Book Description
This spellbinding narrative, focusing on the extraordinary human drama that unfolded as an unlikely alignment of meteorological conditions conspired to bring a deadly tropical cyclone to the Northeast in the summer of 1938, summons back the most ferocious storm ever to hit the East Coast. It was a natural disaster so intense that it indelibly marked not only the lives of families across seven states but also the land itself, requiring the entire coastline map of New England to be redrawn.
Customer Reviews:
Great book/ Great service.......2007-08-24
The order arrived one day ahead of schedule in good shape and has been a joy to read.
Enlightning.......2007-05-12
I WAS BORN IN THE YEAR 1938 IN RHODE ISLAND AND HAVE HEARD SO MANY STORIES ABOUT THIS HURRICANE. WHEN I READ AN EXCERPT FROM THIS BOOK, I KNEW I HAD TO READ IT. DETAILS OF PEOPLE AND PLACES PUTS YOU RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THE STORM AND IT'S DESTRUCTION. THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WITH AN INTEREST IN WEATHER,FAMILY DYNAMICS,HISTORICALLY CORRECT READING. I HAVE RECOMMENED THIS BOOK TO MANY OF MY FRIENDS AND HAVE SINCED PURCHASED COPIES AS GIFTS.
not as good as isaac's storm.......2007-01-26
This book is a good read for the stories of the survivors of the 1938 hurricane. As Marjorie Stoneman Douglas wrote in her book on hurricanes, "there is only one story, that of the survivor." This book collects those tales and weaves them into narrative of the day the storm hit.
Scotti follows the same format use by Erik Larson in Isaac's Storm. This format intersperses survivors' tales-- they're going on in their everyday lives, unaware of the great storm about to hit-- with explanations of the science of the hurricanes, with a description of some of the theory and the development of that theory. I found that Larson's grasp and explanation of the science of hurricanes was better; his bibliogrpahy reveals a more thorough exploration of the meteorology. Scotti seemed to play a little fast and loose with the science.
Still, for a good tale of disaster and survival her narrative is competent. It succeeds as dramatic memorial to the local way of life and the people who died or worse, saw their children die. Ms scotti obviously has a deep attachment to the area and its people. The book could also be useful as a cautionary tale to those living in the northeast who think hurricanes are a Florida phenomenon; but Scotti perhaps does these same residents a disservice by not pointing out that although the 1938 storm was unusual in its forward speed and intensity, a hurricane striking that far north is not freakish and is indeed, in 2007 (or even 2003), well overdue.
This is a decent book, but I would recommend Isaac's Storm as being better.
Fantastic read.......2007-01-16
As a life-long resident of New England and more recently of Westerly, RI, I was fascinated by the story of this hurricane. I applaud Ms. Scotti's writing and her ability to pull you into the stories of this great storm and rivet you to your seat. I found this to be a very fast read just because of the fluidity and tempo of her writing and the fascinating details.
Read and enjoy and marvel at the wonder that is Mother Nature.
A Truly Wonderful Historical Narrative .......2007-01-12
When you think of hurricanes you tend to think of the Caribbean or the Coastal South, not New England but in 1938 a killer hurricane of massive proportions hit an unprepared New England and changed both the geography and people of that region forever. The first question that comes to mind of course concerns what a hurricane was doing that far north in the first place. New England is certainly not immune from storms but most hurricanes strike the South, swerve back out to sea or weaken greatly before they get that far north. This one not only made it to New England but it retained its power and probably slammed parts of the coast with 200 mph winds. Without answering this question the author certainly could not tell this story in a credible way so this is one of the first things that she sets out to do and she does it very well indeed. Not only does she explain the several weather oddities that had to come together for this disaster to happen, she does so in a manner that anyone who has even the most passing acquaintance with weather terminology can understand. She also handles the story of how the weather bureau lost the storm and therefore provided no warnings to the people who were about to face the full fury of nature with a deftness that allows the reader to understand what happened and why.
Once the reader is sufficiently girded with the basic knowledge needed to grasp the situation at hand the author proceeds to weave in the story of the people who were in the great storm's crosshairs. She does this in such a masterful way that if you weren't aware that you were reading history you would be convinced that you were in the midst of a great novel. As the storm approaches we meet family after family who are just going about their daily routine with no knowledge of what's to come. We meet young sweethearts walking on the beach and families having little parties for their children. We meet the rich and famous residents of the area and recent immigrants who can't even speak English. These people have little in common except for being in close geographic proximity to one another but they are all about to have much in common for Mother Nature is no respecter of wealth or power and has no pity on the poor.
