- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial; (Reissue) edition (5 Feb 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007241755
- ISBN-13: 978-0007241750
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (209 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
30,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Books > Science & Nature > Earth Sciences & Geography > Oceanography
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Perfect Storm is the tale of a doomed ship caught in the middle of what some meteorologists have called the storm of the century. At its heart is a gripping narrative about struggling for survival in a tempest of ferocious winds and 100-foot waves. But rookie author Sebastian Junger does more than simply spin a good yarn. His account of how fishermen ply their trade and lead their lives in the 1990s is fascinating. The same goes for his descriptions of storm formation, wave physics and the terror of drowning. Anybody who enjoys Jon Krakauer's work or "Drama in Real Life" from Reader's Digest will appreciate The Perfect Storm.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘(It) will become a classic for a jaded modern world.’ The Independent
‘[Sebastian Junger] writes like a poet who has been to meteorology school.’ Ruth Rendell
‘Terrifying, sad, exhilarating, humbling and unforgettable.’ Daily Mail
‘A magnificent sea-yarn…it deserves to storm these shores.’ Observer
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
ONE midwinter day off the coast of Massachusetts, the crew of a mackerel schooner spotted a bottle with a note in it. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
ONE midwinter day off the coast of Massachusetts, the crew of a mackerel schooner spotted a bottle with a note in it. Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is the best nautical non-fiction I have ever read. Mr. Junger develops a story far more frightening than any Koontz or King novel. I was out in a Coast Guard boat (UTB) off of Florida on Halloween day 1991 and conditions there, while far, far, far less extreme than up north, were awe-inspiring. Junger's description of storm formations, wave heights, and ship construction were first rate. He does a credible job of piecing together the last hours of the "Andrea Gail" and the terror the crew must have felt. And the chapters devoted to the U.S. Coast Guard and Air National Guard rescuers made me feel proud to have served. Lastly if people don't believe in at least the possibility of a 100 ft wave than they don't know the ocean. Anything is possible. Overall an outstanding book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thoroughly reiterate what other reviewers have said, but the book doesn't get the full 5 from me. Both my girlfriend and I read this book, and I got more out of it than her, we think because men have more of a taste for the complex and intricate detail in the book about fishing and meteorology. It really is very dense in places, and you need a good deal of intellectual curiosity to get through some sections. The book is also a very difficult one to write, because noone really knows what happened to the Andrea Gail during her last hours. But given that, Junger does a superb detective job, and paints a imaginary portrait of truly unsettling realism and plausibility.
Finally, I was utterly blown away (sic) by some of the fishing stories included in the book - rarely in a piece of writing have I been brought closer to the concept of mortality than during the tale of a man in the 19th century who survived a shipwreck, to describe the sensation of drowning and losing consciousness. Junger perfectly intertwines this with a graphic description of the biological processes as we now understand them. This and many other parts of the book are brutal, harrowing, haunting and very memorable.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Unfortunately, the stories of the men lost at sea get lost in a quagmire of unrelated details, trivia, and imagined conversations. For the most part, the writing gets bogged down, and the point of the book is foggy. However, the descriptions of the survivors' experiences at sea are fascinating.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Gripping account of true heroism..,
For those who have seen the film, you need to read the book. It represents all that is best about non-fiction. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Peter Buckley
One of the finest factual books ever written
Whatever you do, forget the film with George Clooney. This book deserved so much better. It's a masterful, completely respectful, informative and totally gripping account of lives... Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2009 by C. Lee
Unsentimental, Inexorable, Factual
The book ably reconstructs the terrifying facts, feelings and tragedy of the fishing boat Andrea Gail and her six-man crew, which disappeared during a killing storm of mythic... Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2008 by M BRINSLEY
Highly recommended even if you don't like swordfish
This book was the inspiration for the 2000 film of the same name. The book follows the ill-fated fishing trip made by the Andrea Gail in October 1991. Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2007 by A. Gothorp
Forget the film
This is just so much better. The best book i've ever read about the sea. And fishing. And air sea rescue. And the weather ! Read more
Published on 12 July 2007 by Chris Rawlings
"What was the final moment? What was the final,final thing?"
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... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2006 by Mary Whipple
"What was the final moment? What was the final,final thing?"
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... Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2006 by Mary Whipple
John A. McPhee of the sea.
Just as John A. McPhee outlines the history of oranges in the book "Oranges", Sebastian Junger outlines "Men Against the Sea. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2005 by bernie
A Lost Ship Grips You In Pounding Waves of Drama
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. Read more
Published on 24 May 2004 by Donald Mitchell
John A. McPhee of the sea.
Just as John A. McPhee outlines the history of oranges, (ISBN: 0374512973), Sebastian Junger outlines "Men Against the Sea. Read more
Published on 12 July 2001 by bernie
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