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

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Summary: Book hits all angles in less than 250 pages
Review: One stromy evening in Duxbury, Mass I picked this book out of a pile of books that needed to be read. Two hours later I wanted to read it all over again. The subject of the book in the sea. Around the subject we see people from all walks of life being affected. This is a true story. It tells of the lives of fishermen and men from the Coast Guard and how they reacted to one of the worst storms in the century. Think that you are done with the book after the fishermen lose their lives? Wrong. The Coast Guard has to go out and save them. In one part of the book the Coast Guard pilot takes a refueling tanker out with him due to the fact that he will have to refuel 4 times during the mission. The last attempt is botched by the weather and ...well you read the book. One of the best that I have found this year.

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Summary: engrossing, accurate
Review: I first heard a few excerpts from this book on Nat'l Public Radio. Hearing about the struggle of the USAF rescuemen instantly turned me, being in the Air Force, onto the book. I bought it and read it a few weeks later, and I couldn't put it down. I read the whole book in 3 hours. I spoke with a Coast Guard rescue helicopter team, and with two Air Force PJ's who had known Rick Smith and John Spillane personally before they went down, and they all recommended the book very highly. They said it was not only gripping, but accurate in every detail. I couldn't think of any higher recommendation than from men who had been there and done it. This book is worth owning.

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Summary: Gripping yet frustrating...
Review: Overall I enjoyed The Perfect Storm. Junger provided a fairly good description of being in a storm at sea, though it smacked of hearsay rather than life experience. The book begins with a very detailed description of the crew of the Andrea Gail, then abandons them in the middle of the book to describe the experience of others trapped in the path of the storm. It was interesting, though I found myself wondering what happened to the Andrea Gail after the story shifted to other rescues. Perhaps I was wrong in believing the main focus of the story was on the Andrea Gail. Also, as an experienced sailor who has been involved in delivery trips up and down the west coast, I had a hard time believing that the two "experienced sailors" (Stimpson and Bylander) would hop on a boat heading anywhere without waiting for a good weather window. They don't sound like professional skippers or crew...more like a couple of people with little experience or knowledge who wanted a cheap sailing vacation. Jimmy Buffett sings a line, "Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it." I think the book could have benefitted by having a co-author who was actually there instead of relying on interviews with survivors whose recollection of the experience might have been skewed or embellished.

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Summary: An Imperfect Telling....
Review: I was very disappointed in this book, especially given the highly favorable reviews. However, unlike some other readers, I did not struggle with the author's maritime terminology, even though I have been afloat on nothing bigger than a water ride at Disneyland. (I found the descriptions instructional). Instead, my quarrel is with the story's non-linear presentation, and the fact that the author, by writing at the outset of the Andrea Gail's passengers and their loved ones, sets the stage for an involvement with these people which is never given an opportunity to develop. At the point in the book when the author might have supposed more of the doomed passengers' emotional reactions to their violent conditions, he instead relies on historical accounts of (much earlier) boating disasters, and on the experiences of survivors of other boats during the same storm. I was left to wonder who, exactly, the protagonists were meant to be. The fact that the author uses the title "The Perfect Storm" (implying, in meteorogical terms, the convergence of highly unusual weather conditions) is very apt. The book is more about an unlikely weather event than it is about the people who experienced it. For other "armchair" adventurers like myself who like to read of people in distress under conditions of nature, I would recommend "Into the Wild" by Job Kraukaer (NOT "Into Thin Air", by the same author, a book which suffers from the same maladies as "The Perfect Storm"). "Into the Wild" would have been a good template for the retelling of this boating disaster: a perfect blending of painstaking fact-gathering, a knowledge of the caprices of nature, and an ample dose of psychology.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping, Powerful
Review: This is a tremendous effort on the part of the author. The next time that I am out in poor weather and feeling a bit sorry for myself I will just think of the crew on the Andrea Gail and count my blessings. A "must read" for all ages.

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Summary: You can smell the sea and taste the adventure!
Review: As an ex-U.S. Coast Guard rescue boat Officer-in-Charge, I found this book to be one of the best I have read in recent years. From learning about the fishing industry, the crews, the limitations of their fishing vessels, the make up of weather, and some very great insite into what actually happens before, during and after a rescue at sea....The Perfect Storm should be required reading for all those who must go down to the sea in ships! George A. Cassidy

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Summary: Good book-but authors train of thought seemed to float away
Review: This book was good. It was very intresting to learn about the fishermen and how they do their job. The main point of the story was supposed to be the Andrea Gail; but half way through the story the author seems to talk an awfully long time about other boats in the storm. This was fine because it gave an idea of how the storm was raging and where. But by the time he was talking about H3 hellicopters I wanted to know what was going on with the Andrea Gail. Over all it was a good book and I would reccommend it to anyone who has intrests in weather, the power of the ocean and adventure.

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Summary: Oddly detached
Review: After reading the mesmerizing "Into Thin Air", I had hoped that The Perfect Storm would be equally as engrossing. Unfortunately, it left me rather cold (no pun intended.) Although the research and level of detail about the fishing industry was interesting (and sometimes tedious), I never became emotionally invested in the characters. It's not just that they weren't particularly likeable, it's that they are always overshadowed by the sheer quantity of facts. Their struggle never became a gripping aspect of the narrative. It was almost as if the author didn't care for his characters as much as he did for the technical accuracy of his descriptions.

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Summary: Detailed and accurate to the point of sweaty palms
Review: I may be a late-comer to the readers/reviewers before me but I just got the book for Christmas after trying to steal a copy from my sister over Thanksgiving (she finished it and gave it to me). I can't say that I've been in force 11 storm before, but I have been in scary storms as a NMFS Observer (including on a Japanese longliner on the east coast in 1985) and Mr. Junger not only allows me to relive the fishing experience but also some scary moments when my safety was in question during stormy weather and only 30 ft. seas. I also worked and lived in Gloucester servicing the local fleet and at Gorton's, and bunked and drank beer at the Crows Nest. Mr. Junger brought it all back to life for me.

Rating:
Summary: a terrific read
Review: This book is the finest book I have read in a LONG time. It is factual, informative, yet very exciting