The 290

by Scott O'Dell

Book Overview

Jim Lynne is idly playing darts in Liverpool when his brother, Ted, calls him over to a table to ask a question about the ship that he is working on. It seems the ship, enigmatically named the 290, is not the cargo ship that people are saying it is. Whatever its purpose, it is certainly built for speed. But Jim thinks he knows that purpose: it is being built for the Confederate navy. And so launches the story of the intertwined fates of a ship and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402213263
• ISBN13: 9781402213267
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
• Length: 121 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.9" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

The 290 (A great book)

Summary: This story is about a man named William Bromley who is an architect, and recently built a ship named the 290 that he fell in love with at the very beginning. Unexpectedly, on the opening day for the 290, it was taken over, and brought out to sea. William decided to sail with the crew, and the trip was on! Throughout the book, William and the other sailors on the 290 are sailing about the sea, and taking over different countries ships. During the time out at sea, William discovers that since he had left home many years ago, his father had been working as a slave trader in Port-au-Prince. He deceived the men there into thinking he had spoken with his father's partner and stowed away 250 slaves on his ship. He then left them in the Canary Islands so that they could live a happy life without being given orders. This book has action and sorrow, but to find out what happens next, you need to get this book, and read it.

Too bad it's out of print!

This book told the story of the CSS Alabama and the USS Kearsarge. I read it growing up and have never been able to find it since. If you can find it, read it--it is a good read and a good history lesson on the naval tactics employed during the Civil War.