Rating: 
Summary: Bring Me the Head of the Editor at Norton
Review: I'm not, first of all, commenting on the story itself, but on the way it's been set down.This work may be between two hard covers, but it's essentially a very, very long magazine article. The author has the modern man's magazine style down pat, and his writing has all the typical strengths of the genre: fast pacing, immediacy, verisimilitude. Unfortunately, the book also has all the weaknesses: there are too many jumps from subject to subject: in one chapter, there might be a dozen (maybe two) changes of scene, person, chronology. All the action sequences (as opposed to background, historical, and scientific information) are in the present tense. And sometimes the author puts his characters' words in quotes, sometimes italics, sometimes in neither, just a "he said" or a "she thought" tagged on at the end. These methods, which are just fine for shorter works, become very wearing after a couple of chapters have gone by. Towards the end of the book especially, I found myself skipping back and forth all over, restarting the sentence every time the author slipped from past into present tense again, jumping automatically ahead to the parts in italics, and trying to remember characters I had lost track of that were now being reintroduced. Abrupt changes in narrative need to be signalled carefully by a writer, or else the reader is in danger of getting lost. I have to say I was lost a lot of the time, and frustrated. And the book just bristles with jargon - much, much more is thrown in than is necessary. Jargon certainly makes a story more immediate and believeable, but these advantages comes at the price of clarity. I kept wondering if I was simply stupid not to know all these terms and acronyms, or if I had missed their definitions earlier in the book. But finally, on page 200, I read what the author must have jotted down verbatim out of a survivor's medical records: "Eyes pearled, abdomen and chest tenderness, pain to quadricep. Fractured wrist, possibly ribs, suspect internal injury. Taking Tylenol-3 and seasick patch." Now, I don't know sailing terms, but I do know medical ones, and there's absolutely no reason for all this to be included in the book, especially when the author has already described the survivor's injuries earlier - he had mentioned them several times, in fact. And the "pearled" reference stands for "pupils equal, reactive, responsive to light" - which is not explained here and is in fact not necessary for the reader to know - it just means there's no head injury, which we already knew, since he was up and talking. My main point is, this is the sort of mistake you expect a nervous new author to make; it is also the sort of thing that any seasoned editor worth his paycheck should be weeding out and throwing away. Same for the structural problems in the book: the too many scene changes, the too many tenses and quotation styles, the mixed-up, dizzying chronology: where was the wise old geezer with the blue pencil here? The Georges Bank, for another example, is mentioned a dozen times before, on page 93, the author finally defines what they are - why didn't the editor tell the author that this info needed to be fit into the first few references to the Bank? It's a shame. The author writes well in many ways; he obviously spent hundreds of hours researching this story; the concept behind the book is good, but it is still and all a difficult and trying read. It may make a lot of money; it may be made into a movie, but it will never be a well-written book. There are also nowhere near the number of reference lists and maps you would need to follow the story intelligently. Included is, simply, a list of the men on board the Andrea Gail and one map. There should have been lists of the many, many other main characters, their ships or affiliations; a glossary of terminology and acronyms; and, above all, an index. This is the only non-fiction book I can remember reading that didn't have an index in the back. Once again, where was the editor?
Rating:
Summary: Grim but apparently true
Review: This nonfiction thriller is a good summer read, if you're into disasters. Junger profiles the world of the fisherman with a storyteller's eye and a hint of sympathy. Tension rises as we follow the fate of two boats which get caught in a gale, with harrowing results. There are intervals of tedious scientific tangents about the weather, and none of the fisherman's lot would be cheerful stuff even without the disaster parts, but there are moments of real excitement here.
Rating: 
Summary: A Perfect "Hard" Book
Review: "The Perfect Storm" caught my attention way before I saw the theatrical preview on this soon to be released movie when I read an article about a review of this said movie... obviously it was all praises (with one critic saying that this is a must-see movie)... Later I found out about what "The Perfect Strom" is all about and finally got the book... Just thought that the book would tell me more about her and the crew better than a movie can.... but the book gave me more that what I have bargained for (in a good way that is).... Often times I have to read a page twice, just to understand what the author was trying to express... This book does not romanticized anything and I love it.... from the way the author went back to the history of Glocester to how one becomes a PJs and even how or what to expect when drowning (which I find quite scary at first) to what the doomed crew must have felt at their last moment.... there are many parts of the book that I can read all over again, well actually this is one book that I can probably read over and over again.... Okay, this book is very factual, very human and straight forward writing without trying to be sappy or morbid.... I salute the author for writing this.... truly this will become one of the greatest classic of al time.
Rating: 
Summary: THE PERFECT BORE
Review: I love books about storms. I love books about the sea. But this bored me to tears. I would much rather have heard more about the storm itself, the families and loved ones and how they were affected than the boring fishing details, and tedious descriptions. I did pass this book on to my husband and he seems to be enjoying it - it just wasn't my cup of tea.
