author
H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise
1819–1869
A U.S. Navy officer who turned years of travel and service into vivid sea stories and adventure writing, he is best remembered for bringing firsthand experience to books like Los Gringos. His work blends memoir, travel, and fiction with an eye for life at sea and abroad.
2 Audiobooks
Los gringos; or, An inside view of Mexico and California : with wanderings in Peru, Chili, and Polynesia
by H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise
About the author
Born in 1819, Henry Augustus Wise was an American naval officer and author. He served in the United States Navy and drew heavily on that experience in his writing, which gave his books a strong sense of place, movement, and practical detail.
Wise is especially known for Los Gringos, a lively account shaped by his travels in Mexico, California, Peru, Chile, and Polynesia. He also wrote fiction and maritime tales, and his reputation rests on the way he turned naval life and long-distance travel into engaging popular reading.
He died in Naples in 1869. Though not as widely read now as some of his contemporaries, his books still offer a valuable glimpse into 19th-century naval life and American travel writing.