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I'll nominate Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana. It is an extraordinary description of the experience of an educated and fairly well-to-do 19th century young man who decided to see what it was like to live as a common seaman. There is an extensive description of the book and a profile of Dana himself in Goodreads. TYBTM was selected for inclusion in The Harvard Classics.
The book is easily available for free or at a very moderate price on Amazon, Project Gutenberg or in the Mobile Read library.
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