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

This is a book about whom every one of significance (except aboard the helicopter) has died. These dead people are the ones through whose eyes we are to see this disaster unfold. In other words,there is a whole lot of "Then they must have thought this", or "Of course we can assume they were saying this...." It is a book of so much fiction regarding everything of interest, and yet it is presented as a factual account of the disaster.

The only interesting aspect to this book is the one area where there were people to tell of the account. That aspect is the helicopter crew and their end of this disaster. These were true heroes in the strictest terms.

Truly a boring drudgery of a book. I recommend Adrift, In harm's Way, Shackleton's Journey, or In the Land of White Death for truly harrowing sea adventures, the type which leave you gasping and clutching the land beneath you.

I have spent 20 years aboard various descriptions of vessels such as open water tug boats. These books listed above do justice to the danger of the sea and to the smallness of any craft upon it endowed with souls at risk. The Perfect Storm was obviously written by an author and not a man of the sea.

The book does a good job with character development and is fun to read. It doesn't go into the realities of longline fishing by-catch.
Most of the fish pulled in by the longline are dead. If they are too small or not what the fisherman are looking for then they are thrown back. 90 percent of the catch is by-catch thrown back dead in the water. The other part of the story that is inaccurate has to do with the sailboat rescue. You can find an alternative (real?) story of what happened online.

Great movie... decent book (which that is usually the other way around). Too informative. Takes away from some of the suspense and entertainment. If you like this book, you might also like The Coast Guard Oracle and The Finest Hour.

I am one of those readers who normally prefers to finish a book, even when I am not "feeling it".

I got 1/4 of the way into this one, and gave it up as a bad job. I certainly don't wish to speak ill of those who I presume died...but there wasn't a character in this book that had a single redeeming feature, as they were described in it.
I am very character focused in those books I enjoy, and I enjoy them most when I like at least some of the characters; I liked no one in this book. No one.

The detailed descriptions of the day-to-day work and technicalities were boring; the book just never seemed to go anywhere.

I gave it two stars because the author at least used correct grammar and syntax; I save the one stars for those who can't even do that.

I would not recommend this book to anyone that is expecting a good sea story. This book gets way to technical about the boat,
the weather, and the fishing. I did not finish reading this book as it was not close to being as good as the movie.

Review of the Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger.
This book covers the famous unnamed storm which resulted in the deaths of those on the Andrea Gail, untold billions of dollars in damages to the coast, fishing and property damage, and innumerable rescue attempts and the loss of one rescuer. The Perfect storm starts out telling the story of the Andrea Gail, its men, the lives they led and subsequently left behind. It contains a fairly detailed description of the science involved in navigations, weather and storms as well as the skills required to ride out a vicious storm at sea.
The story of the sinking of the Andrea Gail, the storm that sank her, as well as the rescue effort to try and locate this ship, and a missing crewman are detailed in this fine book. This is also a dense and very scientific at times story, complete with a description of the three types of storms that combined to wreak havoc on many ships off of the East Coasts of the USA, and the lives lost when the Andrea Gail went down. Those who don’t like descriptions of drowning, loads of scientific data about weather system, or the sea and the force of water will be put off by this book. It also describes the men of the Andrea Gail, as well as some of the other sailors who managed to this Perfect Storm.
The term has since come to mean a once in a life time confluence of weather which includes among other things, 100 foot high seas, a truly awful spectacle to behold, let alone try to navigate or survive. A search of Youtube, will reveal many horrify videos of ships in really rough weather and they made for terrifying albeit fascinating watching, giving one a small understanding of the truly awesome power of nature.
Gordon Lightfoot wrote, in his song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald paraphrases, does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours. The book also includes the story of those who go out to try and find those men, after they are reported missing. These are the people who come get you when no one else can, in weather that grounds all other aircraft. If they can’t come get you, then no one else can. They do the work in short, that mothers would do if they had the skill set.
It describes in frightening detail the rescues that did occur and there were many harrowing rescues that occurred that night ranging from coast guard cutters, and falcons s needed to locate the ship initially to helicopters and the meteorological conditions they flew in which belonged to the National Guard. It also describes the levels of risk and why they are called such as increased risk- based on the level of danger, and risk to men and machines from the weather and the 60-7- foot waves, to low flying helicopters and planes. And all of the rescues that night and day were highly dangerous and could easily have spiraled out of control, resulting in the loss of even more personnel and equipment. The storm that day involved an area ranging from Jamaica in the Caribbean down to Labrador in Newfoundland, an area of truly large proportions.
My only fault with this book, is that it could have used some charts to give an idea of the weather patterns that were described. It also contains, a rather disquieting description of what it’s like to drown, which may be tough for some readers to get through, so be advised. This book is important because it describes the efforts undertaken to rescue someone once they are listed missing at sea, by the U.S. Coast Guard. It also gives a description of sailing, and some of the physics involved at sea, and this section could have used more charts, as well, as the weather at sea, a must for anyone who is contemplating going to sea in any sailing manner whatsoever.

I've read some of the more critical reviews which provide complaints of "too much speculation" or the way the book jumps around to various story elements. This book focuses - to a point - on the fate of The Andrea Gail swordfish boat, which was lost at sea during a huge storm. But really it's about much more than that, and the Andrea Gail crew are just a framework around which Junger covers a lot of different territory.

I'm fascinated by the sea, sailing and the danger of commercial fishing (such as Deadliest Catch). This book gives you an overview of the history of the fishing industry in the North Atlantic and how its changed over the years, the mechanics of seagoing vessels and how they fail, they physiology of drowning, rogue waves and heavy seas, and basic meteorological phenomenon relevant to the topic at hand. Again, I find all of this fascinating. Your mileage may vary. If this all sounds good to you, then you will likely enjoy the book. I saw the movie years ago and it's OK, but the Hollywood dramatization of these events doesn't really appeal to me.

One last note: Junger doesn't hold your hand through all of the nautical terms used in the book - detailed footnotes and/or illustrations for the layman would've been appreciated (I would gladly re-purchase an illustrated and annotated version of this book). In this sense this book is slightly similar to reading something like Patrick O'Brien, in that you have to do some side homework to deal with any of the terms you don't understand.

