Synopses & Reviews
In October 1991, three weather systems collided off the coast of Nova Scotia to create a storm of singular fury, boasting waves over one hundred feet high. Among its victims was the Gloucester, Massachusetts-based swordfishing boat the , which vanished with all six crew members aboard. It was the storm of the century, boasting waves over one hundred feet high a tempest created by so rare a combination of factors that meteorologists deemed it "the perfect storm." When it struck in October 1991, there was virtually no warning. "She's comin' on, boys, and she's comin' on strong," radioed Captain Billy Tyne of the off the coast of Nova Scotia, and soon afterward the boat and its crew of six disappeared without a trace. In a book taut with the fury of the elements, Sebastian Junger takes us deep into the heart of the storm, depicting with vivid detail the courage, terror, and awe that surface in such a gale. Junger illuminates a world of swordfishermen consumed by the dangerous but lucrative trade of offshore fishing, "a young man's game, a single man's game," and gives us a glimpse of their lives in the tough fishing port of Gloucester, Massachusetts; he recreates the last moments of the crew and recounts the daring high-seas rescues that made heroes of some and victims of others; and he weaves together the history of the fishing industry, the science of storms, and the candid accounts of the people whose lives the storm touched, to produce a rich and informed narrative. The Perfect Storm is a real-life thriller that will leave readers with the taste of salt air on their tongues and a sense of terror of the deep.
Review
"Guaranteed to blow readers away....A+." Entertainment Weekly
Review
"Thrilling....Even if you have never been to sea, Junger's account will put frighteners on you." New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
"Drifting down on swimmers is standard rescue procedure, but the seas are so violent that Buschor keeps getting flung out of reach. There are times when he's thirty feet higher than the men trying to rescue him. . . . I]f the boat's not going to Buschor, Buschor's going to have to go to it. SWIM they scream over the rail. SWIM Buschor rips off his gloves and hood and starts swimming for his life." It was the storm of the century, boasting waves over one hundred feet high a tempest created by so rare a combination of factors that meteorologists deemed it "the perfect storm." When it struck in October 1991, there was virtually no warning. "She's comin' on, boys, and she's comin' on strong," radioed Captain Billy Tyne of theAndrea Gail off the coast of Nova Scotia, and soon afterward the boat and its crew of six disappeared without a trace. In a book taut with the fury of the elements, Sebastian Junger takes us deep into the heart of the storm, depicting with vivid detail the courage, terror, and awe that surface in such a gale. Junger illuminates a world of swordfishermen consumed by the dangerous but lucrative trade of offshore fishing, "a young man's game, a single man's game," and gives us a glimpse of their lives in the tough fishing port of Gloucester, Massachusetts; he recreates the last moments of theAndrea Gail crew and recounts the daring high-seas rescues that made heroes of some and victims of others; and he weaves together the history of the fishing industry, the science of storms, and the candid accounts of the people whose lives the storm touched, to produce a rich and informed narrative. The Perfect Storm is a real-life thriller that will leave readers with the taste of salt air on their tongues and a sense of terror of the deep.
Synopsis
It was "The Perfect Storm," a tempest created by so rare a convergence of factors a hurricane from Bermuda, a Canadian cold front, and a storm from the Great Lakes that it could not possibly have been worse. Boasting ferocious waves ten stories high and moaning winds approximately 120 miles an hour at the storm's height, the sea reached inconceivable levels few people on earth have ever seen or faced. Few, except the six-man crew of the
Andrea Gail, a 72-foot steel swordfish boat one of the biggest moneymakers in the Gloucester, Massachusetts harbor that disappeared without a trace in the storm's hellish heart off the coast of Nova Scotia.
With taut precision, journalist Sebastian Junger illuminates the dangerous yet lucrative trade of off-shore fishing and coolly recreates the last moments of the Andrea Gail crew; recounts the heroes and victims of daring rescues upon the ravaged sea; and offers candid accounts of others irrevocably changed by the storm. Brilliantly conceived, breathtakingly written, this unforgettably moving and fascinating narrative brings to life the savage fury of this incredible maelstrom, and of the courage, terror, and awe manifested at its peak.
Synopsis
A real-life thriller that leaves us with the taste of salt on our tongues and a terror of the deep.
Synopsis
The bestselling book that became the blockbuster film starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Diane Lane.
About the Author
Sebastian Junger grew up in suburban Massachusetts, not far from the town of Gloucester, the fishing port depicted in The Perfect Storm that was home to the Andrea Gail and its crew. He graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in cultural anthropology in 1984 and has been a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in such magazines as Outside, Men's Journal, American Heritage, and The New York Times Magazine. Drawn to stories of adventure, Junger has delivered radio reports from the war in Bosnia, covered smoke jumpers in Idaho's wilderness wildfires, and written about the smallest border town in Texas. In addition he has for many years worked a high climber and trimmer for tree removal companies. He currently lives in New York City and Cape Cod. The Perfect Storm is his first book.