The Perfect Storm : A True Story of Men Against the Sea

Rating:
Summary: enthralling story
Review: Quickly, this is one of my (and my wife's) favorite reads. We grew up on the New England coast, lobstering and clamming and inshore fishing, but never venturing beyond the coastline. This is the story of the regular guys who provide us our swordfish steaks and die in the process. The storytelling is quite masterful and the subject is...well, it's real life and death. How much more compelling and interesting can it be? Not much. This is a hell of book.

Rating:
Summary: Awe inspiring
Review: This book was well researched and excellently written. The extensive backround and technical details do not detract from the sheer thrill of the book, if anything they accentuate it. My only complaint with the book was that Ray Leonard's situation was given what I believe to be unfair, biased and misleading coverage - The ultimate result was that he was proven right, despite the opinion of his crew and the Coast Gaurd, but not before the CG forced him to abandon everything he owned. Unfortunately, that's what happens when only one side of a dispute will talk to the media, but I digress. This book also serves as an excellent technical primer for anyone contemplating going to sea in less than favorable weather. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: An intensely researched, interesting read.
Review: This isn't the kind of book I would have ever bought for myself. I received it as a gift, and thought it would be a cross between The Babe Winkleman Story and a pirate epic. Instead, it hooked me immediately with characters and plot compelling enough to be fiction. The details of what goes on behind the scenes in the fishing industry are fascinating, and just might cross your mind the next time you order up seafood.

Rating:
Summary: Glad I wasn't on this boat...although I felt like I was.
Review: I was so pulled into this book I made it a point to visit Gloucestor, Mass. after reading it. While walking through the streets and along the wharfs, watching the fishing boats pull away from the harbor and head out into the sea, I could hear the voices ofthe fisherman that Sebastion Junger wrote about in The Perfect Storm. A complete mix of information (meterological), the human element that begins so simply yet evolves into great drama and the master of all all forces, nature. Put it all together and you have a story that captures you in fear and hope and the resolve of heroes.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a mess.
Review: The Perfect Storm is an imperfect story. This book promises a lot, but it doesn't pay off until the final third. What transipred on the Andrea Gail is unkonwn, even if you've read the book. It has a lot of "Well, if the sea did this, then the people on board might have done this." And then the formation of a storm or the history of a bar is discussed for 15 pages. The book's high point is near the end when the Air National Guard rescues are being discussed. I was very disappointed by the book.

Rating:
Summary: good in detail, but lacking in some aspects
Review: I found this book to be exciting at times, but dull at other times with too much technical jargon. My biggest complaint centers on the missing man Rick Smith, whom you think will be found right up to the end, but then nothing more is written about him. I also didn't care for the present tense the author used.

Rating:
Summary: A Christmas Present for my husband that I read first!
Review: Purchased as a Christmas gift for my husband, I made the mistake of reading a few lines before wraping; I was hooked! I managed to read the entire book before wrapping without a break to the binding. I was immediately transported to the sea; I felt the roll of the deck, the isolation, and the terror/ thrill that only sailing and the sea have been able to elicit from me. Read it!

Rating:
Summary: WOW !
Review: Not since "Into Thin Air" have I read an entire book in one sitting. Everything else in my life got put on hold until I finished the last sentence!....Then I started searching the web for more informationon the subject.

Rating:
Summary: I hope I NEVER drown
Review: Congratulations to Mr. Junger for a riviting, chilling account. This is truely the first book I've ever read that I could mentally and emotionally project myself on board that sinking boat. The result was almost heart-stopping. I hope to see more of his work soon. I'll be looking for him.

Rating:
Summary: I think this book lacked detail of the main story line.
Review: I thought this book focused too much on historical facts and educational facts on fishing than the actuall occurance. It was too broadened and would have been better had it detailed the happenings on the ANDREA GAIL.