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Summary: The Perfect Storm
Review: This book captured my imaginations because it wasn't fiction and ultimately, it couldn't be fully known. So it was a kind of *journalism-by-analogy to tell what probably happened on the Andrea Gail. This book made me try to figure out exactly why the boat sank, it was like a mystery.In my conclusion, the killers weren't people but the forces of nature.*thats what the author said
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Summary: John A. McPhee of the sea.
Review: Just as John A. McPhee outlines the history of oranges, (ISBN: 0374512973), Sebastian Junger outlines "Men Against the Sea." In the very beginning of the book Sebastian Junger tells you that this is not a novel or a fictionalization of the events of the last moments of the Andrea Gail. He believes if you read any fiction that you would doubt the parts that are real facts. To this end He has includes many pieces of information about men against the sea; He describes the sea, equipment needed to deal with the sea and the lifestyle of the men who deal with the sea. Now some people may find his writing style has a feeling of tedium, tedium, and t-e-d-i-u-m. I find it just being through enough to not leave out any piece of information to tie this all together. How ever you may have to make an effort to continue through it. Also Like John McPhee, Sebastian Junger actually was writing about different dangerous jobs and magazine articles when he sold this book before it was put together. He struggled to balance this between a sort of documentary and thrill of the story. I think he did a nice job.
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Summary: Riveting.........
Review: Very suspenseful book...even if you have already seen the movie! I do not know much about the sea or sailing, but I now know more than enough to stay off the water during a storm! I had a little trouble with all the "sailing" details, which is why I rate it at 4 stars. It has a lot of detailed information that I sometimes found tedious. But it is a great story to read on the beach!
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Summary: Great book, terrible movie!
Review: The book is one of the most suspenseful,entertaining, and informative books I've read in months. Avoid the movie( based on the book), however. It is slow and boring.
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Summary: Great Story Well Told! What More Could You Ask?
Review: How do you make a story thrilling when everyone knows how it comes out? First, you have to be a great storyteller. You must build drama from what is happening moment to moment, not relying on the Big Finish to keep your readers turning the page. Next, your characters must be so compelling that the reader is drawn care about them, even though that reader knows that the character is doomed. Human nature dictates that we will distance ourselves, avoid the pain of loss, even in a book. Overcoming this distance may be Junger's greatest achievement. How else? By drawing your reader into the tale through every possible dimension - personal narrative, history, science and technology; all tightly woven into the tale, never hanging like threads on a worn sweater. The Perfect Storm has it all. Not just for those who dote on sea stories, or even nonfiction, this book is for anyone who loves a great story told well. The people are unforgettable. The detail is lucid and always germane. Facts are packed solid into every aspect of the story, yet you never have the sense of being detoured into irrelevant discussions,let alone bored. Instead, the detail broadens your scope, opens your eyes, gives you the understanding to really see not just another boat, another storm, another tragedy at sea, but THESE people on THIS boat in THIS storm. My only caveat: You may not want to take that cruise. You may not even want to hazard the bathtub after reading The Perfect Storm. This book drew me in and held me through not one, but 5 re-readings in as many months. Junger has taken his place beside John McPhee as one of the best non-ficton writers of the era.
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Summary: Drowning would have to be the worst way to go....
Review: I saw the movie before reading this book, which is probably the best way to go about it if you don't have much of a background in sailing and/or fishing. The book is an excellent narative of not only the 'andrea gail' but of various boats, sailboats, and personalities related to gloucester, mass. The book is well written, as well as respectfully written. The author obviously has respect for the men who fish off the east coast, and it shows in this book. The author's descriptions of death by drowning leaves me with the feeling that drowning would have to be the worst way to go....
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Summary: The Perfect Storm Blew Me Off Course
Review: The most recent book that I completed was The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger. Overall, I thought this was a pretty well written book that would have taken a lot of time and effort for the author to present the retelling that he did. If I were to rate this book, I would give it four out of five stars, due to the effort it took to create this book as the author did. The main reason I would give this book the rating that I did was because it was somewhat hard for me, personally, to read it without getting bored or having the will to put the book down. Some of the reasons I feel this way about the book are because of the style it was written, the tedious parts of the book, and that the book was exciting to read, at times. First off, I think, as I have stated before, that it would have taken a lot of time to put this book together and get all the retellings and facts to put together a good book. But beyond that, I thought that the book began slowly, and the telling of the boat's journey was somewhat hard to get through, due to the lengthy details that the author could have done without. I would have liked the book much better if just the general points and only specific details were explained thoroughly, rather than every minute aspect the crew's lives and journey. Another reason that I gave the book the rating that I did was because it was a fun read at times, but also a slow one. At certain points in the book I felt like just going to the end of the book to find out what happened, without getting all the unnecessary details. Some of the points were exhilarating to read, but others were dull and boring and made me want to put the book down. Other than the down points of the book, I thought it was a great achievement of Sebastian Junger to write such a good book. It gave in-depth information (sometimes too much) about the troubled Andrea Gail swordfish ship. I found it very exciting to read the real-life events that happened in modern-day and traditional New England fishing towns, and how everyone's lifestyle had to do with fishing. It fun and exciting to read at points, but also the opposite at other points. In conclusion, I thought that The Perfect Storm was an okay book, one that was worthy of much praise for the style it was written in, and the context of the story. Even though it had its down parts, The Perfect Storm is a book that I would recommend to most adults, especially those who have a passion for the sea.
