Rating: 
Summary: Reviews
Review: "Unforgettable and terrifying. A sea story so harrowing that sailors should read it only on dry land."-Robert Stone "A riveting and frightening true story told with startling candor and power. I read it without breathing." -Dodge Morgan, author of The Voyage of "American Promise" "Albatross is so harrowing it makes most other accounts of shipwreck and survival seem like cotton candy. I couldn't put it down." Lawrence Millman, author of Last Places"
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating and very scary
Review: ALBATROSS is a gripping story of survival and agonizing death at sea--the sinking with the loss of three lives of the yacht TRASHMAN off the Carolina coast. The author pulls no punches and tells a tale of human suffering, weakness, and malice that left this reader shaken by its bluntness, realism, and intensity. The story is told in a direct and clear manner that inescapably draws one in to its nightmarish hell. Besides a sea story it is also a story of a young person's stuggle with her own demons. Why read such a painful book? One important life lesson that we must learn from this account is not to leave port unprepared. In some ways, I would urge all boaters to read this book just to have that lesson hammered in. As a boater I came away with the deep conviction that I don't ever want to come anywhere near going through anything like what the crew of TRASHMAN went through. As presented by the author, the tragedy was entirely the result of the incompetence, alcoholism, and carelessness of the captain and other crew members. I must confess, however, that when I reflected on the author's tale I could not help wondering how objective it was. She is so unremittingly critical--bitterly critical--of John and Mark that I began to doubt the clarity of her vision. I would love to get the account of the other survivor. There are several mysteries about the tragic sinking of TRASHMAN that remain troubling and unresolved. Nevertheless Debby's tale is one that will move in and rearrange your mental furniture, especially if you are a boater or have ever been to sea in a small boat.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and very scary
Review: ALBATROSS is a gripping story of survival and agonizing death at sea--the sinking with the loss of three lives of the yacht TRASHMAN off the Carolina coast. The author pulls no punches and tells a tale of human suffering, weakness, and malice that left this reader shaken by its bluntness, realism, and intensity. The story is told in a direct and clear manner that inescapably draws one in to its nightmarish hell. Besides a sea story it is also a story of a young person's stuggle with her own demons. Why read such a painful book? One important life lesson that we must learn from this account is not to leave port unprepared. In some ways, I would urge all boaters to read this book just to have that lesson hammered in. As a boater I came away with the deep conviction that I don't ever want to come anywhere near going through anything like what the crew of TRASHMAN went through. As presented by the author, the tragedy was entirely the result of the incompetence, alcoholism, and carelessness of the captain and other crew members. I must confess, however, that when I reflected on the author's tale I could not help wondering how objective it was. She is so unremittingly critical--bitterly critical--of John and Mark that I began to doubt the clarity of her vision. I would love to get the account of the other survivor. There are several mysteries about the tragic sinking of TRASHMAN that remain troubling and unresolved. Nevertheless Debby's tale is one that will move in and rearrange your mental furniture, especially if you are a boater or have ever been to sea in a small boat.
Rating:
Summary: Albatross- Couldnt put it down!
Review: Baught this book at a used bookstore, and husband read it aloud for our 2 1/2 hours ride home. When we got home, we immediately went to the living room where I read the whole rest of it! It was extremely real, you could relete to everything she said and felt, and were right there with her in that rubber dinghy. SOmetimes we would pause, and sig, and look at eachother with worried eyes...the pouring rain and thunder the day we read it really added to the story I think. BUt this is a book all sailors MUST read...it makes you want to check the safety of your boat again and again, and really shows you that it could happen to you too....One of the best books I read in a while, and I pour through this kind of stuff!
Rating:
Summary: Author Bio
Review: Deborah Scaling Kiley was born on a ranch in west Texas and graduated from Colorado Springs School, where she participated in the Outward Bound program that later helped her survive the wreck of Trashman. She dropped out of the University of Texas in her junior year to go sailing. She now lives on a farm in Massachusetts with her husband and two children. Meg Noonan has written for Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Outside, and many other magazines. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and daughter.
Rating:
Summary: A 'must read' as it reflects the hidden strength we all have
Review: Deborah Scaling Kiley's ambitions pre-empted any semblance of safety that she had always been cognitive of in the past. Her passion of the sea was blinded by opportunity and she forgot to look at logical sequences which were happening before her eyes. This love of the sea and it's inherent dangers captivated the author beyond reason. Will she survive the trauma that the boat and passengers are faced with? Riveting reading!
Rating:
Summary: Every page is a cliff-hangar; a sailing trip gone bad.
Review: For sailors or people who love adventure, this book permits one to understand the snowball effect of chaos on-board a sailboat and what it takes to survive in the Atlantic Ocean.
Rating: 
Summary: Common sense crewing
Review: Good book about personality clashes on a liferaft and a good lesson about drinking seawater, however the best lesson here is to go with your instincts. Everything that happened before the voyage told the author to drop out of the crew, yet she ignore d her instincts. Before taking on any long distance voyage, I would read this book for examples of what can go wrong. Prepare for the worst - read Adlard Cole's "Heavy Weather sailing and some other heavy weather sailing books (Carry an EPIRB!)
Rating:
Summary: Interesting sea survival story written by a woman
Review: Heard ALBATROSS: THE TRUE STORY OF A WOMAN'S SURVIVAL AT SEA by Deborah Scaling Kiley and Meg Noonan . . . it is the tragic tale of what was supposed to be a simple boat trip that wound up as a nightmare . . . several of the crew members perished; what was more interesting to me was the story of how the survivors made it.
I've read other "how I survived at sea" books before . . . this was the first one, though, that I've come across written by a woman . . . what I'll remember: when your instincts tell you something, listen . . . Scaling Kiley, unfortunately, did not.
I liked her special introduction at the beginning of the cassette tapes . . . I also liked the work of Karen Allen--a talented actress that I don't see nearly enough--who did an excellent job with the narration.
Rating:
Summary: Breath-taking
Review: I listened to the audio tape version of this book twice in one weekend. I couldn't stop listening and found myself gripping the arms of the chair.
| 
