Nonfiction | True Stories
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The phenomenal bestseller from Sebastian Junger, in its original hardcover edition. This is the book that was made into a major motion picture starring George Clooney.
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 comm' on, boys, and she's comm' on strong, radioed Captain Billy Tyne of the Andrea Gail off the coast of Nova Scotia, and soon afterward the boat and its crew of six disappeared without a trace. In a narrative 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 Andrea Gailcrew 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. The Perfect Storm is a real-life thriller that leaves us with the taste of salt air on our tongues and a breathless sense of what it feels like to be caught, helpless, in the grip of a force of nature beyond our understanding or control. We know on the strength of this stark and compelling journey into the dark heart of nature, what it feels like to drown.
One person said, "This is not a fictionalized account of what the last moments on the Andrea Gail were like during that horrible storm. Heroism, romance and drama are all part of this tragic tale of real people facing real events, but there is much more. The author also educates us 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 Andrea Gail themselves. He provides some very detailed meteorological information along with specifics about marine behavior and tidal patterns. What would it have been like to stand onboard, facing a sheer wall of deadly water? Or to be one of those who risked their life to save someone else? While the disappearance of the Andrea Gail is the focal point of this novel, readers will learn of various rescue efforts that took place at sea during the worst storm in recorded history in which many people lost their lives and many others barely escaped death. This book brings it all vividly to life."