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Summary: Fantastic Fishing Facts!
Review: This may be the best book I ever read. Junger knows how to create suspense, while presenting incredible background information on fishing and fishermen, and tells the gritty true story of a few men who do a dangerous job. Then he laces the story with facts so complete and detailed that I can almost "lick the salt out of the air" in my living room in the middle of Georgia. The Perfect Storm more closely resembles a Wyeth painting, a work of art that exudes truth alongside the actions of the crew of the Andrea Gail that lead them into the march of death. Junger never ceases to amaze me in the the telling of a story that can only be guessed at, although the cicumstantial evidence he presents is so solid that I am convinced at times that he was an actual survivor of the boat. And that I never, ever want to work on a fishing boat. The Perfect Storm is a book about America, and the men and women who fish her waters and are brave and loyal, though not perfect in habit or lifestyle. It is a story of disaster, of the fury of an unbridled sea, and the boats and ships that get caught in the snare of a vicious hurricane. Junger allows the reader to "see" what might have happened on the boat, and what loved ones and others were actually going through mentally and emotionally before, during and after the storm. The Perfect Storm is a classic, and deserves to placed next to Moby Dick on my bookshelf. Junger, Kipling, and Melville will be read long after whats-his-name at the NY Observer gets transferred to writing classified ads for yard sales.
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Summary: the perfest storm
Review: The Perfect Storm Review I thought that the book The Perfect Storm was a well written book. The fact that it was based on a true story was also interesting because to find out all the events and the experiences that they encountered were true and the people actually experienced it, it made it easier and more interesting to read. The book was about a series of events that happened on a trip that a ship and it's crew took to catch the greater fish. The men were tired because they had just gotten back from a dissapointing run for fish. They couldn't get any fish on the fist part and their second trip out either they were losing money, they decided to go far out on the ocean far away from the mainland and it worked, they started getting fish. On the trip for the better fish of greater amounts the crew had caught the most fish that anyone has in a long time, but the ice machine runs out and they have to return back to save the fish from rotting. They start to head back just as two giant storms were colliding, it was creating "the perfect storm." It was go through the storm and set the market or turn back and wait for the storm to pass and have all the fish rott. The book had parts in it that seemed good but then they would change. Every time they thought that they had something good their luck would change and some would go wrong, for example they start getting the most fish to set the market and then the ice machine breaks so they have to turn back right away and have no time to spare. I think that other people would enjoy this book because it sort of keeps you in suspence on whats going to happen. You don't know if they will make it or not. The book it sort of an action/suspence book. It was a good quality written book. I think that this book should be read by others.
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Summary: A Technical Book Made Heart-stopping
Review: It is a wonder that Junger has written a book that is full of technical details and history and still written with the heart of a storyteller. I listened to the unabridged tape in my car and found myself wanting to go around the block a few more times before I could pull myself away from the story. When I heard at the beginning of the tape that Junger had decided to not make this a work of historical fiction by putting words into the mouths of those involved, I wondered how he could possibly make it compelling, but he did. The words of those that shared the experience made it seem like every fisherman's tale instead of just the sinking of one longliner. The characters were real and presented with dignity. The lives of fishermen, longliners and Coast Guard rescue units were artfully portrayed. In our action oriented world, perhaps some readers are impatient with the descriptions of the sea-faring life, but I felt as if I knew so much more about an area of life that was totally unknown to me. The unique character of the longliners was fascinating and the descriptions of seafaring towns and their relationship with the sea were enlightening. After listening to this tape, I was able to see the unique character of the people who wrestle with the sea. The rescues were unforgettable. We owe so much to the people who risk their lives to save others and the difficulty of the rescue attempts was unimaginable. That there are people in our country who are willing to train so hard and risk so much to save others is inspiring. You can not come away from this book without the knowledge that the age of heroism is not dead. In a world that emphasizes "me first" and "every man for him" this was reassuring. This is a story that everyone should read. There is something in it for every reader. There is adventure, thrills, suspense, good characters and a tremendous amount of information about fishing, the sea and weather. It is like a seminar in science and readers can't help but add to their knowledge of the way the world works.
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