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

As a published nonfiction author, I'm giving 5 stars to this highly publicized docudrama adventure - an emotional ride through "meteorological hell" on a 72-foot swordfish boat dragging 40 miles of fishing line through 100-foot waves in the "perfect" storm (a nor'easter that "could not possibly have been worse").

This true story delivers the powerful synergy of a combination of elements in perfect balance: high-seas drama that slams your emotions like the rogue wave that explodes windows in the wheelhouse...fresh imagery that draws you in and puts you helplessly amid the crashing waves and hurricane winds on the boat...and fascinating facts about storms, wave dynamics, fishing techniques, and much more.

Author Sebastian Junger, a journalist by trade, combines these various elements in a well-crafted story of lives affected forever by a series of decisions by 6 fishermen in the town of Gloucester, Maine.

"The Perfect Storm," in a nutshell, is the story of a freak conjunction of weather systems that produced the most powerful storm of the 20th century off the coast of northern New England in October, 1991. Caught in this maelstrom is a swordfishing fleet, in particular the Andrea Gail and its 6-man crew. Building up to the frightening climax is the story of a fishing town, its people and culture, and the perils of daily life on board commercial fishing boats (generally acknowledged as the most dangerous profession). Yet it is also a story of how personal assumptions and decisions determine who will live to fish another day.

Unlike the trite, cardboard characters of many a fiction adventure, the real men and women who experienced this almost inconceivable storm come alive through Junger's careful and respectful representation of the facts. We get to know the tightly bonded folks at the Crow's Nest bar, where fishermen sometimes spend thousands of dollars of hard-earned wages in one night buying drinks for their friends. We get inside the lives of fishermen and their families, lives that would soon be forced to change in ways they always dreaded but never thought would happen to them. And we discover the misgivings and premonitions of crew members when the time came to load the Andrea Gail and head for one last run, ominously late in the season - warnings to which some listened, but others didn't.

As the story unfolds, we learn more than we ever thought we wanted to know about meteorology...dynamics of waves traveling across thousands of miles of ocean ("forty-five-foot breaking waves are much more destructive than rolling swells twice that size")...the rare monster rogue wave ("avalanches over the decks and buries the Andrea Gail under tons of water")...hard-learned techniques for finding and catching swordfish (a hook "can whiplash over the rail and snag people in all kinds of horrible ways" and "if it catches some part of the baiter's body or clothing, he goes over the side with it")...the economics of a competitive fishing industry that could force them to dump a month's worth of catch over the side...and open sea rescue procedures even more dangerous to the rescuers than the stranded crew. Perhaps the most fascinating discussion explores the physiological and psychological reactions of a human drowning at sea - when the body's natural reflexes kick in and panic is "mixed with an odd incredulity that this is actually happening...'So this is how my life finally ends.'"

Junger did a fine job of research and intelligent writing, skills gained from years of writing articles for such publications as Outside Magazine, American Heritage, and Men's Journal. His prose style is clean, highly readable, fresh, and full of vivid imagery:

"There's a certain amount of denial in swordfishing. The boats claw through a lot of bad weather, and the crews generally just batten down the hatches, turn on the VCR, and put their faith in the tensile strength of steel. Still, every man on a sword boat knows there are waves out there that can crack them open like a coconut."

Junger is faithful to the facts and avoids the usual writer's conceit of embellishing a story with assumptions about what characters said and did. Instead, he wanted to "step back and let the story speak for itself." As a result, we learn the facts Junger was able to gather through interviews and research, as well as how other fishermen described their similar near-death experiences, and our imagination takes over.

Even with so much detail - or perhaps because of it - we discover our emotions and fears swelling in proportion to the worsening storm, ever more gigantic waves, and gale-force winds. By the end, we have made and lost friends, vicariously gained a heightened fear and respect for the immense power of the ocean, and retained the indelible imprint on our psyche of this amazing drama. Readers of "The Perfect Storm" will discover a personal impact that establishes a new watermark for high seas drama and adventure.

Read the book. Experience the movie on a big screen when it comes out at the end of June. Then listen to your own premonitions to avoid being on any boat....in any storm....far out in the ocean...with nothing to do but wait helplessly for the next rogue wave to overtake you.

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Roy D. Varner, of The Woodlands, Texas, is a professional writer and author of "A Matter of Risk," the true story of the CIA's Hughes Glomar Explorer covert mission to raise a sunken Russian nuclear submarine.