Once the storm hits Scotti paints a brilliant picture of the disaster in progress. Her words are so beautifully descriptive that the reader will almost be able to hear the wind and feel the surging sea. The eyewitness accounts that she relies on describe in vivid detail the destruction of buildings and the struggles of those caught in the storm's fury. Best of all, she conveys the emotion of the moment as she describes tragedy after tragedy and conveys a feeling for the victims that historical writers seldom achieve. Through Scotti's words the reader will almost be moved to tears as a father watches helplessly as his children are swept away and will also feel the fear that gripped those who were just holding on for dear life.
As is always the case, this storm passes but with its passing it leaves in its wake a scene of destruction and death seldom seen in America. Again Scotti rises to the challenge of describing the aftermath of the storm, both in the short term and in the long term and she explains how many of those long-term effects are still being felt today. Unfortunately, many New Englanders have forgotten about this storm even though its effects have probably touched their lives. Maybe this book, this excellent book, will remind the people of Coastal New England of just what can happen when all of the pieces of the weather puzzle fall snugly into place.
Average customer rating:
- Time for a New Edition
- A Good Read on the Subject But Fairly Technical
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Tsunami: The Underrated Hazard
Edward Bryant
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Book Description
In the past decade over ten major tsunami events have impacted on the world’s coastlines, causing devastation and loss of life. Evidence for past great tsunami, or â€~mega-tsunami’, has also recently been discovered along apparently aseismic and protected coastlines. With a large proportion of the world’s population living on the coastline, the threat from tsunami can not be ignored. This book comprehensively describes the nature and process of tsunami, outlines field evidence for detecting the presence of past events, and describes particular events linked to earthquakes, volcanoes, submarine landslides and meteorite impacts. While technical aspects are covered, much of the text can be read by anyone with a high school education. The book will appeal to students and researchers in geomorphology, earth and environmental science, and emergency planning, and will also be attractive for the general public interested in natural hazards and new developments in science.
Customer Reviews:
Time for a New Edition.......2005-03-29
I purchased this book in 2004 for it's original retail price of US$27.95. Now I see used copies selling for more than $300 on amazon.com. This book is a terrific analysis of what we now know, as the sub-title 'The Underrated Hazard' suggests, an extraordinarily prescient work outlining the causes and historical occurences of one of the earth's more destructive natural phenomenon, tsunamis.
Please, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, encourage Mr. Bryant to update this extraordinarily informative book with an analyse of the earthquake and tsunami of December 26, 2004.
A Good Read on the Subject But Fairly Technical.......2002-04-18
In a lot of science books written for the general reader, the complaint is that the material is sensationalistic and over-simplified. Edward Bryant almost errs in the other direction. His evidence that very large Tsunami have played a key role in shaping many coastal regions is extremely well-presented and will contain lots of new information for even dedicated followers of Earth Science news.
On the other hand, while reading information about landscapes re-arranged by truly massive "mega-tsunami," one sometimes longs for livelier prose. The book may also be something of a slog now and then for people with no background in Earth Science.
I would recommend this book highly to anyone with a serious interest in the subject, and certainly to anyone who needs to consider tsunami from a policy-making point of view.
Amazon.com
In October 1998, a wayward tropical storm blossomed into one of the most powerful hurricanes in modern history. When it finished its devastating course throughout the Caribbean, Hurricane Mitch had killed thousands of people, left hundreds of thousands more homeless, and destroyed whole towns. Journalist Jim Carrier turns up a small but telling incident: the disappearance of a 282-foot schooner called the Fantome. Guided by a young but accomplished English captain and manned by seasoned West Indian sailors, the cruise ship put into port in Belize to discharge its passengers, then set out to sea in an attempt to outrace a storm that, defying expectation, changed its course and in the end sent the Fantome and its crew beneath the waves. All that was terrible enough; added to it was the legal battle that awaited the crew's survivors, one that hung over the disaster "like a poisonous cloud." Following the Fantome's course hour by hour, Carrier covers all aspects of the incident thoroughly and sympathetically. His book makes a compelling companion to Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm as a fine reconstruction of a maritime tragedy, one that does honor to the unfortunate dead. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Captain Guyan March had spent his entire professional career aboard Windjammer Barefoot Cruises' fleet of extravagant tall ships that carry passengers on weeklong fantasy cruises spiced with rum and sun. When he agreed to command the Fantome, Windjammer's marquee ship, a beautiful 282-foot schooner that "sailed like a pig" in the Gulf of Honduras, he knew that a storm would leave him little space to run. In the southern reaches of the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Mitch whirled to life like a nebula and became Captain March's worst nightmare--a category five storm with 180-mile-per-hour winds and fifty-foot seas. After discharging his passengers in Belize, Captain March and his crew, most of them West Indians, took the $20 million uninsured tall ship out to sea to dodge the approaching storm. What ensued was a deadly game of cat and mouse that confounded experts' predictions and cornered the Fantome with eerie precision.
