Rating: 
Summary: Storm lovers rejoice!
Review: Fascinating account of a perfect storm and those who survived it and those who didn't. What I would have liked to see, however, were pictures, diagrams and maps. I constantly referred to the one that was in the book but found it woefully inadequate. It would have been nice to have a glossary of terms or a chart detailing the parts of a ship for those of us landlubbers who barely know what a deck is. And it would have been nice to have some pictures of the crew for a frame of reference. While I enjoyed reading about the Grand Banks, I still felt I didn't know what it was. For as much detail as was in the book, parts of it assumed you had previous knowledge. And hard as I tried, I couldn't always picture the specific parts of the sword boats. Pictures would've been nice. However, it was a great, chilling read. I gained a tremendous insight on what it takes to grill a piece of swordfish and believe me, I won't take that lightly. Good job, Mr. Junger. Between this and Jon Krakauer's book, my only advice is--if a writer from Outside magazine is interested in anything you do, abandon it. Immediately. Great stuff
Rating: 
Summary: The Perfect Book? No.
Review: The Perfect Storm reads like two books:
The first book is like a soap opera and follows the lives of a group of doomed fishermen who lead nomadic lives that go something like this: Fish...party....fish...drink...fight...fish..divorce...fish..etc.
The second book is a exciting tense tale of courage and loss. The helicopter rescue attempt and subsequent ditching is great story telling. The author's narrative of the building storm is impressive. How anyone survived is almost beyond belief.
The author interweaves these two accounts. One leaves you with a sense of awe and tragedy. The other is bound to be a made for tv mini-series.
Rating: 
Summary: Best description of the search and rescue business.
Review: Sebastian has for the first time entered the private and closely held world of the search and rescue crews. While we all had heard of their ordeal through the rumor mill, the crew kept their thoughts to themselves until somebody asked--enter Sebastian. His description of the events of that ill-fated mission will do two things --keep the spirit of Tech Sgt. Rick Smith alive, and remind the American public of the motto of rescue: These things we do that others may live.
Major Jim Finkle
106th Rescue Wing
Rating: 
Summary: I don't feel that it can be compared to "Into thin Air"
Review: This book starts slowly then tapers off. It finally got interesting toward the end with a description of the storm itself. To compare it to "Into Thin Air" does the the latter a great disservice
Rating:
Summary: An overrated, overblown magazine article
Review: This book was easy airplane reading, easily finished in a trip from Dallas to Portland, but left me incredibly unsatisfied. The execution of the book's premise, capturing the last days of a doomed crew, is flawed. The author has limited information on what actually happened and fails to adequately speculate. Moreover, he only captures the personality of one of the crew members. When the author realizes he has to fill up 200 pages to justify the $25 price, he starts on several new "magazine articles", having little to do with the story.
This book had a great premise and some interesting insights into the fishing industry, but unfortunately is easily forgotten.
Rating:
Summary: The US Coast Guard was in contact with the Andrea Gail
Review: This exciting book, a summary of the sinking of the Gloucester fishing boat Andrea Gail in the huge Halloween storm of 1991, is based on much interesting anecdotal information, since there were no survivors among the crew of six, and no contact with the boat as the storm progressed. No contact? An aquaintance who was in the US Coast Guard at the time in New England told me that they were in contact with the Andrea Gail for 18 hours before she went down. Unfortunately for Sebastian Junger's extensive research effort, the military keeps many secrets. This is a gripping and educational account of a sea disaster even without the actual, final details
Rating:
Summary: Excellent account of a devastating New England storm.
Review: An excellent account of the devastating 1991 storm
off Newfoundland and New England. A gripping true
life tale about how the raging storm impacted the
lives of Gloucester, Massachussetts fisherman,
their families and friends. The description of
the rescue attempts by the Air National Guard is
superb. Only negative thought about this excellent book is
his gratitous comment about Democrats being happy
about the destruction of President Bush's home
on Walker Point, Maine (Kennebunkport). One of the best reads of 1997!
Rating:
Summary: The best kind of read: both entertaining and informative
Review: "The Perfect Storm" is the most emotionally engaging book I've read since "The Shipping News." Like "Into the Wild" and Sheila Nickerson's "Disappearance: A Map," "The Perfect Storm" is a heart-stopping, heart-wrenching story of improvident sparrows, ordinary people engulfed in extraordinary circumstances. Even for one who has little interest in being on the ocean, the book is hugely informative and entertaining. It's one of those stories you can't stop reading, even though you don't want it to end. "The Perfect Storm" deserves Pulitzer consideration
Rating:
Summary: One of the most gripping non-fiction books I've ever read!
Review: I used to think that John McPhee had to be the best non-fiction researcher and writer, but I see I was wrong. While McPhee writes about only one subject at a time, Junger - in The Perfect Storm - comprehensively covers a myriad of topics: the history of Gloucester fishing, wave formation and height, meteorology, what it's like to drown, the training of "paradivers," and many more. This fascinating factual content from a wide variety of esoteric sources is woven into a very smoothly organized, humane and moving sequential narrative. And although the ending is known from the start, it's almost impossible to stop reading once you start. Warning: just don't read it on a stormy night near the ocean
Rating:
Summary: Great Book- The Perfect Summer Read.
Review: The book was very good, but I had heard the author on NPR and thought the book would be even better.I had trouble picturing the boat in my mind. A photo would have been very helpful. Others have commented that a better map would also have been useful. You almost want to have a navigation chart while you are reading it. I also had a hard time factoring in how the ice machine problems contributed to the Andrea Gail's problems. It would also have been good to understand earlier on why Sable Island would not be a safe harbour for the boat.It seemed so close. But these are minor quibbles. It is a good read -great for being at the ocean and looking out to sea. It will also make readers think about men (and a few amazing women) who perform very dangerous work so that we can have ocean fish on our table. Well done,Mr. Junger
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