Rating:
Summary: Sleek, Technical, Cold, and a Gripping Story
Review: This book had been languishing on my library shelf for some time and I wanted to get it read before the movie came out, invariably altering its impact. It did not disappoint. It must have been difficult writing a speculative account of the last few days of 6 men's lives, but Junger does makes an admirable attempt. Using what direct quotes he can, the story still comes off as rather detached, which I suppose can't be helped. The novel chronicles the final journey of the fishing vessel Andrea Gail, as it returns home on October 1991 hitting one of the worst storms of the century off the East Coast. The six crewmembers are adequately fleshed out in exposition early on, and their stories will intertwine with those of their searchers and fellow fisherman during their terrifying ordeal. I did find the numerous technical discussions of weather, sea-faring, rescue ops, etc. very interesting. Having just finished Isaac's Storm, another death and destruction by sea/hurricane historical novel I was particularly fascinated and frightened by Junger's clinical and emotionless description of the act of drowning. Considering how that description applied to the crew of the Andrea Gail as well as all those victims in the earlier novel, allowed for moments of morbid personal reflection. The novel really picks up, and is helped by the factual / eyewitness accounts of the other survivors of the Halloween Gale. The latter part of the novel dealing with the various rescues of other foundering ships makes for a quick and intense reading experience. It reads like an adventure story, but it is very sobering to stop and remember that these were real people with families and whose lives were cut so short. I can't imagine the upcoming movie will provide the experience and response the book did, I'm glad I got to it first. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly Frightening and Thought Provoking
Review: I'll admit, I had doubts. I was expecting an exciting, fictionalized version of the actual facts. I was disappointed at first, because the book is written more like a history textbook in present tense. "Billy keeps talking with the other captains, studying surface temperature charts . . . " But after I forced my way past the first couple of chapters, I was hooked. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about fishermen, but that certainly made the crew of the Andrea Gail human to me, and I felt a teeny portion of what those men must have gone through in their last moments. I also have a brand new appreciation for the Coast Guard and the Air Nat'l Guard. My husband is one of those USCG men who spends months on his patrol boat in bad weather to rescue those who find themselves in trouble--whether out of stupidity or bad luck. I now understand his job a little better, and I wouldn't trade places with him for the world. Sebastian Junger does an excellent job leading us into the world of the rescuer, the fishermen, and even the National Weather Service. Some of the bits of historical description can be a bit long-winded and jarring as they shake you out of the story, but they're still interesting. An excellent book that'll make you glad that SOMEONE ELSE is catching your fish and rescuing people. Just don't expect a typical novel-ish style of writing. This is different, but once you get used to it, you might find that the book is hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Dramatic story line, disappointing writing
Review: An engaging story of human survival with less than polished writing. At times the books's focus wanders. Junger pads the central characters' stories with technical information and unrelated accounts of sea rescues that he fails to smoothly integrate. The fishermens' struggle--their dedication, desperation, and bonding--is brought to life, but with less than forceful writing. And as a second-hand account, the thoughts and motivations attributed to these characters is only conjecture. For true-life drama with the pace of a page-turning novel, I recommend the dual memoir: The Gulf Between Us, by Acree. Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air is another riveting first-person account.
Rating:
Summary: Sad But True
Review: WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD(if you don't know the outcome of this story-it was well covered by all major news sources-please stop reading. Trust me, this book is so suspenseful, moving, and well written that I would hate to spoil the end for you) It's difficult to explain the wide range of emotions you'll go through while reading this book. There's a building excitement as the men of the Andrea Gail, a small(compared to most other boats of the Gloucester fleet)but sturdy fishing trauler rigged for nearly a month's stay at sea, set out from Gloucester on their season's final trip to the Grand Banks, a rather unpredictable but verile breeding ground for swordfish. The crew, led by Captain Billy Tyne, consists of a likably haphazard group of local Gloucester men who demonstrate an impressive understanding of deep sea fishing and the dangers it presents, especially when the vessel one works aboard is nearly 2000 miles from the nearest North American shore, not to mention the nearest emergency hospital. Unfortunately, as the name of the book implies, things turn bad quickly for the ship and its crew. A series of storm fronts collide almost directly over the Andrea Gail as it makes its way home from a prosperous run, and the ship finds itself beneath the most powerful storm in recorded history. Waves crest at nearly 150 feet and wind speeds reach 100 mph before the crew finally realizes its sad fate. The book doesn't deal exclusively with the Andrea Gail, but also cuts between a few coinciding stories of endangered boats and the rescuers assigned to remove them from harm's way. The author makes sure that each of these individuals is given their due credit and presents them as professional and courageous. As silly as it sounds, I couldn't help but feel connected to the men and women unfortunate enough to weather "the perfect storm." Sebastian Junger does such a thorough job of fleshing each character to its emotional fullest that it's impossible for this naive inlander not to feel an unfounded empathy at their struggle. I can't encourage you enough to buy this book. It's a fantastic read.
Rating:
Summary: And the sea will tell..
Review: Well by now you've probably seen the theatrical trailer and know the story. The Andrea Gail, a boat in the North American swordfishing fleet, finds itself off of the coast of the Grand Banks when a record hurricane hit the area in October, 1991. She disappeared virtually without a trace-the only part ever recovered were the fuel drums. Junger, a first-time author, reconstructs and fleshes out the story with details of life on a fishing boat, lessons on meteorology, a brief history of commercial fishing, and accounts of others who survived the storm. He does a better job than you would think and manages to tell the story with appropriate gravity and respect without diving headfirst into pathos. I'm interested in seeing the film and not just because of that killer wave in the trailer. For a life-long inlander, some scenes and equipment descriptions were simply impossible to visualize. The part detailing an at-sea rescue involving a some tricky manuevers by a Coast Guard vessel found me at a loss-it was still exciting though so what do I know? Not as compelling a book as Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air although the latter has the advantage (? ) of a first-person narrative of events as they unfolded rather than well-informed conjecture. Still, a good read and a touching story.
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Storm
Review: An unblinking an gritty telling of the deeply human story of those who live with the sea. I enjoyed the peek inside the think and feeling of the heroic air/sea rescue personnel. This tale was not woven like an old sea tale, but the true story was moving enough. I recently have been to Glouster and felt a deep connection the the people in that town.
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