Rating: 
Summary: White-Knuckle Reading !!!
Review: On a lark, I purchased this book when it first came out (well before the movie & ad hype made it more widely known). When it arrived, I decided to read "a few" pages before I went to bed. I wound up staying up until 3 a.m. Junger has produced an intense work in this true story of a 1991 once-in-a-century storm. For those who've been on the open seas, they will immediately appreciate the situations Junger describes in the book. For those who have not spent time on the open seas, they may not want to venture even to the swimming pool after reading the tome. From beginning to end, this powerful piece will hold you in its grip. If you have seen the movie but not read the book, do yourself a favor and READ THE BOOK. The movie can hardly do it justice. And, if you have not seen the movie, buy the book and LET YOUR MIND (and Junger's prose) CREATE THE MOVIE for you. You won't regret it. It is truly white-knuckle reading!
Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating read
Review: This was a fascinating and enjoyable book, and I got through it very quickly. It is not particularly deep and the writing is hardly transcendent, but I don't think Junger intended to write a comprehensive analysis of this infamous storm and its effects. Instead, the book reads like an expanded version of the old saw that it's "not nice to fool with Mother Nature."Junger illustrates this concept by considering the storm on several levels: its effect on one group of fishermen lost in the heart of the storm, the hardships associated with making a living at sea in the North Atlantic, and technical details concerning the physics of waves, wind, storm tracks, and so forth, presented in a very accessible way for the layperson. As a geographer, this last point was especially interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: gripping read
Review: I will never, ever go far out to sea in a small boat after reading this. By way of saying that it's a thrilling read and makes deep ocean and big waves really, really scary. Also, drowning has been upped to closer to the top of my list of unpleasant ways to die. I'd give it 5 stars for narrative drive, but I have no real knowledge of the accuracy of the reporting, so I'm only giving it a 4, just in case the journalism's off. But it's a great read. p.s. Don't bother with the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Don't read the book, watch the movie.
Review: The book The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger was an excellent book about a swordfishing crew caught in what was and is known as the PERFECT STORM. It's a wonderful, suspencful, historical novel. It is more suspenseful than anything else. The book speaks very well about the crew of the ANDREA GAIL and of thier lives on land, at sea, and how they fish and are fishing. It also tells about how a coast gaurd rescue helicopter and a sailboat were caught in the storm. It is kind of sad how that once these fisherman finally broke an incredible fishing slump in the Grand Banks by going to the Flemish Cap, while trying to come home to see there families and bring back their unbelievable catch, they headed straight for the storm with no warning. Thus, they never made it home with their fish and perished at sea. Although if you truly want to get a good idea of this book and really understand it, you should watch the movie. The movie is unbelievable and insanely better than the book. I would rate this book at 4.5 stars, but the movie is a ten!
Rating:
Summary: Not "Into Thin Air"
Review: The dust jacket of this book described the book to be as thrilling and suspenseful as Into Thin Air, unfortunately they were wrong. This raised the expectations for me and when the book fell short, my opinion all fell. The story is about a large storm off the northeast coast of the U.S. and the effect it had on a few boats and the Coast Guard that was sent out to rescue them. This is one of the few times that I can say that the movie version was much more entertaining the book, the author was not able to describe the storm in the way that they were able to portray it in the film. I just felt the writing was flat and the author was over matched in trying to tell such a fast moving and powerful story.
Rating:
Summary: Good research and insight in this book
Review: Sebastian Junger has written a well-researched book. He has done a good job of documenting what happened to the men of the Andrea Gail and others who were part of the perfect storm of October 1991. The movie was good, but the book is better and gives insight from people who lived through the storm. Even though no one knows what happened to the men of the Andrea Gail, Junger does his best to give insight to what might have happened by getting information from veteran sea dwellers.
I recommend reading the book even if you didn't like the movie, especially if you are somewhat interested in what went on during that cataclysmic event.
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
Review: The Andrea Gail and her crew are out for what looks like a short pleasure cruise. It turns out they get stuck in the worst combination of weather in history. This storm makes a tornado look like a small gust of wind. The Perfect Storm gives you every reason in the world to not go out on the Atlantic Ocean. The Perfect Storm gives you a new sense of what a storm is. I think this is a soaking wet, hands down book. It is an aquaphobics nightmare. The crew of the "Andrea Gail" thought they could endure anything.... They thought wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed, yet interesting
Review: This is a novel of the experiences of 5 fishermen. Sebastien Junger goes into detail about the events of not only the 5 fishermen, but also of some background information, the friends and family back on land, and the experiences of 3 sailors on their way to Bermuda. I, personally, enjoyed some parts of the novel more than others. I get bored easily, and too many details can bore me. Junger goes into great detail about little and unimporant things. However, at certain points, this can be quite helpful in bringing you, the reader, into the story and actually feel what each character feels. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys novels that really make you a part of the story through imagery, details, and related interests of yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting and Absorbing
Review: Read the book, then watch the movie! Great job by Junger in presenting all this material. The independent events surrounding this tragedy are weaved together to depict the scenario no one person knew. Great job of writing and giving outsiders a view of a world we don't think about often, but enjoy the fruits of daily.
Rating:
Summary: Now I'm scared of big waves.
Review: I was attracted to this book by the movie, or actually the huge wave that appears near the end of it. I was intrigued to find out two things: do waves really get that big and if so what possesses people to go out in seas like this? I found out the answer to the first question is yes, waves do get that big. The second part is a bit more complicated and probably takes up most of 'The Perfect Storm'. Junger weaves together a gripping story which includes the history of fishing off the East Coast of the US, the technical aspects of the craft (particularly catching swordfish) and the make up of the men and women who have to fish for a living. The book also diverts into science, explaining the nature of storms and the formation of waves. This is where it was at its weakest for me, I couldn't quite follow the technical aspects of weather formation and found some of the swordfishing discussion overly detailed, in a Moby Dick kind of way. These are minor distractions as Junger recounts the story of the fishing boat the 'Andrea Gail' and its disappearance during a particularly violent 'perfect storm'. The author cleverly pieces together a plausible account of what might have happened on the boat and what the occupants would have gone through, by talking to others who have lived through similar situations. The most gripping part of the book is the efforts of the rescue crews who risked their lives to save those caught in the storm. The description of some of the incidents is truly frightening and does for ocean sailing what 'Jaws' did for beach swimming. The strength here is that the incident is pieced together from survivor accounts. The great achievement is the humanity Junger brings to the fishing communities of the region and the people who are constantly affected by the danger of their profession. You can almost understand why they do it and kind of glad that you don't. All in all a great surprise.
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