The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea

After watching the movie, 'The Perfect Storm', I wanted to read the book. This book is not a novel. It's a very informative book on all sorts of things that lead up to and surrounds the very events that took place during this period of time. It gives you the ins and outs of a vast amount of items that either did play a part or could have been a contributing factor in the events as they unfolded. It's not an uninteresting book but it does take away from the Hollywood version of what is more a story of imaginations wrapped around a true event. It certainly doesn't add the glitz and glamour to a profoundly heartbreaking story. It does not glorify death, but rather speaks to the facts instead. If you want to know the truth about what MAY have happened, this is a great book to read.

This is the movie story but it's not the movie story. This is so much more than the film. Sebastian Junger did his research, going back into history about both the fishing industry and the storms of the region, just to provide context to the story of the Halloween storm. He even worked in the area (though not in fishing) for a time in order to be accepted enough by the local people that they would talk with him about fishing, fishermen, and the Andrea Gail. I found it fascinating. And if you think the movie exaggerated things, go read about Ernie Hazard, the Fair Wind, and pitch-poling.

If you have seen the wonderful film based on this book, be prepared for an equally exciting, thrilling and ultimately heartbreaking tale of men who fish for a living and the many hazards they face. It also tells of the bravery of the pararescue jumpers who save lives along side the brave crews of the Coast Guard and Air National Guard. I read this book using immersion reading while listening to the audiobook version and had a difficult time putting it down. It is simply an excellent true story, superbly told. A must read book for the level of research and detail, as well as the human element. Did you know there were two different sailors who were supposed to join the crew of the Andrea Gail? Both had eerie premonitions and walked away. Read or listen to find out more.

I saw the movie years ago and it was very impactful. My husband and I recently returned from a vacation to Gloucester, MA and it was our first visit since the huge storm in October of 1991. We had spent quite a few vacations in that area in the late 1980s and we stayed in the same place this time that we had way back then. The inn had pictures taken in the aftermath of the storm which just heightened my interest in the storm so I decided to read the book.While the book and the movie differ (from little things like The Crow's Nest doesn't back up to the harbor to large things like the movie's speculation of what went on on-board the Andrea Gail), if you enjoy one of them you will enjoy the other. I watched the movie again shortly after finishing the book just for comparison.For anyone who enjoys non-fiction books about people facing tremendous odds against nature such as climbing the huge mountains such as Everest or through-walking the Appalachian Trial, this would be a good book for you to try. As in most situations like this, each individual decision isn't necessarily bad or wrong, but when taken as a whole the results can be catastrophic.It also gives the reader a better understanding of the lives of the commercial fisherman on the eastern seaboard. While it is often romanticized, it is actually a very hard life with lots of grueling work that contains a lot of danger for both life and limb.I enjoyed the book tremendously and I am sure I will re-read it in the future. Even my husband (who isn't a big reader) found himself fascinated with it.

The Perfect Storm was made into a movie that only told the,sad story of,the crew of theAndrea Gail. The book is so much more! The book describes the challenging life of generations of fishermen and their families in New England. It reports the stories of people caught in the storm and efforts to save them with varying success, but beyond admirable commitment to the task. Finally, the book explains how the perfect storm was a mega-weather event and an excellent title for the book. The story is sad, of course, but keeps the reader enthralled. Sebastian Junger rights about diverse topics, but his books are well-worth reading.

The Andes Gale went down in the storm of the century, but not exactly alone. There were other ships similarly struck, and some of those did not survive either. Great technology and resources were enlisted in searching for the missing seamen. Some were found, but many were lost.

Sebastian Junger’s book A Perfect Storm replays the Andrea Gail’s demise during an epic storm off the East Coast in the early ‘90s. The wonder of his writing stems from his ability to take the readers on their harrowing ride using facts from everything else that happened to other doomed ships and sailors during the same storm. You know from the beginning that the Andrea Gail’s crew does not survive, but he does a terrific report revealing how dangerous life (and, sadly, death) at sea can be.

