Rating: 
Summary: PastorJ
Review: The Perfect Storm is book filled with history about past and present (1991 the Storm) ship wrecks, storms... I could not put it down. This book will fill the reader with knowledge about everything that has to do with the ocean. I appreciate Sebastian's work and "digging" for facts and almost no speculation. A Great summer read! jkollmann@eurekanet.com
Rating: 
Summary: Keep Readin
Review: The first half of this book really dragged. I did not care about the technology of fishing boats or how sword fish met their doom. The family kept harping at me--"Have you finished yet? Can we go see the movie?" I gave up! I realized I could never finish the book and sure, let's go see it on the screen. When I picked up and finished the book I realized that there was a lot more to this tale than just the make believe of the Andrea Gale as depicted in the movie. Then I got into it and appreciated the plight of the fisherman--all the more intense because none of us know the final story. And then there is the pleasure boat in trouble and the ANG helicopter. And it really happened. Junger took us through the storm completely. If you are bogging down on the first half of the book--keep with it--maybe even see the film---but finish it. You'll appreciate the fury of Mother Nature and will maybe think twice before getting on that ferry to the Aran Isles or Santa Catalina or San Juan or whatever.
Rating: 
Summary: Hmmmmmm
Review: Let's just say that S. Junger is able to recount an incredibly fascinating disaster from very little available information. Nevertheless I can not agree with the some of the other reviews, the book is not well written, or not what i expected. It is a mix between a trash novel (i love them) and a serious book (love them too), however it is neither nor. I would have liked to see the latter, but Junger chose to delve between the two, creating a book i feel is boring. Yes the story is gripping and some of the passages are superb, but that's about it. If you're interested in finding out what happened out there, buy it it won't let you down; otherwise.....
Rating:
Summary: So Realistic, You'll Get Seasick
Review: This book almost swore me off boats for life. Junger keeps things moving, seamlessly switching from the "protagonist" boat, the Andrea Gail, to other boats caught elsewhere in the same storm.Junger's unflinching description of what death by drowning must be like, and how it is one of the worst ways to go, is chilling. I know nothing about boats or fishing, and have never been to Glouster; yet I could not put this book down. The cover will probably be changed to include George Clooney, which I think would be inappropriate. Otherwise, I highly recommend this book, even to folks who normally don't read non-fiction: It is so well researched and written. You can tell the author developed a genuine affection for his subjects, and his lack of objectivity, which would usually be a negative, makes for a much more involving read.
Rating:
Summary: 5-Star Docudrama Packs a Powerful Punch
Review: As a published nonfiction author, I loved this docudrama adventure - an emotional ride through "meteorological hell" on a 72-foot swordfish boat dragging 40 miles of fishing line through 100-foot waves in the "perfect" storm (a nor'easter that "could not possibly have been worse"). This true story delivers the powerful synergy of a combination of elements in perfect balance: high-seas drama that slams your emotions like the rogue wave that explodes windows in the wheelhouse...fresh imagery that draws you in and puts you helplessly amid the crashing waves and hurricane winds on the boat...and fascinating facts about storms, wave dynamics, fishing techniques, and much more. Author Sebastian Junger, a journalist by trade, combines these various elements in a well-crafted story of lives affected forever by a series of decisions by 6 fishermen in the town of Gloucester, Maine. "The Perfect Storm," in a nutshell, is the story of a freak conjunction of weather systems that produced the most powerful storm of the 20th century off the coast of northern New England in October, 1991. Caught in this maelstrom is a swordfishing fleet, in particular the Andrea Gail and its 6-man crew. Building up to the frightening climax is the story of a fishing town, its people and culture, and the perils of daily life on board commercial fishing boats (generally acknowledged as the most dangerous profession). Yet it is also a story of how personal assumptions and decisions determine who will live to fish another day. Unlike the trite, cardboard characters of many a fiction adventure, the real men and women who experienced this almost inconceivable storm come alive through Junger's careful and respectful representation of the facts. We get to know the tightly bonded folks at the Crow's Nest bar, where fishermen sometimes spend thousands of dollars of hard-earned wages in one night buying drinks for their friends. We get inside the lives of fishermen and their families, lives that would soon be forced to change in ways they always dreaded but never thought would happen to them. And we discover the misgivings and premonitions of crew members when the time came to load the Andrea Gail and head for one last run, ominously late in the season - warnings to which