One word. Unbelievable. The one thing I have always hated about books becoming soo popular and over publicized is the many people who jump on the bandwagon as it moves along. Unfortunately i didn't get to read it before it became so popular so, like most of America, i jumped aboard the wagon. I was hesitant at first about buying, just for that reason. But,after some hesitation in the store, and the result of finding nothing else to get instead...i bought it. I never read a more compelling book than the Perfect Storm. I did not have any previous knowledge of the storm growing up ( i was only 11) so i was even more overwhelemed during the book. I enjoy in which Sebastian Junger wrote the book. He would start explaining the situation or a predicament someone was in and would stop and change the course of the moment by going back in time by telling the reader about the person and the past experiences he or she has gone through. By the time your finished reading the history of the person, youv'e totally forgotten about what the predicament the person was in. Then once again your'e thrown back into the horrific storm, almost feeling the person's pain and stuggle. Perfect Storm is truly an unbelievable tale of the destructive forces of nature.

I usually don't read this type of book. With that said, let me also say that I picked up this book and didn't put it down until I finished the last word. This is not a fictionalized account of what the last moments on the Andrea Gail were like during that horrible 1991 storm. Don't read this expecting huge dramatic moments, overblown sensationalized heroics or a tragic love story. Granted, heroism, romance and drama are certainly involved in this tragic tale of real people facing real events. But what Junger manages to do is educate those of us who are bound to the land about the rigors, dangers and pleasures of those who work in the fishing industry. He weaves in some history of the industry, the fishing waters and of the crew of the A.G. themselves. He also provides some very detailed meteorological information along with specifics about marine behavior and tidal patterns. While reading this book, I would often close my eyes and try to imagine what it would be like to stand onboard facing a sheer wall of deadly water. Or to make the decision to risk my life to save someone else. The disapperance of the Andrea Gail is the focal point of the novel, but Junger also writes about the various rescue efforts taking place at sea during the worst storm in recorded history. Many people lost their lives, many others barely escaped death. This book brings all that to life. I give this book 5 stars because it is very rare for a true-to-life account to touch me and hold my attention for so long. Knowing the grim outcome of these events did not diminish the book's impact.

I'll admit, I had doubts. I was expecting an exciting, fictionalized version of the actual facts. I was disappointed at first, because the book is written more like a history textbook in present tense. "Billy keeps talking with the other captains, studying surface temperature charts . . . " But after I forced my way past the first couple of chapters, I was hooked. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about fishermen, but that certainly made the crew of the Andrea Gail human to me, and I felt a teeny portion of what those men must have gone through in their last moments. I also have a brand new appreciation for the Coast Guard and the Air Nat'l Guard. My husband is one of those USCG men who spends months on his patrol boat in bad weather to rescue those who find themselves in trouble--whether out of stupidity or bad luck. I now understand his job a little better, and I wouldn't trade places with him for the world. Sebastian Junger does an excellent job leading us into the world of the rescuer, the fishermen, and even the National Weather Service. Some of the bits of historical description can be a bit long-winded and jarring as they shake you out of the story, but they're still interesting. An excellent book that'll make you glad that SOMEONE ELSE is catching your fish and rescuing people. Just don't expect a typical novel-ish style of writing. This is different, but once you get used to it, you might find that the book is hard to put down.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD(if you don't know the outcome of this story-it was well covered by all major news sources-please stop reading. Trust me, this book is so suspenseful, moving, and well written that I would hate to spoil the end for you)

It's difficult to explain the wide range of emotions you'll go through while reading this book. There's a building excitement as the men of the Andrea Gail, a small(compared to most other boats of the Gloucester fleet)but sturdy fishing trauler rigged for nearly a month's stay at sea, set out from Gloucester on their season's final trip to the Grand Banks, a rather unpredictable but verile breeding ground for swordfish. The crew, led by Captain Billy Tyne, consists of a likably haphazard group of local Gloucester men who demonstrate an impressive understanding of deep sea fishing and the dangers it presents, especially when the vessel one works aboard is nearly 2000 miles from the nearest North American shore, not to mention the nearest emergency hospital. Unfortunately, as the name of the book implies, things turn bad quickly for the ship and its crew. A series of storm fronts collide almost directly over the Andrea Gail as it makes its way home from a prosperous run, and the ship finds itself beneath the most powerful storm in recorded history. Waves crest at nearly 150 feet and wind speeds reach 100 mph before the crew finally realizes its sad fate. The book doesn't deal exclusively with the Andrea Gail, but also cuts between a few coinciding stories of endangered boats and the rescuers assigned to remove them from harm's way. The author makes sure that each of these individuals is given their due credit and presents them as professional and courageous. As silly as it sounds, I couldn't help but feel connected to the men and women unfortunate enough to weather "the perfect storm." Sebastian Junger does such a thorough job of fleshing each character to its emotional fullest that it's impossible for this naive inlander not to feel an unfounded empathy at their struggle.

I can't encourage you enough to buy this book. It's a fantastic read.