Rating: 
Summary: Compelling, but could be written better
Review: A very compelling book that I would recommend to anyone. However, I found myself wishing it had been better organized. The author seemed forget (somewhere around page 100) that I didn't know all of the maritime terms he wanted to use. I found myself struggling to understand the flow of the storm both in time and in space. Otherwise, this is an entrancing story well worth reading, especially if you ever considered fishing for a living.
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating Tale of Heroism, Courage and Survival.
Review: I picked this book up at Dulles and read it cover-to-cover on the flight back to Albuquerque. THIS book defines what reading for the sheer joy of reading is all about. Junger sucked me into the story, so much so that at the one point the person sitting next to me on the airplane interrupted my reverie to ask what I was reading. Apparently, I had become so involved with one of the rescues that in my amazement I was vocalizing (somewhat loudly) the expletives that were running through my head. The most entertaining book I've read this year.
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Book
Review: As an author as well as a reader, I am gratified by the success of The Perfect Storm. This is one book that deserves its success. It's perfectly written and, surprise, surprise, perfectly produced with cover art, tyography and prouduction quality that reflect the quality of its contents. There's no compromise anywhere in this book. Very few books live up to their billing, but this is one success that deserves to be a success. I read it in one sitting and everyone I've recommended it to has thanked me (and also read it in one sitting).
In a world of mass-produced, me-too, formulaic, highly-hyped mediocrity, The Perfect Storm stands out as proof that there is, indeed, a market for quality.
Rating:
Summary: Experience the terror being at sea in a horrendous storm.
Review: While I live on the Northeast Coast and can recall the loss of 100 homes in my own community during this storm, until I read this book, I could not possibly imagine the spine tingling terror of being at sea in a "longliner" swordfishing boat while 100 foot waves crashed over the bow ! Al Needham,Scituate,Massachusetts,USA
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Fabulous
Review: At my last calculation, the average review of the book is 8.4, with more "10s" that any other rating. This book certainly deserves it. I'm not sure about the grammatical errors that were mentioned in some of the reviews, but I didn't find the book any less interesting because of them. As for the nautical descriptions being boring, I found that they helped me understand in a fuller way what these me (and any fisherman) might go through in an average day. It really made me appreciate land, to tell the truth. I urge Mr. Junger to continue his writing career; thus far he has fared well.
Rating:
Summary: Griping
Review: The Perfect Storm was loaned to me by a friend that prefaced our conversation by saying "It may seem like it's a 'Men's Book' at first, but stick with it". How true those words became as I read Mr. Junger's fictionalized accounts of the souls aboard the Andrea Gail. As a landlubber, I was fearful that I would not be able to connect with the life these seafarers lead, but that was not the case. The Author found a way to make the individuals very accessible with a sort of "everyman" quality. Establishing the characters' personal attachments went a long way towards establishing a personal connection for me. I found as I read the chapters relating to the voyage and the storm, I almost wanted to look away as though I were watching a movie. This reflex action convinced me how vividly Mr. Junger's writing painted pictures in my mind's eye. Any book that makes me flinch and yet compels me to continue is certainly worth recommending.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: Awesome! An overused word, I know, but absolutely applicable to this book. I especially appreciated the physics of the storm and its consequences to sailing vessels. Excellent descriptions of rescue training and the subsequent missions they are called upon to particpate. I am a librarian and you can be sure that this book will be recommended to all our patrons.
Rating:
Summary: IT WAS A BIG STORM!
Review: As a native Gloucesterite, "The Perfect Storm" was of special interest to me. I felt sadness from beginning to end as I read this book because I knew the outcome; and although I did not know any of those who died on the Andrea Gail, I have known fishermen who have died at sea. As powerful as Sebastian Junger's words were, no one can know the intensity and awesomeness of the ocean unless they have experienced it first hand. I have to comment on another review I read from cliff@atmos.washington.edu. As a meteorologist, he stated that "The Perfect Storm" "was not that big a storm." Maybe Mr. Junger's meteorological facts were partly inaccurate, but "cliff" you are all wrong if you think this "was not that big a storm." In my adult lifetime, I have been witness to three huge storms--two back-to-back storms in 1969 that provided us with a four day blizzard, the Blizzard of 78--a huge Nor'easter that hit on a full moon and a high tide, and the Halloween storm of 91. Take my word for it "cliff" it was a big storm. When you add up lives lost, personal property destroyed, city streets and seawalls completely blown apart, and homes washed into the sea, meteorologically and on paper it may not have been the storm that ended the world, but it was a storm of huge proportions. You obviously were somewhere else and not here in Gloucester during that storm. At the Gloucester Seafood Forum held this summer, Mr. Junger was given a special Gloucester Award for bringing the history, life and perils of the Gloucester fishermen and every fishermen who has ever gone to sea to feed his family to the consciousness of the world. Thank you Mr. Junger for a great book!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Sebastian Junger takes the reader out to sea in "The Perfect Storm". The reader becomes not only a crew member of the Andrea Gail, but a family member too. I found myself unable to put it down and thinking often of the crew and their families. As a reader of many books; I rate "The Perfect Storm" at the top of my non fiction list.
Rating:
Summary: Completely captivating read by Stanley Tucci!!
Review: I could not wait to return to the car and listen to the book! A very thoughtful, well written true story, along the lines of an in-depth New Yorker story. It mixes science, drama, the human condition, chance in a spellbinding tale. Along the way, substantial learning concerning commercial fishing, seamanship and boats, the weather and geography is imparted. I frequently reran sections of the tape to review these "meaty" sections. A ten+!
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