Captains Courageous

Fifteen year old Harvey Cheyne is heir to a vast fortune. He’s also a spoiled, obnoxious brat, well on his way to becoming a spoiled, obnoxious adult. But Harvey’s fate is changed forever during a trans-Atlantic ocean voyage with his parents when he falls overboard and, against all odds, is rescued by a fishing boat on the Grand Banks. Told in no uncertain terms that the boat—the We’re Here out of Gloucester, Massachusetts—won’t be returning to land for months, and that he’s expected to pitch in with the crew, Harvey first rebels against his fate, before eventually reveling in it. When he eventually returns to land, he’s forever changed. Captains Courageous is one of literature’s great coming of age adventures, and a great view of the bygone cod fishing industry of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The story has been adapted into several movies and musicals, most notably the 1937 film of the same name, which was nominated for four Academy Awards and won Spencer Tracy the Academy Award for Best Actor.