Overall, an excellent book that I will read again.

The Perfect Storm, will have you laughing, and crying, and weeping, and chuckling, and sobbing. Mostly sobbing.
The book, The Perfect Storm, is a captivating look at the world of long-line fisherman, and a sobering study of the power of wind and water, and the brave souls who challenge those forces.
The film follows the network television formula: “Let there never be a moment of inaction, lest someone change the channel – AND - for every 20 minuet segment, there must be: 1, A moment of humor. 2, A. tragic or tearful moment. 3, A joyous moment of redemption. 4, A violent confrontation.”
This formula works for a 20 or 40 minute TV show, but for an uninterrupted, 2 hour film, it feels like, 'Here we go again.'
And directed by who? Wolfgang Peterson? I don't think so. This pustule of pure Hollywood was plugged, tapped, and oozing Ron Howard sirup. From the somber violins to the soap opera passions smoldering just below the surface.
Of course I can't criticize it because it's a true American tragedy. Like no one can criticize Gordon Lightfoot for singing off key in The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald. That said, this film managed to do the impossible, so often accomplished in Hollywood. It managed to be a lackluster, Norman Rockwell painting. Calendar art, in spite of amazing talent, ie: William Fichtner> as Heath, the outsider who fought for family recognition, John Hawkes> mucho talent, and George Clooney> our (sound the trumpets) all-American mega movie star extraordinaire. John C Reilly scares me, I won't mention him. Mark Wahlberg, in a word, mediocre. He is better when relaxed, and playing himself, like in Pain & Gain.
If you like Norman Rockwell, Ron Howard, and Days of our Lives, you will probably enjoy this film, a lot

It's relatively rare when a book title enters the English language. Yet "A Perfect Storm" is now acceptable usage to describe the confluence of events that greatly aggravate a situation, with the adjective "perfect" suggesting that the situation is as extreme as it is possible. One can now find the phrase's usage in fields as far away as education or, yes, even Wall Street. And it stems from this novel, by Sebastian Junger, which was in turn inspired when he watched 30-foot waves roll into Cape Ann, near Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Shortly thereafter, he was to learn that the boat "Andrea Gail," and its six-man crew was lost in a storm so severe that it may occur only once a century or so. He was determined to write about it, and frankly discusses the problems: How do you really know what happened to a crew that is now dead, with no witnesses? How do you approach the relatives without seeming to be one of the worst of the paparazzi, snapping pictures of people in grief at the immediate loss of a loved one? Frankly addressed, I liked Junger's approach in resolving these dilemmas.

His research seemed to be meticulous. How did others, in similar situations, and who had survived, handle comparable events? Learn the physics involved in massive storms. For example, Junger stays that: "A mature hurricane is by far the most powerful event on earth: the combined nuclear arsenals of the United States and the former Soviet Union don't contain enough energy to keep a hurricane going for one day." What did other boats do around the periphery of this storm? I was surprised to learn that three Navy destroyers were lost in 1944 to a typhoon, which generated waves high enough to flip them end to end.

The real strength of the book though is the human drama. Fishing the Grand Banks off of Newfoundland is an increasingly difficult way to make a living: harsh at any times, particularly in a small boat, fighting the big fleets over diminishing schools of fish. Junger puts the dollar and cents on the various transactions needed to survive. He becomes a habitué of the "Crow's Nest," the bar that is "home" for so many of the fisherman, and thus learns their lives in general, and the particulars on the crew of the "Andrea Gail."

Junger's choice of epigraphs is also telling: heavily weighted towards Moby Dick (Oxford World's Classics) and ESV Thinline Bible (TruTone, Forest/Tan, Trail Design). Junger is a journalist, and manages to weave a compelling and hard-to-put-down story, out of his research. In the afterword he writes of the varying acceptance the book received in the Gloucester community. A brother of one of the doomed crew said that he wanted to kill Junger for writing about him, but obviously mellowed. Not all did, however.

Junger subsequently wrote WAR, about his time with a unit of the 173rd Airborne, in eastern Afghanistan. I've reviewed that book too, but this one is better, and certainly less controversial. Within the last week Junger announced that he was giving up being a war correspondent, after the death of a photographer friend, Tim Hetherington, in Libya. Wisdom, there. He has a keen eye, and does his homework, and so I look forward to another work, along these lines. It rates 5-stars.

Sebastian Junger offers mountains of research to provide a realistic account of the fishing vessel the Andrea Gail, a boat that disappeared without a trace during a super storm. By examining multiple view points and suggesting possible alternatives, Junger leads readers through his logic in deducing the most probable course of action for the boat and her crew.

Junger's inclusion of all of his research proves to be a double-edged sword: readers are thrown head-first into pages of boating descriptions. If you aren't familiar with boats, these sections become intimidating and frustrating. Diagrams or a glossary in the back would have made this more accessible to non-boaters (I recommend using Google to learn words you don't know). Despite this, Junger's theories are intriguing; he offers clear glimpses into the minds of the Andrea Gail's crew.

This book's account of the biggest northeaster storm of the (20th) century and its effect on the commercial fishing vessel Andrea Gail is fascinating. But equally interesting is much of the information related about the fishing industry, its history, the sea, storms, other vessels that were in trouble, Coast Guard rescue procedures, etc. This book really reads like a History Channel documentary.

This book, however, was in need of significantly more editing. The author had a tendency to insert asides at times that aren't really exceedingly relevant and detract from the main narrative. Occasionally, the author changed between verb tenses. And the flow of the story just wasn't as smooth as it should have been. There's just a general mild level of sloppiness that should have been taken care of by an editor. This detracted from the book's appeal.

