Rating: 
Summary: Gripping descriptions of extreme sailing
Review: A most satisfying read. It combines the excitement and terror of single handed racing in the Southern Ocean with insight into the people who did it in the 1996 Vendee Globe. It reflects their thinking and attitudes in the light of Montessier, Slochum and Saint-Exupery. I agree with the Time assessment that it ranks with the best of books on sailing.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much explanation - too little story
Review: Lundy constantly interrupts a gripping narrative with dry explanations. Some of the explanation is justified, like the construction of Vendee Globe racers, and some is interesting, like the history of circumnavigation, but it was a mistake to disrupt the story, which becomes hard to follow. If you are looking for another Into Thin Air to vicariously battle the South Seas from the safety and comfort of your armchair, it would be best to look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting peak into solo racing, but hard to follow
Review: I think if you have done a good bit of sailing or spent a lot of time in the ocean, this book would be riveting. But for the average landlubber, I felt it was long and a bit disorganized. Some of the analyses Lundy made, for example the one about what drives people to extreme sports, were interesting but out of place here - I wanted him to just get on with it. To me this book is another "Into Thin Air" clone applied to a different sport.
Rating: 
Summary: Unable to put this book down...
Review: From the beginning sentence, I was unable to put this book down. Lundy describes the terror and excitement of the Southern Ocean race so that you are right there experiencing the event with the sailors themselves. The first chapters introduces some of the sailors and describes in detail the capsizing of their ships - then he leaves you there with them at the brink of death or rescue. You don't know the outcome until you've read further and get to know all the players and events that took place in the race. This book was fascinating from page one.
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