Synopses & Reviews
"I can testify that storms change lives, because one changed mine."--John Rousmaniere, from the Introduction
John Rousmaniere's classic Fastnet, Force 10, which the Los Angeles Times called "a narrative worthy of the best sea literature," established him as one of the foremost nautical writers of our time. In After the Storm, his most ambitious work yet, his quest for meaning amid chaos takes storm stories to a new level of revelation and universality. After the Storm is a moving, provocative exploration of the roots and consequences of sudden tragedy in human affairs.
"Vivid, wise, and heartfelt. The crowning achievement of one of America's foremost sailing writers."--Nathaniel Philbrick, National Book Award - winning author of Into the Heart of the Sea
"As captivating as it is unusual. Rousmaniere's descriptions of hurricanes and shipwrecks are among the best in the literature of the sea, but his book is far more than a sea story."--Philip Caputo, Pulitzer Prize - winning author of A Rumor of War and The Voyage
"Among writers who sail and sailors who write, John Rousmaniere is unrivaled in his technical expertise, his breadth of thought and feeling, and in his vigor and lucidity as a storyteller. His best book yet."--Jonathan Raban, author of Passage to Juneau and Bad Land
"A thinking person's Perfect Storm."--Daniel Finamore, Russell W. Knight Curator of Maritime Art and History, Peabody Essex Museum
"No one writes about the violence of the sea better than John Rousmaniere, and he proves it again and again in After the Storm."--Stuart Woods, author of Blue Water, Green Skipper and The Short Forever
Synopsis
"Vivid, wise, and heartfelt. The crowning achievement of one of America's foremost sailing writers." --Nathaniel Philbrick, National Book Award-winning author of In the Heart of the Sea
"As captivating as it is unusual. Rousmaniere's descriptions of hurricanes and shipwrecks are among the best in the literature of the sea, but his book is far more than a sea story." --Philip Caputo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Rumor of War and The Voyage
After the Storm is John Rousmaniere's most ambitious work ever, the unique expression of a master storyteller. Each of the book's stories of seafaring disaster--many little known, all of deep human interest--tells of the hopes and choices that put these sailors in harm's way and shows us the immense and unopposable power of the sea. After the Storm combines all the harrowing twists of the best adventure writing with a search for meaning on multiple levels.
About the Author
Author of Fastnet, Force 10, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, and a dozen other top-selling books on the sea and maritime history, John Rousmaniere has appeared on the History Channel, CNN, and other networks to talk about storms at sea. Uniquely qualified to write about the sea and its meaning, he has sailed more than 35,000 bluewater miles and holds graduate degrees in history and theology.
Table of Contents
Introduction1. Ariel and Percy Bysshe Shelley: Italy, 18222. The Elizabeth and Margaret Fuller: New York, 18503. The Yankee Gale: Gulf of St. Lawrence, 18514. The Escape of the Calliope: Samoa, 18895. The Loss of the Portland: Massachusetts Bay, 18986. Hamrah and the Ameses: The North Atlantic, 19357. The Wreck of the Pollux: Newfoundland, 19428. Derelicts: Mary Celeste (Azores, 1872) and First Draft (Gulf Stream, 1996)9. "Amazing Graces": The Prophet, the Apostle, and the Hymn Writer10. The Ulysses Generation in the Southern OceanAppendixStorm StrategyGlossaryNotesSourcesAcknowledgmentsIndexAbout the Author