Rating: 
Summary: "Storm" Is pretty good....
Review: Well this book is a must read but it has a lot of technical explanations and lots of information that is just to much. I wanted to get really into the story but all that technical jargon just kept getting in the way. However, overall, the book did have many interesting factors such as the writer's interpretation on what really happened to the crew of The Andrea Gail. I really enjoyed understanding more about what a man goes through on a sinking ship. From 1-10 I give this book an 8.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Reading!
Review: This book is a great read. Growing up in a fishing community, I found this book (while not completely an accurate description of the "average fisherman") was compelling and wonderfully written. I had trouble putting it down!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I loved it! The book was filled with gripping descriptions, and wonderful detail. The technical infomation in the book gave an excellent picture of everything that happened. You could follow the information that they had on a map, it was like you were living it. Excellent book!
Rating:
Summary: go buy this book
Review: I bumped into this book and wasn't sure if I would be interested in a story involving fishing boats, a small fishing town, and a large storm. This book caught me off-guard like a sucker punch. I was not expecting what I got. This is one of those books that make you feel very close to the characters and causes you to miss them a little when your finished. Though I knew what was going to happen, it by no means distracted from the suspense that Sebastion Junger created. This book was also very informational. I gained a great deal of knowledge regarding a subject I knew little about. What impresses me most is the respect Mr. Junger gave those involved in this tragedy by making it very factual, accurate, and extremely interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Held my interest (for the most part), but somewhat technical
Review: I'll be brief, as other reviewers have covered the basic plot and style info. In short, if you like a good disaster book, this is one you'll enjoy. My one warning is this: be prepared to encounter a fair amount of technical nautical and fishing jargon. If you either A.) have never lived on the east coast or B.) know next to nothing about fishing other than how to wrestle an earthworm onto a hook and a fish off of one, then you may have to seek the dictionary and/or other resources to fully understand some passages. Otherwise, the book was an interesting and sometimes gripping slice-of-life/disaster tragedy read. I learned a lot about the east coast swordfishing and "PJ" cultures, ocean storm behavior, and more. I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not so good
Review: The Perfect Storm was a pretty good book, but I think the author went into too much detail. Half of the book wasn't even centered on the Andrea Gail anyway, it was centered on some other ships. But if you are really into sailing and fishing, this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not so good
Review: The Perfect Storm was a pretty good book, but I think the author went into too much detail. Half of the book wasn't even centered on the Andrea Gail anyway, it was centered on some other ship. If you are really into sailing and fishing, this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: When is the last time you saw a plane crash covered on the news? I saw one just the other day. What struck me were the people who were lost in that crash. I could give you their names but I don't know them. I know that 43 people passed on. I know that the news crew put a number on human lives. What I don't know is who these people were, where they came from and where they were going. The Perfect Storm is the story of the doomed Andrea Gail. She sank at sea during one of, if not the, worst storm of the century. 6 men died on that boat. Now you know the number like everyone else but, do you know their names? Their names were Billy, David, Bugsy, Bobby, Alfred, and Dale. They had set sail from the town of Gloucester and they were heading home from a fishing trip when they crossed paths with a storm with such magnitude that few have ever seen and even fewer have ever survived. In the process of reading this book, the hair on my arms stood up every other page. Whether it was reference to someone's mother or a description of what these men went through, it sent chills up my spine. This is what sets The Perfect Storm apart from other books. The realization that when a plane crashes or a boat sinks, we are not counting bodies, we are counting lives of human beings. Human beings with thoughts, emotions, families, friends, lives, everything that a person has in life. We are counting the love, the loss of the family, the whole that will not be filled in people's hearts at the loss of these men. This value cannot be counted in a digit or two. The value of human life is far greater and the lives of 6 men can hardly be counted in 300 pages devoted to their last moments. It can hardly be counted at all. The value is too great to limit. Sebastian Junger does an excellent job of not counting the lives but giving you a glimpse into the loss felt by these men passing on. The ripples in the water of a stone in a pond; they are far reaching and like a wave, continual.
Rating:
Summary: More thrilling than the movie
Review: I began this book with caution, concerned that I would get lost in a sea of unfamiliar nautical terms or a creeping history of the fishing industry. What a surprise! When you read this book you are presented with all of this information, but in a way that is so integral to the story that it becomes part of fine experience of reading the book. I LOVED this book! The story of the storm is thrilling. The story of the men and those who loved them is told with compassion and honesty. This book is better than a lot of fiction I've read lately. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Much, much better than the film
Review: It would be hard to do justice to a book as rich as this. The book goes into detail about the lives and backgrounds about all the men on the Andrea Gail, and about the town they set sail from. You also learn a lot more about the rescue jumpers, and the staggering selection process that they go through. And of course, about the harsh fishing industry, and that storm. You will live through every gut-wrenching twist of fate that led up to the tragedy, and the story is told so well, that you will be gripped to the end, even though you know what is going to happen. This reads like "The Longest Day" or "A Bridge Too Far" - the action is interspersed with biographies and character sketches of the main players. The human story is gripping, but I think that it's the quality of the writing, and the balance of the book that makes this so easy to read. I think Junger has a background in magazine writing, so he has a style that is very approachable, and he splits the narrative up into digestible chunks. Then again, anyone can find a human interest story, and write about it in bite-sized pieces. I think the other strength of this book is that Junger really does care about the people that he is writing about. The families of the men on the Andrea Gail were talking about suing the film makers, but I don't think they were unhappy about the way that Junger portrayed their loved ones. He portrays the harshness of their lives, and how hard it is to provide for your loved ones when you depend on nature for your income, without glamourizing it, or slumming it, either. So the reason why I think that you should buy this book is because Sebastian Junger has found a subject that he is passionate about, and he has the ability to communicate this so that you will be passionate about it, too. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I came out of it feeling that I knew the characters and the places involved.
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