Based on journalist Jim Carrier's exhaustive research and hundreds of interviews, The Ship and the Storm explores the story of the Fantome and Hurricane Mitch from every angle. From the deck of the ship, to the research planes flying into the eye of the hurricane, to islanders and coastal villagers in a desperate battle for survival, The Ship and the Storm is the heartbreaking and horrifying story of the most destructive hurricane in Western Hemisphere history.
Download Description
Based on journalist Jim Carrier's exhaustive research and hundreds of interviews----The Ship and the Storm explores the story of the Fantome and Hurricane Mitch from every angle.
Customer Reviews:
Hurricane Mitch and the Fantom, April 3, 2007 .......2007-05-18
Jim Carrier tells the story of The Ship and the Storm by using crew accounts, passenger interviews, surviving crew relatives and official weather related records.
Anchored in the quiet waters of the Bay at Omoa, Honduras passengers excitedly board the Windjammer Cruise Ship Fantome. Feted with the finest cuisine and free flowing rum swizzle the fun and excitement is just beginning as the tall ship prepares to sail from one tropical paradise to another.
Two mornings later as the Fantomes' guests finished their Bloody Mary and sticky bun breakfast a weather station on the West Coast of Africa was recording a drop in the barometric pressure. The Miami Hurricane Center labeled the system #46 and indicated in the margin that it was impressive.
One week later on the evening of October 17, 1998 while Fantome passengers partied tropical wave 46 was moving west past Barbados in the Windward Islands. A day later the National Hurricane Center using satellite pictures and computer models predicts that tropical wave 46 will become a hurricane.
October 21st the day Fantome arrived at the island of Guanaja off the north shoulder of Honduras a C-130 Hurricane Hunter located a weather system created by wave 46 and notified Miami that they had located a tropical depression.
However, weather in the Western Caribbean is good and Fantome passengers were still enjoying their cruise vacation. But change came the next morning and Captain Guyan March advises crew and passengers on the report of the storm.
BULLETIN: 5AM EDT SAT OCT 24, 1998. MITCH STRENGTHENS RAPIDLY INTO A HURRICANE
Storm tracks in the direction of Cuba and the Cayman Islands and forecasters are calling Mitch a potentially dangerous hurricane.
Fantome was at Omoa, Honduras where locals advised Captain March to drop both anchors and stay in port. March consults his boss in Miami by phone.
October 25th National Hurricane Center forecasters are dumbfounded by the rapid escalation from a low intensity storm to a Category 4 hurricane within a 24-hour period.
Following prolonged discussions with Windjammer Headquarters in Miami it was decided to cancel the Fantomes' cruise. Passenger safety was uppermost in their minds and they discharged the passengers at Belize City. They didn't consider Belize a safe harbor to ride out the storm so Fantome with 31 crewmembers aboard left Belize to try and outmaneuver the storm.
Hurricane Mitch was coming up on Swan Island and conventional wisdom as well as the National Hurricane Centers computer models predicts that the storm will turn to the northwest. Fantome headed southeast from Belize toward the Bay Islands north of Honduras and had the storm tracked to the northwest as was expected there would have been plenty of separation between the ship and the storm. But the monster storm called Mitch with a mind of its own defied convention and turned south where it continued to spin its Category 4 and sometimes 5 winds over the waters and islands destroying everything in it's path. High winds and waves produced by the storm extended out some 200 miles from its center. Fantomes' engines and Captain March's skilled seamanship was no match for the tall waves and winds produced by Hurricane Mitch. Eventually the powerful waves broadside Fantome and breach the ships watertight bulkheads.
The story of The Ship and the Storm is tragically compelling.
Tom Barnes author of "Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone."
Also "The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle."
The Hurricane Hunters And Lost in the Bermuda Triangle
Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone: The Life and Times of John Henry Holliday
the ship and the storm.......2007-05-13
The Fantome was the first windjammer ship that I sailed on in 1983. Being the first ship I always compared other ships to her. The book is about a small group of brave men trying to save a gallant lady!
Hurricane Mitch and the Fantom.......2007-04-04
Jim Carrier tells the story of The Ship and the Storm by using crew accounts, passenger interviews, surviving crew relatives and official weather related records.
Anchored in the quiet waters of the Bay at Omoa, Honduras passengers excitedly board the Windjammer Cruise Ship Fantome. Feted with the finest cuisine and free flowing rum swizzle the fun and excitement is just beginning as the tall ship prepares to sail from one tropical paradise to another.
