An officer in the US Merchant Marine from World War II to the Korean War, Jack Beritzhoff sailed from the South Pacific to Casablanca to Kuwait to Liverpool to Pusan... and back. Sail Away follows him from port to port, around the globe to five continents, discovering friendship and heroism (as well as occasional cowardice and deceit), and of course the beautiful girl in every port.

In the tradition of James Michner's Tales of the South Pacific, this memoir brings a world at war to life through a series of charming vignettes rather than sweeping battles or flying shrapnel. Sail Away is a view of epic events seen through a very human-sized, very bright window, offering glimpses of humor, humanity, and grace at the darkest of times.