Rating: 
The Perfect Storm [2000] [DVD]
For those who have seen the film, you need to read the book. It represents all that is best about non-fiction. Judging from the hundreds of individual comments on Amazon and elsewhere, this is one book that makes a big impact on its readers. Some are unhappy about the technical detail, well just skim over it! Ultimately, the book celebrates the finest qualities in man, the selflessness of the coast guard and other emergency services who go beyond any reasonable job description in order to save lives, and sometimes paying with their own, the qualities of the fishermen themselves, and why they fish. This is why I searched for a comment from someone ‘in the know’, and I give his comments below. I cannot give a name, perhaps which is appropriate in that the thousands of men working against the elements do so largely unrecognized. In a small way, maybe, but this is my ‘thank you’…
Some have drawn parallels between the account of the challenges faced by the crew of the Andrea Gail and seemingly impossible challenges any of us may be called to face, whether a life threatening emergency, or a chronic, debilitating physical or mental condition. What constitutes an appropriate response when a close friend or family member is faced with such a situation? There is certainly no easy answer, or a right answer, but I personally think this account does help to focus in on what really is important in life.
My thanks to Mary Whipple, who kindly provided the book summary below. You may access her site at: http://marywhipplereviews.com/
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 the meteorology of this “perfect” storm of October 28, 1991, and the physical forces it unleashed. The Andrea Gail, a seventy-foot commercial boat, was fishing for swordfish at the end of the season, near Georges Bank, sixty miles offshore, between Cape Cod and Nova Scotia when it became caught in the storm. The result is the gripping story of Capt. Billy Tyne and five Gloucester fishermen who ran into the “perfect” conjunction of three major storms and never returned. Filled with the kind of detail which brings this hundred-year storm to heart-pounding life, The PERFECT STORM is a gripping story which honours these fishermen without exploiting them or their families–a classic story of maritime disaster.
Book: The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Man Against the Sea
“Anyone who has spent even minimal time on the water should not miss reading this riveting account of the “real” storm of the century. Having run a commercial offshore fishing vessel for eight years..I began reading out of curiosity, but with a bit of scepticism. I admit to being overly critical of so-called experts who claim to be knowledgeable on subjects with which I’ve had personal experience (well said) But in this case, Junger impressed me as someone who had done his research very well. I gained new insight into the subject from his detailed descriptions of weather, sea conditions, and the physics of marine architecture (not to mention the factual reconstruction of the torments the human consciousness goes through whilst drowning).
Don’t get turned off by the seemingly boring subjects just mentioned. The author combines the mechanics of such phenomena with the human drama unfolding in the lives of Capt. Billy Tyne and five crew members of the Andrea Gail. From the dockside bars of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to the Flemish Cap on the Grand Banks, you are thrust into the typical routine of a swordfish long-line fisherman. The ultimate high rollers of commercial fleets, these men make the week-long trip to the fishing grounds and work with little sleep under tough conditions for the next two weeks. Every decision made can mean the difference between a big pay-check or giving up a month of your life for little or nothing if you have a “broker.”
From the captain’s perspective, all of the risks and trade-offs are constantly evaluated and change almost hourly. No computer program could come close to processing all of this information in a way that the experienced blue water fisherman is forced to. In the case of the Andrea Gail, she just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Junger puts the reader inside the mind of the boat captain, revealing how the forces of nature, economics, and human behaviour combine to turn this October voyage into a tragic disaster.
I could not put this book down until I finished it. You have to keep reminding yourself that you’re reading non-fiction, and to those not familiar with commercial fishing it will certainly open a whole new world of understanding and amazement about a vanishing way of life”.
Anonymous Amazon reviewer 2 September 1999 With thanks.