Rating: 
Summary: Best book of journalism in years
Review: Hugely moving book. Best bit of new journalism since Hells Angels
Rating:
Summary: fascinating story full of great heroics
Review: I found the book to be informative about a life style seen from afar but never really visited. This is more than the story of the Andrea Gail. It is the story of real life heroes. Well trained, brave men, who face the awesome reality of natures might. And all too often, dont win.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book!
Review: I was born and have lived in Gloucester for most of my life. THE PERFECT STORM touched my heart in a special way because my family has known fishermen who were lost at sea. The story of the Andrea Gail is just one story of many that I feel needed to be told. I think this was a wonderful book and deserves more stars than five. For any bad reviewers out there -- come to Gloucester and see the fishermen at work on the docks -- then reread the book. I'm sure you'll feel differently!"They that go down to the sea in ships"
Rating:
Summary: Captains Courageous for the 1990s
Review: This book was great, particularly if you are at all interested in things maritime. Makes a good companion book to Rudyard Kipling's "Captains Courageous," if for no other reason than to drive the point home that no matter how technologically advanced we are, whether we sail in wooden or steel boats, under sail or power, radar or no radar, Mother Nature can still squash us like bugs without a second glance. I've actually sailed (during the summer) in the very area where the storm hit. Even during the summer, the weather can go from a sunny 75 degrees to a rainy 45 degrees in less than an hour. Even though the ship I was on was longer than the Andrea Gail, one can still appreciate the sense of wonder and loneliness that the men and women caught up in that storm must have felt out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Half interesting, half ho-hum
Review: The book spends about half of the pages detailing the life stories of the people associated with a particular boat (owner, sailors, wives and children), which was of limited interest to this reader. The other half presents information about fishing boats, rough weather, and coping with stormy seas, which was very interesting. The writing is okay, neither electrifying nor annoying. However, the lack of specifics about what really happened, requires the author to explain the tale by recounting similar adventures. It might have been better to focus the story on another boat, where solid facts could be related. This is not the work of a polished author, but is a good effort for a first-timer. Probably best read at night during a raging thunderstorm.
Rating:
Summary: A Riveting Novel!
Review: I had been urged to read The Perfect Storm by a friend. Whenever I'd see a friend of mine, he'd ask if I had read it yet. Finally, I bought it. The book is fascinating reading. I am not a high adventure genre reader, but this book captured me. I rode the waves, mourned for the dead, and marveled at the crystal-clear descriptions of a churning sea and the "perfect" weather conditions that caused this real-life event. It is a kind of book that comes along once in a lifetime. I am still amazed by what I learned from it. I've since bought the book for two others and lent my copy to a friend. I await another terrific book by Mr. Junger. -Phyllis Jensen
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been a winner
Review: It is unfortunate that such a gut wrenching story of a historic disaster event was written in such a matter of fact and ordinary way. This book should have been sensational and captivating but instead it was monotonous and boring. It was often difficult to follow the incredible amount of names that appeared on one page and disappeared on the next. This book was more like a thrown together melange of snippets of conversation and conjecture, along with long lists of gear and statistics about wave height. One gets the impression that Sebastian Junger created this book by pasting together newspaper articles, interviews, and paragraphs from an oceanography text. He has succeeded in including fragments of many interesting aspects of the storm which don't actually fit together and often times end suddenly without conclusion. If you are interested in the storm this is a decent account of it, but if you are looking for a piece of real-life adventure literature look elsewhere for a good book. Krakauer is an infinitely better story teller.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating and respectful
Review: The author does an excellent job of telling the story of a "Storm of the Century" off the New England Coast. The detail is diligently pursued in a way Tom Clancy fans might find familiar. The real draw, however, is the clear admiration the author has for his subject: people who work at sea. Without being sensationalistic, the author communicates the excitement (and drudgery) of the life and the bravery of those who live it. Junger never claims to be an expert on life at sea, so he seems to go to extra lengths to get his story straight. I found the humility of his approach to research almost as inspiring as the lives he covered, and I wish more journalists would follow his example. Why only four stars then? I never give a perfect score to anything.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Rivaling "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Triumph and the Glory" on the short list of epic accounts of courage against long odds, "The Perfect Storm" is a truly inspiring book, relating unforgettable experiences of men who've faced the wrath of the sea and lived to tell the tale.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating and fascinating. Worth reading!!!
Review: If seafaring interests you in the slightest, this book will appeal to you. It gets a little involved for the average reader with the discriptions of complicated weather patterns, but on the whole it's a great read!!
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