Two mornings later as the Fantomes' guests finished their Bloody Mary and sticky bun breakfast a weather station on the West Coast of Africa was recording a drop in the barometric pressure. The Miami Hurricane Center labeled the system #46 and indicated in the margin that it was impressive.
One week later on the evening of October 17, 1998 while Fantome passengers partied tropical wave 46 was moving west past Barbados in the Windward Islands. A day later the National Hurricane Center using satellite pictures and computer models predicts that tropical wave 46 will become a hurricane.
October 21st the day Fantome arrived at the island of Guanaja off the north shoulder of Honduras a C-130 Hurricane Hunter located a weather system created by wave 46 and notified Miami that they had located a tropical depression.
However, weather in the Western Caribbean is good and Fantome passengers were still enjoying their cruise vacation. But change came the next morning and Captain Guyan March advises crew and passengers on the report of the storm.
BULLETIN: 5AM EDT SAT OCT 24, 1998. MITCH STRENGTHENS RAPIDLY INTO A HURRICANE
Storm tracks in the direction of Cuba and the Cayman Islands and forecasters are calling Mitch a potentially dangerous hurricane.
Fantome was at Omoa, Honduras where locals advised Captain March to drop both anchors and stay in port. March consults his boss in Miami by phone.
October 25th National Hurricane Center forecasters are dumbfounded by the rapid escalation from a low intensity storm to a Category 4 hurricane within a 24-hour period.
Following prolonged discussions with Windjammer Headquarters in Miami it was decided to cancel the Fantomes' cruise. Passenger safety was uppermost in their minds and they discharged the passengers at Belize City. They didn't consider Belize a safe harbor to ride out the storm so Fantome with 31 crewmembers aboard left Belize to try and outmaneuver the storm.
Hurricane Mitch was coming up on Swan Island and conventional wisdom as well as the National Hurricane Centers computer models predicts that the storm will turn to the northwest. Fantome headed southeast from Belize toward the Bay Islands north of Honduras and had the storm tracked to the northwest as was expected there would have been plenty of separation between the ship and the storm. But the monster storm called Mitch with a mind of its own defied convention and turned south where it continued to spin its Category 4 and sometimes 5 winds over the waters and islands destroying everything in it's path. High winds and waves produced by the storm extended out some 200 miles from its center. Fantomes' engines and Captain March's skilled seamanship was no match for the tall waves and winds produced by Hurricane Mitch. Eventually the powerful waves broadside Fantome and breach the ships watertight bulkheads.
The story of The Ship and the Storm is tragically compelling.
Tom Barnes, Hurricane Hunter and author of "Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone."
When God's Not On Your Side.......2007-03-10
It is impossible to overpraise this hurricane account as presented by Jim Carrier. Brilliant, masterful, harrowing, heroic, foolhardy, and heartbreaking are not overstatements. This is a story told by an experienced seaman who knows his subject all too well and who poignantly points out how life-or-death decisions that have to be made at critical moments can be the unfairest burden of all to place on individuals.
If one wants to know what it's like to experience a 'Cat 5' at sea without wisely wanting to go through it in actuality, this is a must-read. The book also beautifully balances the tragedy that was befalling the "Fantome" at sea with the simultaneous tragedy that 'Mitch' was wreaking on land; particularly the Honduran side of the story.
If you liked the "Perfect Storm" at all, you'll be mesmerized by "The Ship And The Storm."
As Carrier, the old salt puts it so well in the dedication at the beginning of the book: "There but for the grace of God go I."
Indispensable reading!!!
A great read and fun, too!.......2006-05-01
This is a great book but it states that a 1935 hurricane in Florida sandblasted victims into particles,
but this is impossible. I assume they were dead already and rotting on beach, but still this claim sounds fishy. Other than that, this is a fantastic book. Loved it!
Amazon.com
Frantic and entertaining in a guilty sort of way, Nights of Ice is like Endurance on steroids. The book presents eight true stories of disaster and survival involving commercial fisherman off the coast of Alaska (said to be one of America's most dangerous occupations). Included are tales of subzero temperatures, 100 mph winds, 60-foot-high waves, boats encased in ice and capsized, men trapped underwater, and other horrors. Author Spike Walker, who interviewed many of the survivors in compiling this book, is no stranger to such tales of the high seas; he worked as a commercial fisherman off the Alaska coast and wrote about it in Working on the Edge.
