Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic
Review: A book of tremendous courage and determination. As a boating person I know what the ocean can do. This is a man that can stand proudly and say "I won". A very good read!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent effort
Review: A true story that is written to be as compelling as the ordeal itself. It will make you realize how strong man can be when faced with vitrually no hope and minimal supplies.
Rating: 
Summary: Glad this book is back in print
Review: Although it doesn't fully involved the reader emotionally, this book is still well worth-while. Surprisingly, it's not monotonous despite the limited setting and only one character, so conversation is limited. Would have liked a drawing of exactly where to strike a shark, in case I'm ever in that situation. Am wondering what the author has done since this adventure--please post a message for us! Thanks for sharing your story, Steve!
Rating:
Summary: Can't stop...
Review: Apart from being a survival story, this book also is a nice book from a psychological perspective. How do you manage to stay sane when you're completely alone for more than two monts, wht do you think about, how do you amuse yourself.
Also from a physical perspective it is interesting to see how much a body can go through beofre the end comes.But even if you're not interested in the psychological aspects, it is still a great book and hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: essential reading for survival preparation
Review: As a former sailor who also is a wilderness survival buff, I would say that this book is mandatory reading for anyone anticipating a potential survival situation, particularly anyone making an extended yachting voyage. I was immediately struck by how the inclusion of two simple items in his survival gear, the solar stills and the speargun, saved his life. Obviously he asked himself the question when packing his survival kit, "what do I need to get myself out of the worst possible situation?". This question is essential in preparing for any potential survival situation. Even when going on a day hike in the mountains, I carry enough equipment to survive any situation. I was also struck by the fact that a well equipped yachtsman of today would probably never encounter this situation, now that satellite (406MHz) EPIRBS, once activated, can report your exact position in about 15-20 minutes, and a rescue ship would be underway shortly thereafter. The author had an old, crude type of EPIRB that could only send signals to nearby planes, assuming that there were any. It was also fascinating that although he had flares, the ships he fired them at never saw them, which illustrates the fact that these ships are often on autopilot and no one is watching the water. I would urge anyone taking an extended ocean voyage to have a 406MHz EPIRB (not a 121.5 MHz EPIRB as the primary!), backup communication devices (VHF radio, satellite phone, second EPIRB), as well as one of the small hand-pump desalinators. These items are not cheap, but what is the value of your life? Regarding the literary value of the book, I was somewhat less than impressed. It was written in a log entry form, probably taken directly from his own survival diary. Also, he apparently never had the spiritual epiphany that would be expected of an individual in that situation.
Rating:
Summary: A glorious story one man's capabilities; significant to all.
Review: Both my husband I and read this book. While we were both disturbed at what a risky endeavor solo was, it does not take away from Callahan's inspirational tale of survival. For me, the (true) story will never be forgotten and I have enjoyed sharing some of the experiences I read about with friends, marvelling at his determination. One bummer though. I wanted desperately to know more about what he is doing these days. More on how it changed his life. I also think that there were some good lessons in the book for sailors.
Rating:
Summary: essential reading for survival preparation
Review: Callahan takes the reader on his epic journey (nightmare) of his solo and subsequent disaster which leaves him stranded on his emergency raft with little supplies and equipment. His intuitivess and survival skills keep him alive and are very entertaining to read and understand. I love true-live survival and adventure, so this book found a place in my library and I would consider it recommended reading for the topic. The only negative I had about the book was that it seemed to preclude an understanding of prior sailing knowledge, and in some (important) points of the book this information would've been very handy, had I known this basic seamanship.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating....
Review: Callahan takes the reader on his epic journey (nightmare) of his solo and subsequent disaster which leaves him stranded on his emergency raft with little supplies and equipment. His intuitivess and survival skills keep him alive and are very entertaining to read and understand. I love true-live survival and adventure, so this book found a place in my library and I would consider it recommended reading for the topic. The only negative I had about the book was that it seemed to preclude an understanding of prior sailing knowledge, and in some (important) points of the book this information would've been very handy, had I known this basic seamanship.
Rating:
Summary: Read and keep in your library
Review: Callahan's fight for physical and mental survival is a great read. When faced with months of little food and water, most of us only think of ways to get nourishment. The reader soon realizes that being alone, seeing the same views day after day, and physical pain can be as damaging on the brain as lack of water. The reader also realizes just how much we take for granted in everyday life.
Rating: 
Summary: Alone & adrift, I came to terms with nature and my humanity.
Review: For 2.5 months, I drifted about 2,000 miles across the Atlantic, learning to become an aquatic caveman. For many, Adrift is strictly an "adventure" survival story in which I starve and dehydrate, battle sharks and slowly adapt to the ocean wilderness in which anything that floats slowly develops an island-like ecology. While writing Adrift, I struggled to keep the pace without losing readers in sailor's jargon. However, deeper themes swim throughout the story, particularly with a school of fish that follow the raft. Although I experience a sort of living death, I am awakened to new sensitivities about my place in the universe and society, which infuses the experience with a sense of awe and wonder as much as pain and desperation. The fish, representatives of the sea's majesty and mystery, become my friends, test me and almost kill me, yet bring about my salvation. Alone, I learn to face my substantial failures, accept myself as a part of humanity, and find a balance between the rational, physical a
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