some listened, but others didn't. As the story unfolds, we learn more than we ever thought we wanted to know about meteorology...dynamics of waves traveling across thousands of miles of ocean ("forty-five-foot breaking waves are much more destructive than rolling swells twice that size")...the rare monster rogue wave ("avalanches over the decks and buries the Andrea Gail under tons of water")...hard-learned techniques for finding and catching swordfish (a hook "can whiplash over the rail and snag people in all kinds of horrible ways" and "if it catches some part of the baiter's body or clothing, he goes over the side with it")...the economics of a competitive fishing industry that could force them to dump a month's worth of catch over the side...and open sea rescue procedures even more dangerous to the rescuers than the stranded crew. Perhaps the most fascinating discussion explores the physiological and psychological reactions of a human drowning at sea - when the body's natural reflexes kick in and panic is "mixed with an odd incredulity that this is actually happening...'So this is how my life finally ends.'" Junger did a fine job of research and intelligent writing, skills gained from years of writing articles for such publications as Outside Magazine, American Heritage, and Men's Journal. His prose style is clean, highly readable, fresh, and full of vivid imagery: "There's a certain amount of denial in swordfishing. The boats claw through a lot of bad weather, and the crews generally just batten down the hatches, turn on the VCR, and put their faith in the tensile strength of steel. Still, every man on a sword boat knows there are waves out there that can crack them open like a coconut." Junger is faithful to the facts and avoids the usual writer's conceit of embellishing a story with assumptions about what characters said and did. Instead, he wanted to "step back and let the story speak for itself." As a result, we learn the facts Junger was able to gather through interviews and research, as well as how other fishermen described their similar near-death experiences, and our imagination takes over. Even with so much detail - or perhaps because of it - we discover our emotions and fears swelling in proportion to the worsening storm, ever more gigantic waves, and gale-force winds. By the end, we have made and lost friends, vicariously gained a heightened fear and respect for the immense power of the ocean, and retained the indelible imprint on our psyche of this amazing drama. Readers of "The Perfect Storm" will discover a personal impact that establishes a new watermark for high seas drama and adventure. Read the book. Experience the movie on a big screen when it comes out at the end of June. Then listen to your own premonitions to avoid being on any boat....in any storm....far out in the ocean...with nothing to do but wait helplessly for the next rogue wave to overtake you. - - - - - - - - - Roy D. Varner, of The Woodlands, Texas, is a professional writer and author of "A Matter of Risk," the true story of the CIA's Hughes Glomar Explorer covert mission to raise a sunken Russian nuclear submarine.
Rating:
Summary: 5-Star Docudrama Packs a Powerful Punch
Review: As a published nonfiction author, I'm giving 5 stars to this highly publicized docudrama adventure - an emotional ride through "meteorological hell" on a 72-foot swordfish boat dragging 40 miles of fishing line through 100-foot waves in the "perfect" storm (a nor'easter that "could not possibly have been worse"). This true story delivers the powerful synergy of a combination of elements in perfect balance: high-seas drama that slams your emotions like the rogue wave that explodes windows in the wheelhouse...fresh imagery that draws you in and puts you helplessly amid the crashing waves and hurricane winds on the boat...and fascinating facts about storms, wave dynamics, fishing techniques, and much more. Author Sebastian Junger, a journalist by trade, combines these various elements in a well-crafted story of lives affected forever by a series of decisions by 6 fishermen in the town of Gloucester, Maine. "The Perfect Storm," in a nutshell, is the story of a freak conjunction of weather systems that produced the most powerful storm of the 20th century off the coast of northern New England in October, 1991. Caught in this maelstrom is a swordfishing fleet, in particular the Andrea Gail and its 6-man crew. Building up to the frightening climax is the story of a fishing town, its people and culture, and the perils of daily life on board commercial fishing boats (generally acknowledged as the most dangerous profession). Yet it is also a story of how personal assumptions and decisions determine who will live to fish another day. Unlike the trite, cardboard characters of many a fiction adventure, the real men and women who experienced this almost inconceivable storm come alive through Junger's careful and respectful representation of the facts. We get to know the tightly bonded folks at the Crow's Nest bar, where fishermen sometimes spend thousands of dollars of hard-earned wages in one night buying drinks for their friends. We get inside the lives of fishermen and their families, lives that would soon be forced to change in ways they always dreaded but never thought would happen to