Nights of Ice begins promisingly enough but unfortunately gives way to a sensationalism that cheapens the whole affair: "At that moment, Bruce Hinman's past life flashed before his very eyes. Launched instantaneously through time, he watched the events of his life play out before him...they flashed and froze there in his consciousness, in a kind of nostalgic collage of all that had once mattered in his life." As a result, there are a lot of unintentionally funny moments. Despite its problems, though, Nights of Ice is fun to read, and lovers of true-adventure stories or those interested in the dangers of the Alaskan fishing industry should enjoy it. --Andy Boynton
Book Description
Spike Walker has spent more than a decade fishing in the subzero hell of Alaska's coastal waters. This collection--coming on the heels of his classic memoir Working on the Edge--is a testament to the courage of those who brave nature's wrath each fishing season, and to the uncontrolled power of nature herself... The crewmen in Nights of Ice face a constant onslaught of roaring waves, stories-high swells, and life-stealing ice. Tested by the elements, these seamen battle for their vessels and their lives, on every page evincing a level of courage and a will to live seldom found elsewhere in modern society.
Customer Reviews:
Deadliest Catch.......2007-10-02
A MUST READ for anyone interested in surviaval, Adventure, Commercial Fishing or just a great read! If you like the show Deadliest Catch you will love this book!
Must Read for fans of "The Most Dangerous Catch".......2007-07-28
Better than anything that could be shown on TV - you feel each and every up and down of the ship as Spike Walker spins the yarn of the life of each and every Berring Sea fisherman... must purchase "Working the Edge" also by him FIRST before reading this book. Like to see it available in a normal paperback format also for easier reading.
For "Deadliest Catch" junkies!.......2006-06-19
As a huge fan of "Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery Channel I'm very interested in learning the true stories of these fishermen. Watching the show reminds me how easy my life is and kinda boring too! Spike Walker's "Nights of Ice" is a non-fiction compilation of stories about rescues of fishing ships in the waters around Alaska.
He does a good job painting a picture of the dangers involved for both the stranded fishermen as well as the rescue workers. Reading this book gave me a better insight into the world these men live in - and the daily dangers they face. It reads rather quickly - and is a very easy to read book.
My one complaint about "Nights of Ice" is that the author tends to lean toward melodrama when describing much of the action. It just seems exaggerated to slightly beyond belief. My other caution would be, the stories start to sound alike. Boat in trouble, men in trouble, rescue made.
I would have liked more of the day to day living experienced onboard, as well as the actual near-death (or in some cases death) faced by the fishermen.
entertaining subject--marginal writing.......2002-09-05
I read this on a trip to Alaska, so I got into it's "spirit" on location. The stories are quite entertaining, but when writers make junior-varsity comments and mistakes, it makes me wonder about the veracity of the actual stories:
1) Does everyone see their entire lives flash before their eyes when they are near death?
2) Some guy's one-year old child asks him if he is Santa Claus upon his return from an ordeal at sea. Clearly Spike has never spent time with a one-year old; not only can very few of them speak more than a word or two, but this one is so eloquent and knowledgeable that he thinks the old man is Kris himself!
3) The helicopter pilot makes it to a "small village airport" just before running out of fuel (which means it must have been between 5-10 minutes from the rescue locale since they only had 30 minutes of fuel left before the rescue attempt(hmmmm), but somehow a C-130 can get in and out of there to send them home while the chopper gets an inspection (hmmm hmmmm).
I'll leave it at that...
Nights of Ice ... Spike Walker is great read.......2001-04-04
Having lived my entire life in and around Seattle, In March 2001, I ventured North to Alaska to visit my daughter and her family. While there I picked up "Nights of Ice".
Spike Walker's subject matter is, first of all, relevant to anyone who has lived near the sea. The Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, as one non-fisherman said, "I can't drink it all and I'm damned sure I can't swim that far."
Life at sea in a boat, rolling and plowing through the next wave, gets into some folks blood. I'm sure it's that way with fishermen and women but the money don't hurt either. In any case its a perilous life.
Nights of Ice takes us along for a ride with people, real people, who have experienced the worst the sea has to offer. Walker's intimate knowledge of workin' the boats has us searching for lights in a "can't see your hand in front of your face" stateroom, attempting, frantically, to pull on the survival suit. We are terrified of the boat goin' down with us still on board. We gasp for air and our heart seems to stop when we hit the 37 degree water. We, along with actual survivors, use every ounce of strength and resource our bodies are able to muster in order to survive.
Nights of Ice and its individual, sometimes heroic, stories are an adventure in itself.
Amazon.com
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.
Book Description
The phenomenal bestseller, in a specially priced hardcover with movie-art bellyband to accompany the mahor motion picture to be released June 30, 2000 and starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Diane Lane, and directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
"Drifting down on swimmers is standard rescue procedure, but the seas are so violent that Buschor keeps getting flung out of reach. There are times when he's thirty feet higher than the men trying to rescue him. . . . [I]f the boat's not going to Buschor, Buschor's going to have to go to it. SWIM! they scream over the rail. SWIM! Buschor rips off his gloves and hood and starts swimming for his life."