The beginning of the book, introducing the Andrea Gail's crew and their loved ones is really the weakest part of the book, because of the above-mentioned. The author especially has problems here with rambling and inserting unnecessary and distracting asides. He also occasionally shares the crew's profanity, and occasionally adds his own in the narrator's voice. Most people would probably not consider it to be excessive, but I prefer no profanity whatsoever. Between all of the above, I would have dropped the book early on if my husband hadn't already read it and told me it was worth persevering. And indeed, the book becomes easier to read, much more interesting, and has almost no profanity after the first 60 pages. So, it's worth hanging in there.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It's much broader than the implied focus on the Andrea Gail's encounter with this storm, and had a lot of interesting and valuable information. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy History Channel-type documentaries and can ignore some profanity (mostly d*** and h*** with one f***ing), mostly early on. Just be aware that you may find the first 60 pages less enjoyable to go through.

`The Perfect Storm` started out as an article in `Outside` magazine, where Junger was an occasional free-lance contributor, although his day job was a lumber jack and waiting tables. When he wasn't slinging an axe or chops, he expanded the original article into a book, his first, published in 1997 when he was about 34 years old. It did well on the New York Times list and quickly went on to a big-budget star-powered movie. The natives of Gloucester, the New England fishing town at the center of the story, gave it a positive reception, which for Junger was its highest praise. In fact it made some of them famous, Linda Greenlaw went on to write her own book The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey.

Stylistically the success of the book is remarkable because the final moments of Andrea Gail, the climax of the book, are a mystery. Jungler says it was "journalism by analogy". But the effect works well by lending the account authenticity while engaging the readers imagination to fill in the blanks, making it all the more terrifying. In addition it lends a great deal of sympathy and compassion to the friends and relatives of the dead, who also live with the unknown and terrors of the minds eye. Most non-fiction authors would have no problem interjecting some fictional dialog or scenes to make the book more readable, but it would have been a lie, the truth is unknown and it showed a great deal of integrity on Jungers part to take the high but more risky and difficult road.

Of course the book is about the storm, and not just the Andrea Gail. Probably the most riveting part of the book concerns the Air National Guard helicopter that forced landed in 100 foot seas. The details of this are well documented and Junger is thus able to sustain a strong narrative without falling back on tangents, or "analogy," as he does in the Andrea Gai story - which happens to make up four-fifths of the book. Thus some of the most popular complaints by readers is that it doesn't flow well and has awkward anecdotal tangents breaking up the storyline. However for anyone with a natural curiosity with how things work (fishing, boats, rescue), this type of braided narrative - common in creative non-fiction these days - is perfectly normal.

Overall I'm impressed with the books integrity and compassion. The writing is workman-like, dense like a magazine article but not stylistically original, except for the effective use of journalistic analogy to tell a story.

The Perfect Storm is a "creative nonfiction novel" by Sebastian Junger. More specifically, it tells the story of the ill-fated swordfishing boat the Andrea Gail, the perfect storm of 1991, and the other rescue missions, tragedies, and effects of the storm. The book is definitely an emotional one and I can't imagine any way that it could have been presented better. Even it being told in present tense (something that I have always hated) did not bother me. I found the first half a bit too dry with facts about boats, ocean currents, fishing, fishermen's habits, and so on but all of the information needs to be there. The second half of the book (when The Perfect Storm really hits in other words) is much more in your face and should get your interest if you aren't interested already. There is a vivid description of drowning and what happens to the body during this process that gave me chills. The fight for survival is told through the experiences of several victims of the storm and some of them, like John Spillane, are near miraculous survivors. All in all, a very well-written and researched book about a tragedy at sea.

Do yourself a favor before reading this book. Pretend that the movie was never made. Block out George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg totally from your mind. If you can do that and approach this book on its own merits, it is one of the best non-fiction adventure books you will ever read. What an absolute joy to read and what a testament to the brave men who set out to do their jobs on that fateful day. Just a great story that Junger tells way better than the movie ever could.

The Perfect Storm belongs to a genre of historical writing

that involves the telling of a tale as a narrative and then

retelling it on every other possible level. So the story of

a fishing boat, the Andrea Gail, that's lost in a storm

with all six of its crew is the at the core.

The next layer is recounted as a journalist's reconstruction

of the days leading up to the voyage and the reasons that

each of the six men went fishing. Then there's the layer about

meteorology and one about commercial fishing and its

realities and another about rescue operations. There is even

a final layer about the physiology of death by drowning

that's accompanied by some speculations about what that

experience would be like.

Junger's writing is clinical and it would be easy to

be put off by it, but for me, the writer's detachment only

added to the horror of the story and the emotional impact.

As a bonus (like on those re-issued DVD's) there the

equally chilling story of the loss of a storm jumper and

the gut-chilling stories of the survivors of the fishermen.

Some of the extra material feels like padding and that is the

only reason that this isn't a five star review. In any

case, an excellent read that will be sure to cost you some

sleep. If you like this, you might want to check out John

McPhee's Oranges or the perfectly terrifying Devil in the

White City.

--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and the forthcoming novel bang-BANG from Kunati Books. ISBN 9781601640005

Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm is a masterpiece of "disaster writing," written in a crisply paced, masculine style while still incorporating much scientific detail about the meteorology of this "perfect" storm of October 28, 1991, and the physical forces it unleashed on the Andrea Gail, a seventy-foot commercial boat, fishing for swordfish at the end of the season, near Georges Bank. The result is the gripping story of Capt. Billy Tyne and five Gloucester fishermen who ran into the "perfect" conjunction of three major storms and never returned.

Junger begins his story with the maritime history of Gloucester, Massachusetts, a city from which over ten thousand men have perished at sea since the fishing industry began in 1650. Gloucester fishermen and their families are extremely close, and The Crow's Nest bar, vividly described here, is their "home port" between trips and in times of emergency. To gain insight into the character of Gloucester and its fishing fleet, Junger lived above the Crow's Nest in Bobby Shatford's room while he did his research, became friends with Bobby's mother, who was a bartender there, came to know and like the regulars, and gained confidences shared with few "outsiders."

