"Dove" by Robin Lee Graham". A 16 year old sails his 24' sloop "Dove" around the world singlehanded.
"My Old Man and The Sea" by a father and son, Daniel and David Hays. A humorous, touching story of a father and son who sailed a 25' sloop which they built themselves 17,000 miles around Cape Horn. Good read.
"Alone Across The Atlantic" by Francis Chichester. He sails his 40' sloop, the Gipsy Moth III, single handed across the Atlantic. He was age 65 when he accomplished this. This boat was normally crewed by a crew of 6. His book is a must read for anyone who loves the sea.
"Around The World Single Handed" by Harry Pidgeon, Sails his home built 34' Yawl, "Islander" around the world between 1921 and 1925. Without, of course, the modern conveniences sailors take for granted today. He carried his fresh water in wooden barrels and carried food that wouldn't spoil. A really good story.
"Sailing Alone Around the World" Captain Joshua Slocum set out in April of 1895 to sail around the world in his home built 34' sloop "Spray". His voyage of 46,000 miles was to a man it could be done. Really interesting. Well written.
"The Stormy Voyage of Father's Day" On June 14, 1993, Hugo Vihlen sailed a 5'4" home built sail boat, "Father's Day" to Falmoth England from New England. This is a great book, well written and will amaze you.
"The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst". Written by Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall. This is a story of an Englishman who was an electronics expert and ham radio operator. He set sail in the first Around the World race in Autum of 1968 in a ketch rigged tri marian. His boat was found 8 months in mid Atlantic, deserted. The puzzle of this story was put together after studying his logs. It is a story of deception, and of getting into a lie so big that the only way out was suicide. This is a really interesting book. Crowhurst just got into something he couldn't handle and as he posted his progress via ham radio, it became clear he wasn't where he was supposed to be. He became trapped in his own lies, and he knew there was no honorable way out. Sad story.
'Into The Wild" by Jon Krakauer. This book was made into a movie by the same name. A story of young Chris McCandless who, upon graduating from a prestigious college gave his savings, burned his pocket money and set on for an unplanned adventure which ended in his death in an abandoned bus in the wilds of Alaska. Kraklauer's book pieces together Chris' AKA Supertramp story of his travels and of the lives he touched. It is a sad story of an idealistic young man who was full of adventure and wasn't afraid to "go for it". A lot of Alaskan's said he got what he deserved. I disagree. While not a sailing story, it is a great adventure. The sound track for the movie was done by Eddie Veeder. His music really makes the movie. His album is entitled, "Into The Wild". Great book, movie and story.