Rating: 
Summary: Fathoming her fishing line
Review: One gains genuine admiration for Linda Greenlaw when reading her tale of fishing for sword fish. What a genuinely courageous and strong-willed woman she is! Despite the directional and technical details that are a bit confusing to the average land lubber, Greenlaw's biographical tome relates the amazing facts involved in the dangerous job of commercial fishing. Greenlaw's boat and crew, absolutely modern and up-to-date in all meters and communications, still rely on the ultimate on-site management skills of the captain with the crew, who all stand to sink or swim in their month long fishing trip. There are laughs along the way as Greenlaw relates previous experiences and excitement reigns as she and her crew make each haul. The economics of the operation present some surprising facts and create new appreciation in the reader. Greenlaw's book would make a great parallel text in business management training. Her enthusiasm for her job is inspirational. Her varied crew stands as a microcosim of a larger business operation of any kind.
Rating: 
Summary: LETS CATCH SOME SWORDFISH
Review: This is about catching swordfish with linda greenlaw the author great book for a newbie on the subject i believe this by far is her best book. Also has a little bit about her sister boat from the perfect storm another great book (by sebastian junger).
Rating:
Summary: Hungry Ocean
Review: I would say I enjoyed this book alot . I rated it four stars because the book was really interesting to me . It was cool to learn new stuff about fishing and it was cool to compare it to the stuff I already new. This book was also very funny too . It was funny to hear the characters speak.There language is that of a sailor which if you dont know what that means very foul. It was funny because they had like a sware word in every sentence and that is how they spoke and it was like second nature to them. I also liked the book because it was non stop action every page something was happening and thats what you need to keep me interested so thats why I was able to read it so quickly. This was probably my favorite book and i suggest you read it too.
Rating: 
Summary: Great First Effort.
Review: I've read quite a number of Sea Tales and some range from overly dramatic to overly technical, (filled with packing lists and chart courses.) Linda's book rides the delicate balance. Enough detail to demonstrate her skill and hold the seagoing reader's interest and enough anecdote to please the landlubber. As other reviewers have pointed out the Mug-Up chapters are clearly the best in the book. Linda's imagery is amazingly vivid for a FisherMAN, you can almost smell the salt spray and feel the rock of the boat as she describes some of the more active times on the month-long fishing trip. I have rated her book just average since each time you start getting truly interested in the action or truly interested in the life of the crew she shifts gears and transitions to another topic. More plot and character development would have been a most welcome additions. As Linda's career as fisherMan declines her career as an author will certainly improve. I look forward to her latest book. P.S. Really wanted to find out how much she got per pound for her catch!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, funny, and informative.
Review: I really enjoyed The Hungry Ocean, and I developed a great deal of admiration for the people who woork on Swordfish boats. Of the few reader complaints, many are related to a lack of suspense or climax. Perhaps these reviewers are normally readers of more dramatic works of fiction, but I felt that the author did a great job of describing all of the uncertainties related to a swordfishing trip, such as crew conflicts, life-threatening weather conditions, and the unpredictable nature of fishing. I had a hard time putting the book down because I was anxious to find out how the relationships between the crew members would work out, and whether the trip would be a financial success. It certainly kept my interest, and some of the author's tales about mishaps and pranks by the crew on previous trips had me laughing out loud. I realize that that some environmentalists found this book to be upsetting. I agree it's unsettling to read about sharks getting hooked and released, while possibly suffering serious wounds in the process. The author does give the environmentally minded reader things to cheer about, however, including her decision to release some of the immature swordfish that she could have legally kept.
Rating:
Summary: A peak inside
Review: When a friend lent me this book awhile back I somehow got the impression that it was a re-telling of "The Perfect Storm" from the perspective of someone who was actually there. I still held that perception until I picked up the book to read. A quick perusal of the jacket flap dissuaded me of the notion, as there was barely any mention of the storm. It has almost nothing to do with the Sebastian Junger tale, and that, I came to realize, is not a bad thing at all. In fact, I believe the author went out of her way to let Junger's tale stand on its own. Authors have been writing about the ocean and life at sea forever, and while the writing won't remind you of Melville or Hemingway (it was obviously not intended to) it is a riveting and alluring look at the lives of commercial fisherman at sea. It is also, whether Linda Greenlaw intended it or not, a peak inside her brain; at who she is and how she sees herself. All and all, a very straight forward and interesting read... enthusiastically recommended.