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 Gail crew 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.
Customer Reviews:
a facinating read.......2007-09-13
well researched, beautifully written true story of a huge storm and the swordfishing boat that didn't make it through. Shows you the dangerous job of fishing, explains how many ways the sea can sink a ship, and gives you a feeling of what it means to drown. I found it all interesting, especially learning about waves and the details of the rescue swimmers and their incredible training. Dense with details but gripping and ultimately frightening. Gives you new respect for the ocean and the rogue waves that are out there.
A Masterpiece.......2007-08-13
This book was extremely well researched and very detailed and descriptive...I couldn't put it down, and quite frankly learned so many things from it that I was not aware of regarding the risks taken every day by commercial fisherman everywhere, nautical terms, all about charts, weather tracking and patterns, rescue protocall...just sooo many new things. If you are looking for a romanticised version such as the movie portrays, this is not it....this is the hardcore truth that places it in a non fictionary way. No overblown speculated plot, no bull (don't get me wrong, I adore the movie too!) ...just the truth and actual accounts given by all the writers sources...the 'real' words from the 'real' folks that actually lived through this devistating storm of the century. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was quite sad when it was done. It left me wanting to know more about these hearty, brave and strong people. They look death in the face everyday without fear, never knowing if they will return to port or not, while those who love them wait on shore never knowing if that goodbye exchanged at the dockside may have been the last time they would ever see them. For those who like a good read with all the technical terms in place to better explain, you will love this book.
The Not So Perfect Storm.......2007-06-14
*I recently got this book while on vacation to have for a good summer read. While not completely disappointed, I would have to say I am not at all a fan of this book either. A mistake I made was that I saw the movie before I read the book and while reading it felt unaffected by what I read due to the over the top action and tear jerking in the movie. I expected the same in the book and just didn't get it. Also, while interested in fishing and the ocean in general this book failed to keep my attention. The random explanations of weather patterns and useless historic journal writings of seventeenth and eighteenth century ship captains and seamen interrupted the story for me. I felt that the only times the book got good was when the author told the story about the men on the Andrea Gale, which was limited and rare. Of course, the writing is speculative and journalistic but there wasn't much other than that that really stuck with what I thought the book was about. There was no in-depth biography of the six seamen lost (who really am I reading about), the story jumped around too much from weather to a fish boat captain in Florida to one in Massachusetts, back to weather and a little smidgen of the Andrea Gale thrown in and then back to the 1800s, it was also just too technically exhausting, no pictures of the seamen and/or the Andrea Gale and once I began understanding what was being said about storms and currents Junger either ended the chapter or jumped to something else to discuss. I really wanted this book to be good and I did begin reading it with an open mind, however by somewhere in the middle it lost me and I felt the potential for something great had sunk. Maybe if it had been written by someone else it could have been more but unfortunately for me it wasn't. For an example of how the story of the Andrea Gale and the six seamen who went down with her should and could have been told, while not along the same subject but still telling a story it has to tell like it should, check out Richard G. Fernicola's Twelve Days of Terror.
*This review is based on the Harper Torch paperback edition.
gripping, harrowing true story.........2007-04-04
this is one of the most gripping, involving books I've ever read...Sebastian Junger writes with the details and accuracy of an investigative journalist and the excitement and anticipation of a great mystery writer..highly recommmended..one of my favorite books of all-time.
I've changed my mind..........2007-02-28
...when I reviewed the film, I said I'd never go to sea in anything smaller than a "Nimitz"-class carrier, or alternatively a submarine. Now I've read the book, forget the carrier, submarine only, I want something that goes under all THAT weather.
To me, book and film complement each other very nicely. The book lacks the excitement of the film, but explains much that the film cannot (the backgrounds of the characters, the nature of storms, some varied history of fishing, previous storms, etc., and even the physiology of drowning). The film, on the other hand, puts a face (imaginary) on the crew of the "Andrea Gail" and what happened to them in a way that the book can't. Some aspects of the various attempted rescues depicted in the book are changed in the film, but not in a way that in any way diminishes the skill and heroism of the Coastguard and Air National Guard personnel who put their necks on the line in unbelievable conditions to save mariners in distress. If anything, they are the co-stars of both book and film, along with the storm itself.
The book is slow to get going and is written in the present tense, which I find irritating, but once it gets rolling, it gets you in. If you've seen the film and enjoyed it, your experience is not complete until you've read the book.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
In The Proving Ground, journalist and lifelong sailor G. Bruce Knecht tells the staggering story of the 54th Sydney to Hobart yacht race--an annual event that is always an extreme test of courage and skill in some of the world's most treacherous seas, but which in 1998 would become the most disastrous race in modern yachting history.