This well written book is not only a harrowing true story of men against the sea, but also taught me many interesting things about the dangers of commercial fishing which I found fascinating. I was not only gripped by the main events of the storm itself, but I was also interested in the human side of the relationships between wives, parents, girlfriends and the fisherman who would go to sea, maybe never to return. I was amazed at the risks that the rescue teams took, the National Guardsmen Swimmers, and Pararescue Jumpers are truely heros. As you read you understand the construction of the boat, the elements of the storm, decisions made, and how all of these may have contributed to the final outcome. The book goes much farther than the movie, and is a learning experience, as well as a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The movie, which showed unknown events as fact, and left out much of fascinating information found in the book, does not do justice to The Perfect Storm.

A curious book. In the foreword, the author sets out the theme as an account of the final days of the Andrea Gail, a commercial sword fishing boat that was lost off the coast of Nova Scotia in October 1991, caught in one of the worst hurricanes of the twentieth century. Yet by the end it is clear that remarkably little is known about what happened. All six men on board died; the various electronic communications systems failed; the boat has never been recovered. Far less is known about the fate of the Andrea Gail than (for example) the Titanic.So in reading Perfect Storm, one waits for an account of the last days of the Andrea Gail, but it's like waiting for Godot. The account never materialises; at the centre of the book is a void.What is the book about then? First, it's about what it is like to work as a commercial sword fisherman. It's a hellish occupation, and the description of the work patterns, dangers and (meagre and uncertain) financial rewards are fascinating.Second, it's about the impact of the October 1991 hurricane on the other ships that happened to be at sea. The two chapters that deal with the helicopter rescues mounted for the Satori and a Japenese sailboat captained by Tomizawa are thrilling. The author superbly evokes the terror of being in a storm of such magnitude, with waves of seventy or more feet and little ability to control a ship.In short, The Perfect Storm doesn't do exactly what it says on the tin. But what's in the tin is of high quality.

I've read two books by Sebastian Junger: The Perfect Storm, and War. Both books are equally captivating and written with a level of detail that is fascinating giving the reader an amazing insight into the lives of the people involved and what it must've been like to live through the experiences he describes. I was a little sceptical about reading The Perfect Storm at first because in truth we will never really know exactly what happened to the Andrea Gail and her crew but Sebastian finds other ways to piece the events of this tragedy together as accurately as possible that it's hard to leave the book alone. The knowledge base he draws from is both scientific and experiential and with so many other vessels at sea during this fateful storm you get a pretty clear picture of how things probably transpired. A simply brilliant yet heart wrenching story of true courage on the high seas and the fisherman who risk it all to make a living for themselves and their families.

I love this author's work on audiobook, could not wait to listen and have since listened again and again, a good sign that although it is about fishing, and is very sad to hear at some poi ts, it is all true and from time to time I like to listen to non fiction audio books.

...when I reviewed the film, I said I'd never go to sea in anything smaller than a "Nimitz"-class carrier, or alternatively a submarine. Now I've read the book, forget the carrier, submarine only, I want something that goes under all THAT weather.To me, book and film complement each other very nicely. The book lacks the excitement of the film, but explains much that the film cannot (the backgrounds of the characters, the nature of storms, some varied history of fishing, previous storms, etc., and even the physiology of drowning). The film, on the other hand, puts a face (imaginary) on the crew of the "Andrea Gail" and what happened to them in a way that the book can't. Some aspects of the various attempted rescues depicted in the book are changed in the film, but not in a way that in any way diminishes the skill and heroism of the Coastguard and Air National Guard personnel who put their necks on the line in unbelievable conditions to save mariners in distress. If anything, they are the co-stars of both book and film, along with the storm itself.The book is slow to get going and is written in the present tense, which I find irritating, but once it gets rolling, it gets you in. If you've seen the film and enjoyed it, your experience is not complete until you've read the book.

Powerfully written. A short book - but that is a positive reflection on the author. He gets to the point and grips the reader with astonishing fact following astonishing anecdote over and over. Enjoyable and emotional at the same time.Ps the kindle edition has a significant number of typos and omissions, but that is for the publisher to fix, and shouldn’t detract from the author’s work.