As Junger introduces the six men aboard the Andrea Gail, he shows their both their lives and their motivations for going out on one last trip, which would bring thousands of dollars to each crew member, if successful. At the same time, he also presents technical information about fishing boats and how they are engineered, the changes in the center of gravity which occurred on the Andrea Gail with the addition of a "whaleback" storage area on deck, the science of long-line sword-fishing, and the daily lives of the men aboard.

Six other boats in the same area of Georges Bank at about the same time as the Andrea Gail report on their boats' terrifying behavior during this unexpected storm, allowing the reader to imagine the various tragedies that might have happened aboard the Andrea Gail. The Coast Guard rescue of three crew members from a large sailboat (which almost cost the lives of three rescuers) shows the ferocity of the storm and the near impossibility of rescuing the Andrea Gail's crew, even if they had been found in time. Filled with the kind of detail which brings this "perfect," hundred-year storm to heart-pounding life, The Perfect Storm is a gripping story which honors these fishermen without exploiting them or their families--a classic story of maritime disaster. Mary Whipple

I am puzzled by the criticisms of this book decrying it's fractured narrative. Connected narrative is welcome, even necessary, in a work of fiction in which the reader expects to be immersed in an alternate world. But this writer committed himself to making his work one of fact, firmly grounded in THIS world. When an author makes such a commitment, he is not at liberty to make things up as he goes, just to keep things nicely bubbling along. Such a commitment imposes serious constraints on a writer, and Junger is to be commended for the care and self-discipline he shows in adhering to reality.
Take, for example, the author's approach to the severity of the sea. He could have descended into purple prose and hoped that the reader would prove kind enough to go along with him. Instead, he cuts to data buoy #44137 recording waves of 100 feet and winds of 80 miles an hour before the waves block the readings. There is something starkly menacing about the pure unadulterated facts that a more melodramatic treatment just would not convey. This also serves as the launching point into a consideration of wave dynamics. A digression from the narrative? Yes, but a worthy one, because only so can we understand that waves of 100 feet are not just twice as powerful as those of 50 feet, they are sixteen times as destructive: that swelling waves do not endanger ships, but that breaking waves kill.
The crew of the Andrea Gail, and the other people who lost their lives during this fateful storm, are better served by the author's commitment to fact. Their tragedy is rendered the more poignant because Junger's refusal to fictionalize them keeps them real. We cannot take refuge in the knowledge that they are just products of imagination. There but for the grace of God go I.
This is not a book for those looking for quick thrills or for maudlin drama. It shoulders its responsibilities seriously. It shows immense respect for the dead by its refusal to fictionalize their end. Speculation about their thoughts and deeds are left not to Hollywood hacks, but to friends or fellow fishermen: brothers and sisters under the skin who have lived through similar hells.
So here's the rundown. If you simply can't stand technical talk, don't read this book. If you're not fussy about the truth and prefer smooth embellishment to messy reality, don't read this book. If slick melodrama is more important to you than respect for the facts, then watch the movie instead and don't read this book. But if the storm of the century, and real heroics, and real lives hanging in the balance by a hair's breadth is sufficient drama for you, then this book will not only involve and move you; it will have you reflecting on the awful power of nature and the fragility of life for a good long time to come.

The book is very good because make you feel connected with the Andrea Gail crew even though you know from the beginning the tragic end that awaits you cannot stop reading. I liked the way that he writes because you understand the life of a fisherman, the affliction of the family that stays in land, the importance of the job done by the rescue team and the power of the ocean and the weather. It is a very detailed book making you a specialist in a little bit of everything, how a storm is formed, how to fish swordfish, how the rescue team acts, the structure of a fishing boat, the history and economy of the city of Gloucester and more important the people that were affect by this storm.
The problems that I have with the book are: sometimes he uses to much technical language making it hard to understand some parts at least for my English level, there is some parallel stories that do not add much to the main story and just make you more anxious for what you really want to know, he doesn’t gives a lot of details of the life of two of the crew of the boat that I thought that would be interesting to know more. And it is a very sad story that makes you feel helpless against a force of nature.

One great writer in this world who wrote "The Perfect Storm" is Sebastian Junger. The them of his book was a story about the hurricane that had the East Coast killing hundreds of people. The backround is that men and women would usually join the fishing business because you could get a pretty big paycheck in a small amount of time (a month). While many were returning home, a hurricane rose up and hit the East Coast. The hundred foot waves and driving winds killed a large amount of men and women, including the people that were even on land.
People usually joined the fishing business because you could get at least 3,000 dollars in at least one month. While hundreds of people were out fishing during October in 1991, a severe hurricane struck. Because of the way that the hurricane worked, many meteorologists called it the "perfect storm". The people that were fishing near or going to the East Coast got caught in the storm, and most of them were killed.
The book is pretty interesting. It tells the history about fishing. Like what kind of technology was used hundreds of years before, and how it's different from the technology that we use today. It also describes many things, like how it feels like to drown, and what happens to the body when it's drowning. The book makes the storm memorable because it tells how people were dying on hte ocean and told how hundreds of people drowned in the waves.
The book affected me in small ways. For instance when some people died, I felt bad for them because I knew they weren't just characters that were made up, they were real people. At first when I watched the movie "The Perfect Storm", I thought that it was interesting and then just forgot about it, brushing it off as not important. Then I read the book and saw how the people felt while they were caught in the storm, getting rescued, or waiting to see if a loved one would come home or not. So in some parts, it also made me kind of sad because so many people were killed during the storm and like I said before, they were real people.
I would recommend this to people who like a little drama, a little history, and someone who wants to learn a little about life on the ocean.

