Rating: 
Summary: "I've Been There"
Review: After 20 years in the Coast Guard as a rescue pilot, I can attest, Spike has got it right! I flew the HH-52 in the prologue of "Working on the edge", spent 10 of 20 years in Kodiak and know some of the people involved. He captured the fear, the pride, the adrenaline rush, the feeling of accomplishment, the bravery and the "spirit de corps" of our noble service. Those who attack the grammar and use of adverbs missed the point and flavor of this great story teller. It wasn't all scary crap in the USCG as evidenced in my book "I Never Liked Those C-130's Anyway". Keep them coming Spike!
Malcolm Smith
Rating:
Summary: As real as is gets, without having been there yourself
Review: After reading the reviews of this book, i came away with the feeling that most people loved this book. I did more than read it, I lived it. I was a crewman in the first CG helo that arrived on scene. unless you have lived through it, it's hard to imagine 90 foot waves. but its true. this book portrays the events of the night of jan. 30 1998 as real as you can possibly do without having actual video. On the other hand, i have to agree with one reviewer. what happened on that night was not heroic, we just did our jobs as we are trained, and i would do it again if asked. this is what makes the USCG the best air/sea rescue agency in the world.
Rating:
Summary: Walker does it again!
Review: Although his two previous works--Nights of Ice and Working on the Edge--are tough acts to follow, Walker rises to the occassion with Coming Back Alive. With his uncanny ability to immerse the reader into the situations in which his unfortunate subjects find themselves, Walker provides an incredible account of the ill-fated crew of the Salmon boat La Conte. Walker's vivid descriptions make you feel as if you were floating along side the La Conte crewmembers during the frigid January night or sitting on the flight deck of the H-60 helicopters that attempted to perform a rescue in the brutally hostile conditions.If you enjoyed works such as the Perfect Storm, The Ship and the Storm, etc, this is a must read. Once you finish the book, you'll hope Walker is working on another book to satisfy the insatiable urge to experience the harrowing tales he so aptly tells.
Rating:
Summary: Walker does it again!
Review: Although his two previous works--Nights of Ice and Working on the Edge--are tough acts to follow, Walker rises to the occassion with Coming Back Alive. With his uncanny ability to immerse the reader into the situations in which his unfortunate subjects find themselves, Walker provides an incredible account of the ill-fated crew of the Salmon boat La Conte. Walker's vivid descriptions make you feel as if you were floating along side the La Conte crewmembers during the frigid January night or sitting on the flight deck of the H-60 helicopters that attempted to perform a rescue in the brutally hostile conditions. If you enjoyed works such as the Perfect Storm, The Ship and the Storm, etc, this is a must read. Once you finish the book, you'll hope Walker is working on another book to satisfy the insatiable urge to experience the harrowing tales he so aptly tells.
Rating:
Summary: Spike Walker NAILED It!!
Review: Having lived thru the actual event, and surviving 300+ hours on the phone with Spike, I still find myself picking up the book, not to relive portions, but to be revitalized by it, and to feel closer to my Skipper, Mark. Life does go on. His son, Mark jr. is thriving, and send's me card's with hand prints, and his family is wonderful. As a Coast Guard retiree, I would ask all readers to praise a Coastie when you see, or meet one. You never know, HE may just save your life, or a loved ones, or die trying.
Rating: 
Summary: Flair or hype...?
Review: In reading the opening pages of chapter 1, Walker shows us how he paints with words... adjectives chosen a notch or two above what might be more accurate, if less exciting. I flew in the HH-3F Pelicans out of Kodiak, with Jimmy Ng and Tom Walters and others. My earliest missions were as search crew to help locate the bodies and wreckage of the 1471. I've been a hundred of miles out to sea in the HH-3F, in darkness above angry waters... pushed by high winds, the snow swirling around in the cabin, landing on the nav charts. I had to wipe the snow off just to read them. Yet as unusual as this experience might sound, it felt like we were just doing a job. No hype. No fish stories. (we saved that for the fishing :-) Walker presents perhaps an overinflated view. We weren't heroes, at least I never felt it. We just did the job, brought the helo back to the hangar, prepped it for flight, then hit the rack for some sleep. I always wore bright orange sox for "good luck", but beyond that, we simply put the bad behind us and did our work with coolness and reason. The amazing part of it was the circumstances that we sometimes found ourselves in, but the crews... we were just like everyone else. We did the best with what we were given. We always went out fully expecting that we'd come back. We never questioned it. There was no reason to accomodate those thoughts, and plenty of reasons not to. Walker colors the people he portrays as if they were larger than life, skilled beyond measure, a rare fire burning inside. But that wasn't us... at least it didn't seem that way having lived it. We were just guys with a job to do, so we did it.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome-sad-just a great read
Review: My husband brought this book back for me when on a fishing trip to Alaska. I thought it was great. No messing around, but straight to the point. It had me crying in the end. He truely had me from page one.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book
Review: Really good, captivating story. Once you get into Part II, it's hard to put the book down. However, there is something funky about the writing that I can't put my finger on. It's a bit wordy at times and the use of big words and multiple adverbs feels a little over kill at times. I must question the editing of the book as well. It seems like "the story" wasn't long enough for a full blown book, so elements were added afterward to help fill the pages. The early chapters do not synch and all along you're waiting for them to tie in together or for characters introduced in the beginning to come back later in the book... but they never do. Don't get me wrong, I highly recommend this book, but I can't give it 5 stars based on some editing and writing issues.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible story... good writing
Review: Really good, captivating story. Once you get into Part II, it's hard to put the book down. However, there is something funky about the writing that I can't put my finger on. It's a bit wordy at times and the use of big words and multiple adverbs feels a little over kill at times. I must question the editing of the book as well. It seems like "the story" wasn't long enough for a full blown book, so elements were added afterward to help fill the pages. The early chapters do not synch and all along you're waiting for them to tie in together or for characters introduced in the beginning to come back later in the book... but they never do. Don't get me wrong, I highly recommend this book, but I can't give it 5 stars based on some editing and writing issues.
Rating:
Summary: Rescue on the Edge
Review: Spike Walker has a gift of taking the reader off the page and into the frigid, storm-swept Alaskan waters where fishermen -- and sometimes their rescuers -- find themselves, fighting to stay alive. Mr. Walker painstakingly details the accounts of a few choice Alaskan rescues -- and failures, all heroic. The action is gripping and real because the author knows how to tell a story. Coming Back Alive is extremely informative without weighing down the reader with too much technical and superfluous information. There's no guessing about what happened out there in the isolated Alaskan seas because Mr. Walker has followed through with years of reserach and interviews.
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