Rating:
Summary: More informative than fun
Review: I read this book after reading Linda's second book "Lobster Chronicles". I enjoyed "The Hungry Ocean", but did not find it to be as much fun as her second release. This book included much more technical information, rather than focusing on the characters and anecdotal incidents. However, the book was still a great read! Linda vividly illustrates life on a swordfishing boat. It's dirty, exhausting and dangerous. But, it's also easy to understand why she loves it much. She captures the thrill of the unknown, the beauty of the ocean, and the excitement of steaming home with thousands of dollars worth of fish. The life described in this book could not be more different than my own. I enjoyed taking a look!
Rating: 
Summary: Brutal
Review: This book was a quick read. I grew to seriously resent the captain and her crew for their callous and inhumane handling of the freshly caught [live] fish. Most disturbing was the hanging of the "blue dog" (shark) from the rafters, where he was stabbed repeatedly by the crew while thrashing and then doused with lighter fluid and set afire while alive. Why? To teach the sharks a lesson because they were being caught, instead of swordfish. She had surely become desensitized to the sufferings of animals, but having said that, I do believe she never was sensitive to begin with. I'm glad she has "retired" from the sea and and so are the fish I'm sure.
Rating:
Summary: How You See This Book Depends On Where You Stand
Review: I cannot believe I didn't review this book some time ago when I read it in hardcover soon after it was published. In scrolling through the reviews that are here, it is interesting to see the different perspectives people have. Some view the book as an informational book about sword fishing; others see it as an extension of the story told in The Perfect Storm (Linda Greenlaw was the Captain of the Andrea Gail's sister fishing boat, the Hanna Bowden); some see it as a metaphor about life as a woman in what is essentially a man's business; and some see it as proof that those who go to sea to fish are most responsible for the problems we have with fisheries and the ocean environment. Linda's oldest sister sees the book as a "book length personals ad" (Linda would like to get married). I bought the book thinking that I would be reading more about aspects of The Perfect Storm and instead found a compelling story from a woman who all her life wanted to be doing what she was doing and did it against great odds. Sebastian Junger referred to her as the best swordfish captain in the North Atlantic, or words to that effect, which is high praise for anyone and the zenith of such for a woman. In the book she tells you what it is like to put to sea to go swordfishing and she does it without any cleaning up of the life. She also shares her inner thoughts and makes the story very much a human tale. In the end, you will care about her very much. At least I did. She is brave, vulnerable, stubborn, funny and caring and she communicates those attributes quite well.
Rating:
Summary: Slice-of-life success
Review: Possibly the only female swordfisherman in the world, Linda Greenlaw recounts a typical, 30-day fishing trip in the Grand Banks off off Newfoundland. Greenlaw knew the men of the Andrea Gail, another sword boat whose tale is told in A Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger, but doesn't tread on the details of that story. This is a simple slice-of-life tale detailing a typical month in the life of a sword captain, her boat and her crew. There are no harrowing tales of life and death struggle, but a simple telling of the exhaustion, boredom and potential benefit of a swordfishing trip. This makes it an excellent companion to A Perfect Storm. After reading about the struggle and death of the crew of the Andrea Gail, it is enlightening to read about the realities of their lives. Greenlaw writes in a simple, conversational way. Here story is engaging by its very nature so I found myself unconcerned with her writing style since the story was so compelling. That said, I found her writing straightforward, concise and enjoyable . I completed the book in just under 3 days, another tribute to the quality of the book. I found it difficult to put the book down as I wanted to find out about this woman and her her crew and how they made (or didn't make) their living. Highly Recommended.
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