for his status as a folk hero. But this biography reveals more than the construction of a legend. Don MacGillivray opens a window onto the sealing dispute brought the United States and Britain to the brink of war, with Canadian sealing interests frequently enmeshed in espionage, scientific debate, diplomatic negotiations, and vexing questions of maritime and environmental law.