them. And we discover the misgivings and premonitions of crew members when the time came to load the Andrea Gail and head for one last run, ominously late in the season - warnings to which some listened, but others didn't. As the story unfolds, we learn more than we ever thought we wanted to know about meteorology...dynamics of waves traveling across thousands of miles of ocean ("forty-five-foot breaking waves are much more destructive than rolling swells twice that size")...the rare monster rogue wave ("avalanches over the decks and buries the Andrea Gail under tons of water")...hard-learned techniques for finding and catching swordfish (a hook "can whiplash over the rail and snag people in all kinds of horrible ways" and "if it catches some part of the baiter's body or clothing, he goes over the side with it")...the economics of a competitive fishing industry that could force them to dump a month's worth of catch over the side...and open sea rescue procedures even more dangerous to the rescuers than the stranded crew. Perhaps the most fascinating discussion explores the physiological and psychological reactions of a human drowning at sea - when the body's natural reflexes kick in and panic is "mixed with an odd incredulity that this is actually happening...'So this is how my life finally ends.'" Junger did a fine job of research and intelligent writing, skills gained from years of writing articles for such publications as Outside Magazine, American Heritage, and Men's Journal. His prose style is clean, highly readable, fresh, and full of vivid imagery: "There's a certain amount of denial in swordfishing. The boats claw through a lot of bad weather, and the crews generally just batten down the hatches, turn on the VCR, and put their faith in the tensile strength of steel. Still, every man on a sword boat knows there are waves out there that can crack them open like a coconut." Junger is faithful to the facts and avoids the usual writer's conceit of embellishing a story with assumptions about what characters said and did. Instead, he wanted to "step back and let the story speak for itself." As a result, we learn the facts Junger was able to gather through interviews and research, as well as how other fishermen described their similar near-death experiences, and our imagination takes over. Even with so much detail - or perhaps because of it - we discover our emotions and fears swelling in proportion to the worsening storm, ever more gigantic waves, and gale-force winds. By the end, we have made and lost friends, vicariously gained a heightened fear and respect for the immense power of the ocean, and retained the indelible imprint on our psyche of this amazing drama. Readers of "The Perfect Storm" will discover a personal impact that establishes a new watermark for high seas drama and adventure. Read the book. Experience the movie on a big screen when it comes out at the end of June. Then listen to your own premonitions to avoid being on any boat....in any storm....far out in the ocean...with nothing to do but wait helplessly for the next rogue wave to overtake you. - - - - - - - - - Roy D. Varner, of The Woodlands, Texas, is a professional writer and author of "A Matter of Risk," the true story of the CIA's Hughes Glomar Explorer covert mission to raise a sunken Russian nuclear submarine.
Rating:
Summary: Good Heavens: what a storm
Review: My my my hey hey hey. Hi everybody! I just got done reading this book and am absolutely shaking it is so good. My boyfriend Larry is having to console me I am so emotional over it. I keep thinking of those poor brave fishermen. How sad. Read the book.
Rating:
Summary: A unique work that is both terrifying and fascinating
Review: In a combination of narrative, scientific writing, and a thriller, Sebastian Junger has crafted a unique work that is both fascinating and tragic. This is the story of fishermen from Gloucester, Massachusetts, who went out for one of their long-term swordfishing voyages in the fall of 1991, and were swept up in a terrifying mix of three raging storms. Junger first takes you inside the Gloucester fishing community, including the bars and persons involved. These are people who, for various reasons, are drawn to the sea, and to the incredibly dangerous occupation of deep-sea fishing. As the story continues, Junger includes a lot of scientific and meteorological information about ships, the ocean, and these terrible storms. Junger writes the book in the present tense; as the story is happening, which is certainly a different style. Yet it works well, because we view these images in our minds as they are happening, and not as some historical document. A valuable and wonderful book - I look forward to seeing the filmed version of this story.
Rating:
Summary: Medium
Review: Sebastian Junger should of just stuck to the event that hes soposed to be writing about, which is the storm not the descreption of everypart of the boat and any other equipment, adding those descriptions just made the book tedious and boring.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping Story
Review: Thoroughly enjoyed this. The detail in describing characters, locations, weather conditions was excellent. I felt like I was there. Read it every spare minute I had.
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