Although he was already fifty feet from the boat, Brownie didn't have any trouble spotting Glyn. He looked small, and utterly helpless.... Glyn was already having a hard time keeping his head out of the water, and everyone quickly reached the same unthinkable conclusion--Glynn was going to die and there was nothing to do but watch.... Steve Kulmar was more shaken than anyone. When he first came on deck, he believed Glyn was looking directly back at him.
Of the 115 boats that started under clear skies in Sydney, just 43 would finish. Six sailors lost their lives, and a further 55 were plucked from the storm after the fleet had been decimated by unforecast hurricane winds and 80-foot-high waves.
Knecht's style is novelistic, though measured, with a strong journalistic sensibility marshaling what must have been at times appallingly poignant eyewitness testimony into a coherent account of the disaster. His intended focus is beyond the headlines, and by concentrating on the experiences of a handful of individual crews, The Proving Ground succeeds in conveying the agonies of their desperate, sometimes futile struggles to survive--and offers some insight into what drew them to the sea in the first place, and why so many of the survivors have felt compelled to face it again. --Alex Hankin, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
On December 26, 1998, 115 sailboats set out on the annual race from Sydney to Hobart; only 43 would make it to the Tasmanian city, and six sailors would be dead, the race having turned in the worst modern sailing disaster since the 1979 Fastnet Race. Combining the best elements of The Perfect Storm and Barbarians at the Gate, The Proving Ground is a gripping narrative that follows the fates of three yachts, including Sayonara, owned by Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle and the worlds second richest man. From the chilling explanation of how an Olympic sailor came to be catapulted from a yacht and why its crew could do nothing to save him, to the dramatic journey of two leaky life-rafts, The Proving Ground is an exhilarating read. Knechts research, which included eight trips to Australia was unprecedented and exhaustive, involving extensive discussions with both Larry Ellison and Lachlan Murdoch and every survivor with two other yachts. The Proving Ground is destined to be a sporting disaster classic like Into Thin Air and Fastnet Force 10.
Customer Reviews:
A bit disconcerting.......2004-05-04
I read An Extreme Event (about the 98 Sydney-Hobart race) prior to reading Knecht's book, so that was my benchmark. And a high one at that.
Proving Ground contained a lot more descriptive information in terms of the characters, but ... I found his concentration on particular personalities in the book very disconcerting.
It was baffling that he could practically write what Glyn Charles was thinking ... when Glyn was unable to speak for himself. These assumptions and supposition are quite offensive.
I also found Knecht's intricate descriptions of the powerplays involved with some of the pivotal characters alarming. Bob Koethe, Steve Kulmar, Richard Purcell and Glyn Charles, specifically.
While I do not doubt his authenticity in describing the interplay, I found the inclusion in such detail perplexing. My aim was to read the facts, not to become embroiled in the dramatic tension on board certain yachts in such dire conditions.
At times, I almost felt a compulsion to "take sides" with some people, opposing others, which I roundly resisted. It is, after all, Knecht's presentation and everyone interprets events, thoughts and words slightly differently.
All in all, not bad, but not great.
Best book i've ever read.......2004-04-26
I've read this book 3 times, and everytime it's great. It's the best book i've ever read, so far.
Great Subject; Bad Writing.......2004-01-21
I read this book immediately after finishing another account of the 1998 Sydney-Hobart race by Rob Mundle (an Australian), titled: Fatal Storm. I thought both versions were worth reading because they focused their attention differently (Knecht spent much more ink on Larry Ellison; Mundle focused on the yachts and people most relevant to this particular race). Knecht was much more blunt in revealing difficult personalities, interpersonal tension and controversy -- particularly with regard to the Sword of Orion. Mundle was more polite -- or perhaps more prudent. It's risky to portray someone negatively who endured such an ordeal (especially when the writer wasn't there), regardless of whether they died or survived. While I found Knecht's take on the people interesting, I suspect it was part of his overly dramatic writing style. He writes like a mass-market action-fiction writer, trying to create drama and intrigue where either: 1) there is none; or 2) the facts speak for themselves. Funny -- this is not unlike American news media today (which is why I watch the BBC). He writes about a "character's" thoughts and actions is such an excruciating level of detail that it's not believable. Too much poetic license ruins credibility. This is a great subject, but read Fatal Storm first.
Mr. Knecht nailed it!.......2004-01-12
Anyone who has ever been on a competitive sailing yacht and been in nasty weather will read this book in an afternoon, unable to put it down. The book is written with tremendous insight and puts you in the danger and makes it feel real. Great book and a quick fun read for any sailor.