The Perfect Storm is a novel based on the "Halloween Storm" in 1991. This storm was particularly dangerous because it was not just one storm but three combined, thus creating "The Perfect Storm". It addresses the stories of several ships as they fight their way through the gale. The most well known of these ships is undoubtedly the Andrea Gail. The Andrea Gail, a swordfish boat, along with many others, is out for a last trip of the season. Her crew, consisting of the ship's captain Billy Tyne and several other fishermen, set out in mid October hoping to earn enough money to pay off some debts and bills. The story of the Andrea Gail specifically centers around Bobby Shatford, a young fisherman aboard the Andrea Gail for the first time. When the storm hits, the ship is caught in a trap of fierce winds and gigantic waves as the crew continue to fight for their lives unsure whether they'll make it to daybreak. Their chances of survival do not look good.
The book also contains the heroic tales of the rescue missions of several crews. The Satori, a relatively small vessel, was headed on its way to Bermuda when the storm blew through. Finding itself in an overwhelming situation, it issues a mayday and the Coast Guard sends a helicopter and nearby vessel to rescue the crew. The harsh conditions make it difficult to get to the crew but through courage and persistence they are finally rescued. Another rescue was that of a Coast Guard helicopter that was forced to abandon when they ran out of fuel.
The book starts with a detailed description of the skills needed to run and operate a fishing boat as well as the extreme and dangerous lengths that these fisherman will got to for a good catch. This slow start may make the book seem dull at first but the information is key to understanding the events occurring during the storm. It describes the makeup of the standard fishing boat including the Andrea Gail and also provides a detailed history of fishing along the coast. The author also provides a sympathizing perspective for that of the lost fishermen and also gives you a new perspective on the courage and bravery of the men involved in the rescue missions. If you don't mind a little education on fishing history and boats this is the perfect book to read for a good adventure story.
By Lauren S.

Anyone who has spent even minimal time on the water should not miss reading this riveting account of the "real" storm of the century. Having run a commercial offshore fishing vessel for eight years, I was at first intrigued by a brief interview with the author on C-SPAN. I immediately obtained a copy and began reading out of curiosity, but with a bit of skepticism. I admit to being overly critical of so-called experts who claim to be knowledgeable on subjects with which I've had personal experience. But in this case, Junger impressed me as someone who had done his research very well. I gained new insight into the subject from his detailed descriptions of weather, sea conditions, and the physics of marine architecture.
Don't get turned off by the seemingly boring subjects just mentioned. The author combines the mechanics of such phenomena with the human drama unfolding in the lives of Capt. Billy Tyne and five crew members of the Andrea Gail. From the dockside bars of Gloucester, MA to the Flemish Cap on the Grand Banks, you are thrust into the typical routine of a swordfish longline fisherman. The ultimate high rollers of commercial fleets, these men make the week-long trip to the fishing grounds and work with little sleep under tough conditions for the next two weeks. Every decision made can mean the difference between a big paycheck or giving up a month of your life for little or nothing if you have a "broker."
From the captain's perspective, all of the risks and trade-offs are constantly evaluated and change almost hourly. No computer program could come close to processing all of this information in a way that the experienced blue water fisherman is forced to. In the case of the Andrea Gail, she just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Junger puts the reader inside the mind of the boat captain, revealing how the forces of nature, economics, and human behavior combine to turn this October voyage into a tragic disaster.
I could not put this book down until I finished it. You have to keep reminding yourself that you're reading non-fiction, and to those not familiar with commercial fishing it will certainly open a whole new world of understanding and amazement about a vanishing way of life.

An intensely well-researched and well-written book about the weather event that also spawned the movie of the same name, though the movie of necessity can't go into as much detail. Well worth reading for any devotee of good non-fiction writing. Also makes one wonder, in this post-LORAN era, whether we are doing enough to communicate perilous circumstances to the ships at sea.

The Perfect Storm was a great read. It starts off pretty slow, but once you get into the meat of it, Junger enlightens you with the extreme power of the sea, and the many obstacles that are thrown your way as a fisherman off the Eastern Coast of the US. I honestly thought the book would be more about the Andrea Gaile. It was a disappointment to me when I finished and he had only touched on the journey of the six men, but once I thought back, I realized that I was much more knowledgable. Knowledgable about things such as big boat charter fishing, and the dangers that go along with it. Also things like drowning. I found this to be the most intriguing. The accounts of people drowning and being revived were the farthest thing from boring. I never knew that drowning was almost peaceful and that some people don't actually go down with water in their lungs, but rather they have a condition that naturally clogs their throat. Along with this came the hardships of all the other boats at sea on the same night as the Andrea Gaile, and the rich history of fishing in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Perfect Storm is a riveting, and gripping novel that I am happy I read. I would recommend the book to anyone because it isn't an incredibly hard read, but rather just a plain out good one.

This book takes a natural disaster, a storm of the century, and builds it into a compelling clash of man against nature with man having little or no chance. "We Are Playthings of the Gods" kept running through my mind as I read this book.

I am glad that a movie has been made from the book, because the book was clearly designed to be turned into a script. The material is incredibly visible and visceral at the same time.

Even if you have never left dry land, you will soon have a good sense of what it meant to be a swordfisherman on the Andrea Gail when the storm came up.

Since the ship was lost, the author had a difficult task -- to give us a sense of what happened without turning the book into a dry dissertation. The book is incredibly successful at turning the informed speculation into a story line of what might have happened. If anything, the lack of details allows you to use your imagination, which makes the story richer.

Some will complain about the extensive background about Gloucester, the fishing fleets, boats, technology, and the people involved. For me, each element added a richness to the drama that made the story all that more gripping. Like a good Tom Clancy novel, the detail adds a texture and a context for the book that makes it all the more significant in your mind.

The book has an unusual structure. It cuts in and out from the present to the past, and from present to past tense and back again. At one level, it operates like mental language. That technique gives the book an emotional immediacy that makes it have much more impact on the reader. Let it weave its magic, and you'll really enjoy yourself.

Buy this book today, and save it to read the next time a howling wind and driving rain assault you on a dark night. Have a great read!

Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm (Norton, 1997)
availability: still on the bestseller lists, and probably will be until the year 2010

Lots of buzz around this book. Lots of buzz around this movie. Oddly, I don't remember there being lots of buzz around this storm itself.

While Junger begins and ends with the Andrea Gail (and his last chapter lends its sinking an almost supernatural air a la the supposed curse surrounding Rebel Without a Cause), there is far more to this book than the story of six guys and a boat. Of course, what more there is is about more people and more conveyances; the storm took the wind out of a number of other boats, a couple of helicopters, etc.

