WHO DARE TO LIVE. by Watt, Frederick B., Lt.-Cmdr., R.C.N.V.R - 1943

Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1943. 68 pp, 8 3/4" H. B&w frontispiece. "Scrawled on the backs of envelopes and signal pads, (this) poem grew for two years while its author, aboard hundreds of merchant vessels, pursued his duties as Naval Boarding Officer. Some of the passages written in convoy were punctuated by the thump of underwater explosions. In this tale of a typical freighter Captain the reader meets the Merchant Navy seaman with a new intimacy - shares his dreams and the commonplace elements of his inarticulate heroism. The 'march of hearts that would not break', along the gray trails between the Old World and the New, gradually rises above its geographical bounds to reach a climax of spiritual significance in which the reader finds himself a participant, not a spectator. (This) is primarily a story, written in simple narrative verse for the ordinary man afloat or ashore. At the same time it achieves its author's original objective: a tribute to the men who sail the Merchant Fleet from the men guard it." Previous owner's bookplate on front pastedown, gift inscription on free front end paper, very light browning to pages, tiny dint on top edge of both boards, light wear at corners and at top/bottom of spine, light browning on top of text block. Dust jacket has light edge wear/wrinkling, several small tears and very small chips - mainly at top/bottom of spine and flap-folds, tiny puncture on front hinge, very light browning on spine and some edges, small light stain on spine.. Third Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Good.