Product Description

October 1991. The 'perfect storm' was that rare event, a once-in-a-century gale of such immense power and ferocity that it was perfect - that is, it could not have been any worse. Hundred-foot waves and winds of 120 miles an hour transformed the ocean into a lethal maelstrom, the kind of nightmare sailors only witness once in a lifetime. Aboard the sword-fishing boat Andrea Gail, skipper Billy Tyne and his crew find themselves heading unwittingly towards its frenzied centre.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1609943 in Books
• Published on: 1999-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Meteorologists called the storm that hit North America's eastern seaboard in October 1991 a "perfect storm" because of the rare combination of factors that created it. For everyone else, it was perfect hell. In The Perfect Storm, author Sebastian Junger conjures for the reader the meteorological conditions that created the "storm of the century" and the impact the storm had on many of the people caught in it. Chief among these are the six crew members of the swordfish boat the Andrea Gail, all of whom were lost 500 miles from home beneath roiling seas and high waves. Working from published material, radio dialogues, eyewitness accounts and the experiences of people who have survived similar events, Junger attempts to re-create the last moments of the Andrea Gail as well as the perilous high-seas rescues of other victims of the storm.

Like a Greek drama, The Perfect Storm builds slowly and inexorably to its tragic climax. The book weaves the history of the fishing industry and the science of predicting storms into the quotidian lives of those aboard the Andrea Gail and of others who would soon find themselves in the fury of the storm. Junger does a remarkable job of explaining a convergence of meteorological and human events in terms that make them both comprehensible and unforgettable. --Christine Buttery

Daily Mail
'Terrifying, sad, exhilarating, humbling and unforgettable.'

The Times
'The closest you will ever come to drowning at sea'

Customer Reviews

An insight into one of the most dangerous professions
Very well researched and quite compelling, this book gives you a great insight into the extremely tough profession of commercial fishing. Despite never having met some of the main characters in this book, Junger manages to get inside their minds in a way that seems as if he was with them when the storm struck. This strength is also the books main weakness, because despite often sounding real, we are always drawn back to the fact that in the height of "The Perfect Storm" the Andrea Gail (the main fishing vessel featured) was not contactable and therefore the true feelings and actions of her crew were known only to themselves.

Recommended reading!

A great adventure for the armchair mariner
Enjoyed the book but did find some of the sections using rather too much poetic license.