While Junger and [Nathaniel] Philbrick [, author of In the Heart of the Sea: The Voyage of the Whaleship Essex] have much the same approach in their styles, Philbrick handles In the Heart of the Sea better than Junger handles The Perfect Storm; perhaps it's because, since there were survivors from the Essex, we have enough of a picture of what happened for Philbrick to give us insight into what the men in those jury-rigged schooners were thinking and feeling during their whole nightmarish trip, while the Andrea Gail, by necessity, has left us guessing. Still, there are enough survivors form the other ships affected by the storm that it's demonstrable Junger is not handling his characters as well, and the book suffers for it.

Still, it's hard not to be captivated by a story of man against unpredictable nature, and The Perfect Storm keeps the reader's attention from first page to last, and the immediacy of an event that took place within one's lifetime is more impressive that something that happened before the birth of one's great-grandfather. It is less an indictment of Junger than it is testament to the prowess of Philbrick that, when comparing the two, In the Heart of the Sea comes out on top. The Perfect Storm is in no way a bad book; it just doesn't shine the way it could have. ** 1/2

In this enlightening and engrossing book that chronicles the life of a huge, freak storm that leads to disaster at sea, the author gives us a front-row seat to the events and circumstances that lead, inexorably, to the disasterous finale.
As events unfold, we come to understand and admire these men, everyday working people who regularly put their lives on the line for their paycheck. We gain an appreciation for the dangers they face at sea, we see firsthand both the beauty and the brutality of the ocean. And much more so in the book than in the movie, we see what kind of economic factors and pressures, as well as what kind of personality factors, drive these men to put themselves at risk, so that what at first appears to be reckless abandon ends up looking much more like economic necessity coupled with an absolutely unpredictable twist of nature.
Also included in the unfolding drama are some amazing stories of survival, rescue, and heroism. And you really get a feeling for the awesome power this incredible threefold-storm generated!
While some have criticized the movie for being "pure fiction", the book is a different story. True, no one made it back to tell all, but there was radio contact up until the very end. And what the author does, in areas where all the facts are not known, is research other very similar situations at sea, to show what happens when a boat is in such-and-such a situation; what does the captain do, what do the crew do, what do sailors think and feel under those circumstances. Because no one made it back to tell, the author wanted to put absolutely as much information as COULD be known down as a record of this incredible event. The movie takes liberties that the book does not.
The book comes across as a fitting tribute to the men who died on the Adrea Gail, and the countless others who have died at sea, and who never returned to have their story told. I hope we hear more from Sebastian Junger in the future!

One of the greatest writers in this world is Sebastian Junger and he wrote the book "The Perfect Storm". The theme of his book was a story about the hurricane that had hit the East Coast killing hundreds of people. The background is that men and women would usually join the fishing business because you could get a pretty big paycheck in a small amount of time (a month). While many fishermen and women were returning, a hurricane rose up and hit the East Coast. The hundred foot waves and driving winds killed a large amount of men and women, including the people that were also on the mainland. The hurricane struck in October of 1991 and because of the way this hurricane worked many meterologists called it the "perfect storm".
I really enjoyed reading this book. It showed me some history; the fishing technology used hundreds of years before compared to the technology used today, and also the effects of the "perfect storm". The author also really connects you to the death of many of these fishermen and women, describing what it was like to drown, and what happens to the body as it's drowning. It makes the storm memorable because it tells how people were dying on the ocean and how hundreds of people drowned because of the waves the hurricane made.
I was affected in many ways by this book. I felt for the death of the characters in this novel on different levels, because they weren't just characters made up by the author, they were based on real people. At first, watching the movie, I brushed it all off as not important, but the book helped me to better feel how the characters felt as they were caught in the storm and when they were being rescued. I would recommend this to people who like a little drama and a little history.

This is a gripping drama set in the unforgiving seas off Newfoundland in the North Atlantic. Adventurous men, and the occasional woman, sign on for voyages of several weeks or more crewing on small (in this case 72ft) commercial boats, long line fishing for swordfish. The work is demanding, the hours long, the conditions dangerous and home comforts just a memory. Personal conflicts on board often add to the hardships of a voyage. Financial reward, when the catch is bountiful, is the compensation and the driving force for these fisherfolk. However, a poor catch provides only average reward so tensions on board are divisive as the questions are debated. Is there enough food for us to keep going just a few days longer? Is there enough fuel? Is there enough ice on board? Is all the ship's vital equipment going to keep working? Are those huge schools of swordfish just over the horizon? Will the weather pose a threat? The latter question provides the drama in the second half of the book.
As one who has worked at sea, but in far more comfortable conditions, the descriptions of how weather conditions form, what drives them, what makes them build up and what makes different systems interreact was very educational. By the time the story reaches its climax the reader has been thoroughly educated not only in meteorological matters but in maritime safety, and the art, skills and dangers of swordfishing.
All this is sensitively entwined with the lives and feelings of real people who put to sea in in the "Andrea Gail" from Gloucester, Massachusetts in October 1991 as well as their loved ones back at home. I enjoyed and was enthralled with every chapter of this book and can only award it the maximum 5 stars. This will become a maritime classic.

What is the perfect storm? Sebastian Junger answers this in his non-fiction novel, The Perfect Storm. The book tells about one of the most deadly storms that ever occurred in written history. The perfect storm occurred when three different gale storms collide. When this happened they created one gigantic storm with waves over 100 feet tall and winds over 90 miles per hour. This book also tells about the Andrea Gale, fishing boat from Gloucester, Massachusetts, her crew, and what happens to them. In this book the antagonists are the weather and the sea, and the protagonists are the boat and her crew. Although the Andrea Gale is where most of the action occurs there are other interesting stories to the book. The genre in this book is non-fiction and action combined. The author did an excellent job of meeting the requirements of writing an action and non-fiction novel. At every turn of a page there was a fight between characters or stories of other storms. The author did this by making the story as true as possible. The plot and the shifting point of view from the Andrea Gale to other ships in the Atlantic captivated me, but the author did a poor job of coordinating the transitions. The main problem with these transitions was that the author did not explain which boat you were on very thoroughly. An example of this problem is that when the author described a past storm that affected another boat, I thought he was still describing the Andrea Gale. I then had to reread that section to fully understand what was going on. Overall I think it is a great book and is written well except for that one error. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in an action packed true story abut men against the sea.