In the words of Forster, only knecht.......2002-10-01
The sea was so vast, and the ship was so small.
Man and everything made by man is finite.
-Richard Winning, owner of the Winston Churchill, reciting a seafarers' prayer at a Memorial Service
At the outset, let me just say that the Brothers Judd full disclosure policy requires me to acknowledge that Mr. Knecht is a fraternity brother of mine and if the book stunk, I'd not say so. In fact, the first few pages had me a little worried because there's some rather pedestrian prose and one of the yachts in the race was owned and skippered by Larry Ellison, of Oracle, who seems early on like he's going to be the center of attention in the book. This would be unfortunate because he's a difficult man to root for, at least as presented here, often in his own words. Actually, most of the yachtsmen seem fairly unlikable. It sometimes seems like every one of them thinks he's the only competent guy on board. But any initial concerns disappear once the storm hits and as the action at sea picks up so too does Mr. Knecht's writing.
The Sydney to Hobart race is apparently quite a big deal in Australia; from the sound of it, nearly the whole nation stops to watch the start on Boxing Day (December 26th). In 1998, 115 unsuspecting boats set out but only 43 made it to Hobart (Tasmania). Seven boats were abandoned and another five actually sank. 55 men were rescued. Six men died. The race had run into hurricane conditions, a cyclone sporting 80 mile per hour winds, and the sleek, ultra-engineered boats seem to have been particularly unsuited to such weather. In short order men were in the water and it is mostly them that Mr. Knecht follows and it is there that the book becomes genuinely thrilling, and terrifying.
The crew of the Winston Churchill, which was capsized by a 60 foot wall of water that broke over it, ended up in two life rafts. The other crew whose ordeal Mr. Knecht chronicles had been aboard the Sword of Orion. The hours, even days, these men spent in the water make for painful reading. One of the indelible images from the book is that of survivors recalling the sight of the bobbing heads of crewmates just a hundred yards away and knowing there's no way to get to them. The stories of these men and, as in The Perfect Storm, of the rescuers, make for a substantial portion of the book and it's outstanding.
A shorter concluding portion, featuring various courtroom hearings, unfortunately serves to remind us that, with some exceptions, these sailors just aren't a terribly sympathetic lot. Mr. Knecht presumably chose to write about Larry Ellison because he's a well known figure and a major businessman (Mr. Knecht writes for the Wall Street Journal), but he becomes kind of emblematic of the hubris that plagues them all :
I could have bought the New York Yankees, but I couldn't be the team's shortstop. With the boat, I actually get to play on the team.
Note he's characterizing himself not just as any old player but as the shortstop. Likewise, Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert, who sailed on Ellison's boat, Sayanora, has this to say :
There are people who in their makeup need to take risks. [...] Every once in a while I just have to do things that require me to make
judgments about how far I can go.
It takes a nearly superhuman effort on the part of the reader not to wish that it had been their boat that foundered. In this regard the book has a significant structural weakness in common with The Perfect Storm in that we spend too much time with people we don't care about and not enough time with some of the most compelling people in the book, the rescue workers who risk their own lives to save such men.
On balance then, Mr. Knecht has written a book that's well worth reading and is truly gripping throughout the bulk of the action. That less might have been better does not diminish the quality of what's best here and at its best the book is very good.
GRADE : B+
Book Description
On the night of January 31, 1998, the fishing vessel La Conte took on water and sank off the coast of Sitka, Alaska, in what was to be the worst storm in the states history. Abandoning ship, the five-man crew desperately clung to lifeand each otherin ferocious 90-foot seas, and freezing water. All would surely have perished were it not for the efforts of the oast Guard Search and Rescue teams who flew their choppers into the heart of the storm with little hope of rescuing anyone. Knocked nearly senseless by 100-mile-per-hour winds that exploded out of stadium-sized wave troughs and nearly stripped them from the sky, the rescue teams were plunged into a meteorological hell as they made three separate attempts. The third and last cew completed the rescue without radio communication, all the while maneuvering in a gyrating, tar-black void in which the sea and sky were seamlessly intermeshed.This account portrays a fearless and dedicated Coast Guard service never before revealed.
Customer Reviews:
Coming Back Alive.......2007-07-30
Excellent book. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Very well written.A good look over the shoulder of the Coast Guard and at the life saving service they provide.
Ken Boire author of Inherit the Tide.......2006-10-21
I was captured by the edge of the seat writing. I never questioned the events. For years I have been closely associated with commercial fishing in Alaska. At one time or another I have worked on every commercial harbor in the USA between Lost Angeles/Long Beach and Kotzebue. I am also a pilot and I grew up in Alaska. