Joshua N. (Joshua Nickerson) Taylor

Best known for Sea Yarns: The Log of a Cape Cod Sea Captain, this American writer presented himself as Capt. Joshua N. Taylor of Orleans, Massachusetts. The book was originally published in 1915 and frames its stories as true episodes from his own life at sea.

In the opening note to the book, he explains that the "sea yarns" are drawn from chapters of his life and shared as the experiences of "a sailor of the old school." That gives the work much of its charm: it reads less like polished fiction and more like a seasoned mariner talking plainly about the dangers, humor, and hard routines of the sailing world.

For listeners who enjoy memoir, maritime history, and voices from coastal New England, his work offers a vivid window into an earlier seafaring life. Even in a short volume, he comes across as observant, practical, and eager to preserve the feel of the age of sail.