I believe Sebastian Junger did a fantastic job in his research, and his attention to detail. I learned about meterology, oceanography and the background stories of the crew of the fishing vessel, Andrea Gail. I had the opportunity to meet one of the Coast Guard personnel who was part of the rescue effort in saving the people aboard the sail boat during that horrific east coast storm of 1991. Andrea Gail was a fine vessel and had a fine crew of six. It is so sad that they got caught up and died in the conditions that prevailed to create the Perfect Storm. I feel for their families, even to this day. I am glad that Sebastian Junger wrote the story and I believe he did it in a very professional way. I found it to be very compelling.

Jeannie Walker - Award Winning Author of "Fighting the Devil" - A True Story of Consuming Passion, Deadly Poison, and Murder

I absolutely love the film "The Perfect Storm". I didn't fall in love with the film until I saw it on TNT earlier this year. What really intrigued me about the story of the missing crew of the Andrea Gail is that I have a brother who used to work on a fishing boat. I recently found a cheap copy of Sebastian Junger's "The Perfect Storm" at a local bookstore. I bought it because I just wanted to see how different it was from the film version. I knew it was going to be different but I didn't know how much so. I found the book absolutely compelling but not as much as the film. The film is more fictional in terms of what actually happened on the Andrea Gail when it got caught up in a hurricane. The one thing I really wish the film had which the book covered was the personal lives of the crew. I had no idea what sort of person Bobby Shatford and his girlfriend Chris Cotter was. Very little was given about William Tyne and the rest of the crew in the film. I think the film focused way too much on the concept of what happened to the Andrea Gail. Sebastian Junger on the other hand gives each person that was in the film, a brief history. Sebastian also goes into details the history of the fishermen of Gloucester, Massachusetts from the past couple centuries. I am glad that I read the book after I have seen the movie. I think the book would have made me hated the film, like John Grisham's "The Firm" did (read the book first, then saw the awful movie). Reading "The Perfect Storm" made me appreciate the risks that fishermen all over the world takes just to feed the world with the fresh fish from the unpredictable and dangerous seas.

Life began in the ocean. It thrives in the ocean. It often provides us with delicacies of all kinds, food to keep us alive. And, ironically, the ocean can take back lives in the blink of an eye, without mercy or pardon.
This is a very simple tale, the same tale that one finds from the Odyssey down to our age -- man pitted against a cruel sea. Shipwreck tales hold a fascination for us because we can imagine ourselves in the same situation and because they typically unfold so slowly that we can have some choice of action that may or may not allow us to escape death. The enduring appeal of the Titanic is a classic case in point.
No millionaires died on the Andrea Gail the night she foundered in the North Atlantic off Nova Scotia. Her disappearance did not herald the end of an entire era. But her crew, who died with her, were fortunate to have a masterful story-teller chronicle their sacrifice.
By the time you read this review, you will likely have seen the movie or at least been bombarded by the studio's marketing campaign for it. Please honor the memory of the crew of the Andrea Gail and the U.S. Coast Guardsmen who risked their lives to save others by reading this book. Please remember that their families are real people still struggling with a tragic loss -- children who have lost fathers, parents who have lost children, women who have lost the men they loved.
Junger's book is harrowing. Death aboard a sinking ship is not romantic; it's sudden and frightening. Those who make their living on the sea entrust their own lives to a capricious element. And when that trust is betrayed, as Junger shows, the results can be devastating.

Everyone's batting words back and forth, comparing Krakauer's Into Thin Air to Junger's harrowing sea tale. Krakauer's, judging by my bookstore's returns, has sold more, but Perfect Storm gets my supremacy vote. Aside from the non-fiction adventure aspect, there's really little to compare. Junger, unlike Krakauer, was not involved in the events and therefor was able to be truly objective, offering up an old fashioned journalistic amalgam of what could have been, should have been and simply was. Certainly Krakauer had some demons to deal with when relating his story, but his emotions had the best of him, limiting his capability to truly terrify the reader because in so doing he'd churn up more personal fears than he perhaps could handle. On the other hand, Junger was able to explore the potential for true horror in Perfect Storm because as he admitted in his epilogue, that horror overtook his nightly dreams. He churned out an adventure masterpiece that'll forever hol! d you in alternate grips of fear and respect for the sheer volume of power the ocean possesses. On page 129 of the softcover he explains in one simple, concise paragraph the detriment of hurricanes, citing a 1938 Rhode Island storm with winds of more than 200 miles an hour that left only shoes and belt-buckles after having sandblasted the people to death. He generates more fear of the catastrophe in one paragraph than all the footage of Hurricane Andrew could ever muster. Junger is a foremost freelance journalist, but he's a hell of an author. I'm avidly awaiting his next work, hoping he'll leave me with the same sense of awe with which I finished the last.

I really enjoyed Junger's cadence and tone throughout this book - he wrote about painful events with respect and consideration, and maintained and interesting pace throughout the book. People looking for the true story behind the film will likely enjoy this book, whereas people who want the same sort of story the film portrayed will likely be disappointed.
Nobody really knows what happened aboard the Andrea Gail, and Junger only makes a couple of suppositions - he does not try to exaggerate the known facts, or speculate overly-much about what may have happened. He concentrates upon what is known, and what the actual people who were involved with the people on board the Andrea Gail believe.
He goes into great detail about the people, the places, and the boats, and he writes about the rescue personal with the tremendous respect they all deserve. There are moments of suspense and action in the book which are truly heart-pounding, there are moments of tenderness and sorrow that brought tears to my eyes, and there are elements of luck, irony, and nearly every other human emotion possible in this story.
It's a relatively quick read, since it's written in with a largely journalistic tone - the sentences flow through the reader quickly and easily. While the subject matter is heavy, indeed, the words are not difficult to digest. The story engages the imagination, but doesn't weigh the reader down with overly-verbose, flowery, or heavily-sentimental language.
A very interesting story that gives some insight into the dangers fishermen and women face every single day.

