Rating: 
Summary: A fine sea tale.
Review: The Old Man and the Sea with a bottom line.
Rating:
Summary: Hungry for more
Review: To me, this book isn't great literature, but it's a great read. Some reviewers have found this book ponderous in its attention to technical detail yet scant on piercing insight into the human condition, but I personally think its straightforward narrative is its strength. Greenlaw is no Tolstoy, but she's handy with a turn of phrase. She describes a world so alien to most of us, so full of activity, and so completely demanding that I can't help but admire her for making the effort to write this book. I read a lot, and one of the reasons I read is to look into lives different from my own. This book definitely achieves that. In the future, I'll never take swordfish steaks for granted.
Rating:
Summary: An account of a challenging endeavor
Review: Quite a story for anyone interested in the sea and adventure. Written in a Captain's Log point of view, it puts you right near the activity. The Mug Up chapters were thoughtfully placed. Rarely has there been a book this easy to lose oneself in.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating look at a job I don't want!
Review: Who didn't see the film, (or read the novel) The Perfect Storm? Not many of you, given its status as one of the top-grossing motion pictures of all time. The story made for riveting reading--and with the addition of some very 'high-tech' special effects--a dramatic movie. It was a fictionalized account of actual events surrounding the loss of the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing vessel lost at sea with all of its crew during a horrific storm in 1991. One of the characters in that story, Linda Greenlaw, captain of the Andrea Gail's 'sister' ship, the Hannah Boden, has written a fascinating tale of life aboard a swordboat--minus the tragedy. What happens when everything goes 'right' is the theme of Greenlaw's The Hungry Ocean: a Swordboat Captain's Journey. To most of us, the concept of spending a month or more at sea in smelly, cramped quarters, working torturous 20-hour days and MAYBE getting a paycheck to show for it, (depending on how good the catch is), hardly seems worth the effort. Linda Greenlaw is one of the most successful swordboat captains, and it's very obvious she loves her work. That she is perhaps the world's ONLY female swordboat captain is incidental to the story. After reading this book, it would be hard to enjoy a meal of grilled swordfish without reflecting upon just what it took to get it on the plate. Over 12,000 pounds of bait and $4,000 worth of groceries is loaded on board and stuffed into every conceivable nook and cranny prior to heading to sea. On the trip out, thousands of hook-and-leader sets are crafted, which are then attached to the 40-odd miles of line played out every single night--a 'set.' With a baited hook every 100 yards or so, they consider themselves fortunate if they haul in 20 or 30 fish per set; typically running about 15 sets per trip. Despite the fact that she is not an author by profession, Greenlaw very competently conveys a picture of life aboard a swordboat. Hungry Ocean is an entertaining and fascinating read! (I bought an additional copy as a gift for my father-in-law, whose late father was also a fisherman out of Gloucester, Mass. HE loved it too!)
Rating: 
Summary: A Book For All Those With an Interest in the Sea
Review: This is a great book for everyone who is interested in commercial fishing, The Perfect Storm, and life at sea. Greenlaw holds your attention with a combination of stories about past experiences and a typical outing on the Grand Banks. The book also talks a bit about her experiences with Captain Tyne of the Andrea Gail and his death in the Perfect Storm. Humorous and at times moving this book is a must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Am I seesick or was that swordfish bad?
Review: Greenlaw's Hungry Ocean rode the wave of the Perfect Storm's immense popularity to best seller lists, but left me hungry for more. No, not a longer book or a sequel, but vision that revealed more about this presumably interesting figure. Greenlaw's account of her experiences as a swordifish captain is filled with potential. I rooted for her- she was afterall a woman winning a man's game. But ultimately I felt cheated by this tome. I wanted Greenlaw to reveal more. How did she become the top swordfish captain? I sensed she was at once ruthless, incredibly intelligent, and extraordinarily hardworking, but I felt as I filled in the blanks from the too often cursory information provided by the author. Her minimalist style opens the door to the world of deep sea fishing, but I found the water murky.
Rating:
Summary: One who can relate
Review: I started out over 15 years ago in the sportfishing industry. I know what it's like to be a female in a man's world. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. The difference is Linda is a commercial fisherman. It's twice as hard and twice as phyical. I only wish that some day I get the chance to meet her. A coulpe of local fisherman gave me this book to read after I got my captains licence. This book is so to the point everyone could understand it. Not like the Perfect Storm.Many people got lost reading it. I think all women who love to fish or work on a boat should read this book. My favorite part, there's no such word as fisherwomen. I get called that all the time! I hate it.I hope more books are written about women in male professions. We can do it and do it well Amen.
Rating:
Summary: The Best book I've ever read
Review: The Hungry Ocean is by far the best book I have ever read. It is accurate and to the point. It is about a trip that really did happen and Anyone that read the perfect storm will find that there are several inconsistancies between the 2 books. The Perfect storm said that the 30,000 pounds of fish caught on the Andrea Gale was a good trip. According to Linda Greenlaw a good trip is at least 40,000 pounds. I would recommend the Hungry Ocean to anyone who enjoys fishing or loves nature.
Rating:
Summary: Very good if your interested in commercial fishing
Review: Overall, this book has some moments that just may just put you to sleep. The best parts in this book are the "Mug-Up's", where Greenlaw goes into the past and talks more about how she got interested in fishing, or what her family was like. Other than that, this book is almost a instruction book, and could be called, "how to catch a shark" or "how to work with a crew of the opposite sex". There are some very funny moments, such as when Greenlaw talks about the jokes her crew has pulled on other crew members. There are some dramatic moments, such as when one crew memeber died while at sea or a crew member caught using drugs. All of these come in the Mug-Up chapters. All other chapters pretty much explain what you need to know to catch a shark in the North Alantic. This book does have one good use. It would be a great book for a class to read to learn about what it takes to be a supervisor or manager for a small company. The company in this book being the boat Greenlaw was the captian (or supervisor) or, and her crew being the common worker.
Rating:
Summary: Another excellent account of commerical vessel life
Review: Is is interesting that two of my favorite books about life in the commercial marine industry are by women. One such work is by Nancy Taylor Robson called Woman in the Wheelhouse about her six years as a crew member and mate of a working tugboat. Greenlaw's book as equally good, and captures perfectly what it is like to command a vessel. Her account of what it feels like to have the safety of the ship and the lives of the crew in your hands is masterful. The details about the highly technical work of commercial fishing are very well done. She does a good job of capturing the dangers inherent in this line of work, and I appreciated her forthright accounts of the hard lessons she learned in her rise to the top of her profession.
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