The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
- Book Review,
by Sebastian Junger
Amazon.com
Meteorologists called the storm that hit North America's eastern seaboard in October 1991 a "perfect storm" because of the rare combination of factors that created it. For everyone else, it was perfect hell. In The Perfect Storm, author Sebastian Junger conjures for the reader the meteorological conditions that created the "storm of the century" and the impact the storm had on many of the people caught in it. Chief among these are the six crew members of the swordfish boat the Andrea Gail, all of whom were lost 500 miles from home beneath roiling seas and high waves. Working from published material, radio dialogues, eyewitness accounts, and the experiences of people who have survived similar events, Junger attempts to re-create the last moments of the Andrea Gail as well as the perilous high-seas rescues of other victims of the storm. Like a Greek drama, The Perfect Storm builds slowly and inexorably to its tragic climax. The book weaves the history of the fishing industry and the science of predicting storms into the quotidian lives of those aboard the Andrea Gail and of others who would soon find themselves in the fury of the storm. Junger does a remarkable job of explaining a convergence of meteorological and human events in terms that make them both comprehensible and unforgettable.
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From School Library Journal
The powerfully destructive forces of nature that created the Halloween Gale of 1991 are made vivid through interviews with survivors, families, and Coast Guard rescue crews.True adventure at its best Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Toward the end of October 1991, a storm of colossal scale plagued much of the East Coast with devastating floods. At sea, the New England fishing boat Andrea Gail suddenly found herself in the very center of the tempest. A Perfect Storm chronicles the boat's ill-fated voyage in horrifying detail. The boat is armed with the latest navigational tools and signaling systems, but the wind-swept sea brushes all precautions aside with careless ease. The boat and its crew disappear suddenly and completely. At times, the author seems to dwell unnecessarily on gruesome detail. In one passage, he discusses the physiology of drowning at excruciating and tasteless length. But for the most part, this is a thrilling and suspenseful tale, full of fine writing and haunting images. The abridgment seems to depersonalize the Andrea Gail's crew while ironically accentuating the animal-like fury of the storm. The listener is left with a clear and intimate portrait of the storm's "personality" and a mere shadowy sketch of the tragedy's victims. Stanley Tucci's measured and compassionate narration is uniformly excellent. Recommended for public libaries.?John Owen, Advanced Micro Devices Technical Lib., Sunnyvale, Cal.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The New York Times Book Review, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
[A] powerful book....Thrilling...Even if you have never been to sea, Junger's account will put the frighteners on you.
Entertainment Weekly
For once, it wasn't Stephen King behind the Most Nightmarish Passage of the Year. The honor goes instead to Junger, for his excruciating description of the sensation of drowning. Worse, this is nonfiction.... Ferociously dramatic, vividly told--and thoroughly tragic.
The New York Times Book Review, Anthony Bailey
Sebastian Junger declares that his own confrontation with the storm was limited to standing on the backshore of Gloucester, watching 30-foot swells approach Cape Ann. But he clearly went on to experience it through the words of the storm's survivors and those connected with the Andrea Gail. Interviewing them must have been a difficult, even intrusive job, but the result is thrilling ...
Los Angeles Times Book Review
[A] wild ride that brilliantly captures the awesome power of the raging sea and the often futile attempts of humans to withstand it.
Washington Post Book World
"A superb book."
Boston Globe
"Mesmerizing...Packs an emotional wallop."
From AudioFile
In October 1991, a confluence of weather conditions combined to form a killer storm in the North Atlantic. Caught in the storm was the sword-fishing boat Andrea Gail. Magnificent foreshadowing and anticipation fill this true-life drama while minute details of the fishing boats, their gear and the weather are juxtaposed with the sea adventure. Journalist Junger carefully researched the New England fishing industry and created a fascinating account of the fated ship and her crew. The story is superbly read by Stanley Tucci. Tucci expresses the human drama and the cold facts with a brilliant presentation. It's quite subtle, but the shifts in tone and focus keep listeners mesmerized. A parallel story of the plight of a 32-foot sailboat and an amazing sea rescue by the Coast Guard gets shorter treatment, as does the meteorological data. Despite the obvious abridgment, the central story of the Andrea Gail is hair-raising enough, especially its chilling description of drowning. Tucci succeeds, not only because the story is vividly written, but also because his artistic choices in the narration match the intention of the author so precisely. R.F.W. Winner of AUDIOFILE's Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Kirkus Reviews
The experience of being caught at sea in the maw of a ``perfect'' storm (that is, one formed of an almost unique combination of factors), a monstrous tempest that couldn't get any worse, is spellbindingly captured by Junger, a journalist. It's late October 1991, and the Andrea Gail, a fishing boat out of Gloucester, Mass., is making its way home from the Grand Banks with a crew of six, 40,000 pounds of swordfish, and a short market promising big returns. Coming to meet the boat is a hurricane off Bermuda, a cold front coming down from the Canadian Shield, and a storm brewing over the Great Lakes. Things get ugly quickly, unexpectedly. The Andrea Gail is never seen again, lost to 100-foot waves and winds topping 120 miles per hour. Junger builds his story around the vessel; he starts with biographies of the deckhands and the captain, and gives as complete an account of the boat's time at sea as he can dredge up, so readers feel an immediate stake in its fate. Since it is unknown exactly how the Andrea Gail sank, and because Junger wanted to know what it was like for the men during their last hours, he details the horrific tribulations of a sailboat caught in the storm, the rescue of the three aboard it by the Coast Guard, and the ditching of an Air National Guard helicopter after it ran out of fuel during another rescue operation. Junger's fine dramatic style is complemented by a wealth of details that flesh out the story: wave physics and water thermoclines; what it means if you see whitewater outside your porthole; where the terms mayday, ill-wind, and down East came from. Reading this gripping book is likely to make the would-be sailor feel both awed and a little frightened by nature's remorseless power. (First serial to Esquire and Outside; Book-of- the-Month Club dual main selection/Quality Paperback Book Club selection; $75,000 ad/promo; author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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