The Perfect Storm is a very well researched and written book. The author personally interviewed many people and visited actual sites to put together his story which is basically a true account with some conjecture and possible theories thrown in. As a side note: the movie was a huge disappointment.
I read this book with an interesting perspective, my father is a master fisherman and a boat captain who invited me along on a long line trip a couple of years ago. I was one of a crew of three and got paid a "three quarters share" as I was inexperienced. We fished out of Hawaii for tuna, which is somewhat different than the sword fishing that takes place in the Atlantic, but the methods and dangers of long lining are similar.
The Perfect Storm captures the thoughts and feelings of the crew and the wild behaviors very realistically. My dad has told me many similar stories about crew spending huge amounts of money at bars and on women. The work is brutal, as I can testify from personal experience.
What I didn't go through (Thank God) is any life threatening danger like what was depicted in the the story, but, I was able to feel, or at least have some sympathy, for the characters because the writing was so compelling. I was thoroughly engrossed in all the different story lines woven into this account, the rescue workers, the other boats involved in the storm, the weather watchers, and the friends and family of the lost at sea.
I highly recommend this book for any that love adventure, history and tragedy.

Needless to say, the book is always better than the movie, and this is no exception. What you'll get out of the book in addition to the movie is significant. This book tells the story of the storm, not just the doomed Andrea Gail. The book spends time on important subjects that have been derided by previous reviews: the science of the storm, how 100+ foot waves are formed, how water sinks a boat, how a person drowns. The book talks about the sheer weight of water, which is astounding. You finish the book with a real understanding of how absolutely powerless a person is against the ocean.

You also gain a real understanding for the risks undertaken to deliver that swordfish to your table.

By reading this book, you'll gain an appreciation for fishermen, the ocean, and the power of storms and the powerlessness of mankind on this earth.

Additionally, those who read the audio-CD version of the book, you'll hear an interview with the author. This is one of the bonuses of audio books that occasionally an interview is included. This one provides understanding of what Junger was trying to accomplish with this book. I was initial skeptical of a book trying to detail what happened on a boat that had no survivors, but Junger really pulls it off in a completely honest, effective and reputable manner (which says a lot in the age of "based on a true story.") Well done!!

Not since Den of Thieves by James B. Steward have I been so engaged in a reading of a world I've never been able to truly appreciate because I am so far removed from it. Until the reading of this book, I have through the years, heard the occasional news item of a fishing boat gone down without empathy. Never again will I hear such news again without possessing a wondrous respect for the courageous hearts aboard.
Sebastian Junger gives the reader a deeper appreciation for the Coast Guard as well. The Air Force, the ships that set out in blackness in unthinkable conditions turning into harms way to save a soul. The world could use more maritime ethiques. There is much selflessness and sacrifice imbued within the hearts of the characters to a level unthinkable.
You get the sense that every life in peril brings about an extraordinary effort to search and find with genuine concern. Every attempt is made where many would proclaim impossibility. The characters that fill this book, men and women, are incredible human beings who somehow face terrifying conditions without cracking, without losing their sanity.
I have a newly developed sense of wonder and respect for swordfisherman because of this book that also extends to all fisherman who travel well beyond the sight of land for weeks and months on end.
I am enthralled. I am in awe. As with Den of Thieves, I was hard-pressed not to go back to page one and begin all over again.

The Perfect Storm is about the effects a ferocious, once-in-a-century storm which hit in 1991 had upon an old New England fishing town, its swordfishing fleet, one boat's crew in particular whom we come to know and care about, their families, their friends, and their would-be rescuers. I lived in Gloucester until I was sixteen. I could see the Fisherman at the Wheel statue that honored those who "go down to the sea in ships" and overlooked the outer harbor from my house on Stage Fort Avenue. I went to school with the children of fishermen. I knew Our Lady of Good Voyage Church, Portugee Hill, Rogers Street, the fishing piers, Dogtown Common, Gorton's, and the Cape Ann Market. I have seen photos of the destruction the October '91 storm did on Cape Ann: major damage to Wingaersheek, Good Harbor, and Cressy's beaches, as well as to the Back Shore, Essex Causeway, Shore Road in Magnolia, Manchester's seawalls, and Bearskin Neck in Rockport. I even remember go! ! ing through several Gloucester hurricanes myself during the 1950s ... but I never had any idea what the life of a Gloucester fisherman and his family might be like until The Perfect Storm. It is a spell-binding and fascinating read made all the more so because it is true-life. Probably, very few people get to read an exciting non-fiction book about their hometown. I have and I was as entertained by Sebastian Junger's writing as I was educated by the background information he provided.

As a Minnesotan, I recall the great Halloween storm of 1991, a full-blown blizzard with gale force winds, sub-zero windchill, and nineteen inches of snow. My kids remember it as "the Halloween that never was." As fate would have it, this massive front blew east and eventually collided in the North Atlantic with two other patterns, one of which was a hurricane coming up from the Caribbean. This clashing triad of weather phenomena resulted in the storm of the century--perhaps the storm of the millennium--what Junger calls The Perfect Storm.
While Minnesota's youth lamented the loss of candy (since the weather prevented them from trick-or-treating) a small group of commercial fishermen lost their lives. This is an absolutely gripping tale of true-life adventure, tragedy, heroism, and fate. Crafted with just the right amount of scientific background on the nature of weather and the business of swordfishing, Junger drives the story forward with a mastery of chronology and understatement.
I was shocked that rescue efforts would proceed in conditions so horrific that 100-foot waves would rip buoys from their anchor. I was captivated by Junger's rendering of the Coast Guard helicopter crew's plight, and awed by their courage and professionalism. His description of them bailing out into those seas had me holding my breath and bracing for impact. This one deserves its broad appeal. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.