learn as much as he can right where he is, and he fills notebook after notebook and studies topic after topic, immersing himself in navigation, surveying, languages, and even an encyclopedia. The action and expectation rise as Nat wonders what he will do when his indenture ends and finally climaxes and resolves in his decision to sail on theHenry with a venture of his own.

Then begins another episode in Nat's life, his first sea voyage. The action rises again as Nat adjusts to his new duties as clerk and second mate, learns more about navigation and teaches it to the other men sailing with him, discovers an error in the tables in Moore's widely-used navigation book, and wonders if his venture will come to anything or if he will go broke. The episode resolves with Nat's discovery of a brand new way to work lunars and the $500 payoff of his venture.

Nat's story continues, however, and the action rises again as he signs on to his first voyage on the Astrea. This time we watch as Nat works to teach the stubborn Lem Harvey, helps navigate the ship through the difficult Sunda Strait to Manila Bay, and on a more personal level, realizes his love for Elizabeth. The action does not reach its climax or resolution this time, however, until Nat reveals his love for Elizabeth at the Wiggins's husking bee.

The story's action rises again as Nat embarks on a second voyage on the Astrea, this time to the dangerous Mediterranean. We wonder what will happen, if the Astrea will meet any French pirates, and we chuckle a bit when it does and Nat ends up working out a mathematical problem in the powder room and loses track of time! Also on this voyage, we join Nat in mourning Elizabeth, and the action resolves when the Astrea returns safely to Salem.

Nat's third journey on the Astrea also contains a rising action as Captain Prince and Nat encounter a sullen crew, including a mysterious Spaniard, and a monsoon. Once again, though, the ship returns safely to Salem.

Finally, we read at the edge of our seats as Nat sets out on his final journey as the captain of the Putnam. The action rises again as the ship outruns a typhoon, as Nat deals in the pepper trade, and finally as the Putnam enters a dense fog near Salem and we wonder (with the crew) if Nat will be able to guide the ship through mathematically. He does, of course, and the action resolves with yet another homecoming.

Along with these episodic rises, climaxes, and resolutions of action throughout the book, there is a rise in action overall as Nat builds his knowledge of navigation both by reading and by his experiments aboard ship. The action rises higher when Nat discovers both a new way of performing lunar navigation and mistakes in the most widely-used navigation book of the day. He runs into conflict among sailors like Zack Selby who have no trust or use for “book sailing.” Nat works hard on his own navigational book, and we cheer with him as it proves successful both in America and England. Finally, the action reaches its climax when the Putnam enters a dense fog and Nat is able to guide it through safely home. His years of learning and innovation have proven the worth of “book sailing” once and for all.