Books with author Johann David

Excerpt from The Swiss Family Robinson: Or Adventures of a Father and Mother and Four Sons in a Desert IslandA pastor or Clergyman of West Switzerland, having lost his fortune in the Revolution of 1798, resolved, on reflecting on the family he had to bring up, to become a voluntary exile, and to seek in other climates the means of support. He sailed, accordingly, with his wife and children, four sons, from twelve to five years of age, for England, where he accepted an appoint ment of Missionary to Otaheite not that he had any desire to take up his abode in that. Island, but that he had conceived the plan of passing from thence to Port Jackson, and domiciliating himself there as a free settler. He possessed a considerable knowledge of agriculture, and by this means hoped, with the aid of his sons, to gain an advantageous establishment, which his own country, convulsed with the horrors of war, denied him. He turned the small remnant of his fortune into money, and bought with it seeds of various sorts, and a few cattle, as farming stock. The family took their passage accordingly, satisfied with this consolation - that they should still remain together; and they sailed with favorable winds till in sight of New Guinea. Here they were attacked by a destructive and unrelenting tempest and it is in this crisis of their Adventures that the Swiss Pastor, or Family Robinson, begins the Journal which is now presented to the Public.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

An epic tale of adventure and survival, The Swiss Family Robinson has been a bestseller ever since it was published in 1812, just over 200 years ago. Written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss, it begins with a shipwreck. A boat carrying a family of settlers to a distant colony is driven onto a reef just off an uncharted tropical island. The sailors desert the ship in lifeboats, leaving the Swiss family on board. They weather the storm, build a makeshift raft of empty casks and head for the island. Once on dry land, they set about exploring their new surroundings. Using their wits and ingenuity, they build a new life together and make many amazing discoveries

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE SWISS FAMILY ROJBINSOfl. CHAPTER I. The tempest had raged for six days, and on tne seven tn seemed to increase. The ship had been so far driven from its course, that no one on board knew where we were. Every one was exhausted with fatigue and watching. The shattered vessel began to leak in many places, the oaths of the sailors were changed to prayers, and each thought only how to save his own life. " Children," said I, to my terrified boys, who were clinging round me, " God can save us if he will. To him nothing is impossible; but if he thinks it good to call us to him, let us not murmur : we shall not be separated." My excellent wife dried her tears, and from that moment became more tranquil. We knelt down to pray for the help of our Heavenly Father; and the fervor and emotion of my innocent boys proved to me that even children can pray, and find in prayer consolation and peace. We rose from our knees strengthened to bear the afflictions that hung over us. Suddenly we heard amid the roaring of the waves the cry of " Land ! land !" At that moment the ship struck on a rock; the concussion threw us down. We heard a loud cracking, as if the vessel waapin-ting asunder; we felt that we were aground, and heard the captain cry, in a tone of despair, " We are lost! Launch the boats !" These words were a dagger to my heart, and the lamentations of my children were louder than ever. I then recollected myself, and said, " Courage, my darlings, we are still above water, and the land is near. God helps those who trust in him. Remain here, and I will endeavor to save us." I went on deck, and was instantly thrown down, and wet through by a huge sea; a second followed. I struggled boldly with the waves, and succeeded in keeping myself up, when I saw, with terror, the extent of ...

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The novel opens with the family in the hold of a sailing ship, weathering a great storm. The ship runs aground on a reef, and the family learns the ship's crew has taken to a lifeboat and abandoned them. Subsequent searches for the crew yield no trace. The ship survives the night, and the family finds themselves within sight of a tropical island. The ship's cargo of livestock, dogs, guns & powder, carpentry tools, books, a disassembled pinnace, and provisions have survived. The family builds a raft, lashes livestock and the most valuable supplies to it, and paddles to the island, where they set up a temporary shelter. Over the next few weeks they make several expeditions back to the ship, to empty its hold, and harvest rigging, planks, and sails. They construct a small homestead on the island, and the ship's hull eventually breaks up in a storm and founders. The middle of the book is a series of vignettes, covering several years. The father and older boys explore various environments about the island, discover various (improbable) plants and animals, and build a large tree house, complete with a library. They also use the carpentry tools and local resources to build mechanical contraptions. Eventually, sailing the pinnace around the island's coast, they discover a European family hiding from local pirates. They adopt their daughter (who at first masquerades as a boy), and her father returns on a rescue mission, restoring the family's contact to the outside world.(Excerpt from Wikipedia)