Alistair McLean's HMS Ulysses was probably the main reason I ended up in nautical school and getting an engineering degree while being trained to be a merchant ship's navigation officer. Although it was a WWII story, his description of life on ships crossing the North Sea in winter for some insane reason made me want to do it. The people I met, the places I went and the things I did during that period set the stage for the rest of my life in ways I really can't explain.