Rating: 
Summary: Indecency
Review: In 1998, a storm hit the 54th Sydney to Hobart race. In 1999, two books came out to tell the story of it. "Fatal Storm" by Rob Mundle, and "Knockdown". Mundle raced in three Hobarts and covered about thirty as a journalist. His book is based on interviews with people who were there, and often directly quotes the interviews. What about "Knockdown"?One thing obvious to any sailor is that the author is not. He doesn't sail and he can't understand, remember and tell the things that make a sailing story. He compensates for that just like they do in junk food industry. There they use fillings - substances that provide volume but neighter taste nor nutrition. Much of the book are words that provide content but carry no real information. There are scarce facts generously padded with generic descriptions of waves, wind, struggle, desperation, and dissociated rablings about something like how humane it is to provide shelter for the helmsman, even if it is called a doghouse. Whole pages could be used in a book about a different race--say, Fastnet'79--with no changes required whatsoever. The author hasn't even done the homework to know that the race was never called SydHob, as he very confidently calls it throughout the book. This padding of information with imagination occasionally goes too far. How can a "true story" describe last minutes of a person washed overboard and his last thoughts, when his crewmembers lost sight of him shortly after the accident? And as if that wasn't enough, there is a hint of a blame on his crewmates for not coming to rescue him. Obviously, dismasting and being upwind in a 60 kt blow mean nothing to the author, but how can he try to pass this for another--real--dead--person's thoughts? If I had to pick one word to associate with the book, the word would be "indecency". What else to call it when the author writes a supposedly true story, having a very vague idea about its subject, having done little research, and substituting imagination for the lack of knowledge? Disaster stories sell, but telling stories about real tragedies involving real people takes extra tact, care and expertise. Otherwise it's just cashing in on a hot topic.
Rating: 
Summary: Knockdown
Review: Knockdown was a briliantly written book that was so exiting I can almost place myself in Midnight Rambler, Buisness Post Niaad, Winston Churchill or many other boats so well described by Martin Dugard. When reading this book I could almost feel the gloom and see the sadness in Richard Winning's eyes as his beloved Winston Churchill fell under the waves. I've read many other tales of the sea such as In The Heart of the Sea, The Perfect Storm, Fastnet Force 10 and Linda Greenlaw's The Hungy Ocean but Knockdown was by far the most exiting. I'm only 12 so if it kept my on my toes lets see what it will do to you.
Rating:
Summary: If only the author were a sailor
Review: Knockdown was a terribly written book. The author obviously knew nothing about sailing. His facts were totally incorect. If you are interested in the sydney to hobart race, read the proving ground.
Rating: 
Summary: average compared to other adventure books
Review: Maybe if I hadn't just read 10 other much stronger adventure books, I would have been more impressed by this one, but in comparison to these, this one is much weaker. The Sydney Hobart Race is certainly interesting and the weather conditions among the worst on earth, but the writer never got beyond the illusion that he was trying too hard to recreate something he didn't know much about. After reading the review below from a sailor who was actually in the race, I started to understand his point of view. There are certainly some fun parts here: the Australian SAR vignettes are riveting and serve to remind us how strong Austrailia is in this regard. The focus of this book is definitely more in the rescues than the sailing. This book was much less well written (not to mention poorly edited with many typos and inaccuracies) and less vivid than the others. For those looking for the creme de la creme, I recommend Lundy's The Godforsaken Sea.
Rating:
Summary: Very good. in terms of what I usually read....
Review: This book has an interesting tale behind it. Although I do not know as much as the previous reviewers who obviously are pretty experienced reviewers for action books like this ,I thought this was a good book. I was on a trip to Florida. Having finished all the books I had packed on the way their, I was bored, because reading is one of my only occupations. My Dad was reading this book at the time, and that day I grabbed it. Thinking I should only read the inside flap cover, I found myself pretty far at the end of the hour. Soon I found myself at the end of the book about this book. If a fourth grader can understand this, and enjoy it, I would hope an adult could to. Happy Reading :-)
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive Telling
Review: This is a book for sailors, non-sailors, adventurers, and everyone who enjoys a ripping yarn. Well-written, thoroughly researched, technical where necessary but otherwise written so that non-sailors can understand the action vividly, and -- above all -- fast moving, I would rate this the definitive book about the 1998 Sydney to Hobart debacle.
Rating:
Summary: If only the author were a sailor
Review: This is a good read if you like adventure or survival stories. His research is good, with accounts from actual survivors of this race.
Rating: 
Summary: Great sailing adventure
Review: This is a good read if you like adventure or survival stories. His research is good, with accounts from actual survivors of this race.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping!
Review: This was one of the most vivid, compelling reads I have had in some time. Dugard is a master of description. Knowing virtually nothing of blue ocean yacht racing, I was transported into a world of driven men and the tragedy they willingly face. A must read.
Rating:
Summary: Over flowery
Review: While I realise a lot of work went into this book, and I applaud Dugard for bringing it together, I have to confess I hated it. Lots of little inconsistencies and the overfamiliarity of a foreigner writing about an Australian race riled me because it is important to get the little things right. Mispelled names of people or yachts involved was just one of many things which was distracting and annoying. I know conditions were deadly, appalling, and life threatening, however, this book (for me) played up on that fact way too much. It read more like a rollercoaster, darstardly, murderous whodunnit puncutated with overflowery, repetitious slang rather than a real-life event which really happened to real people. But hey, everyone's different. Maybe someone else loved it.
I've read better.
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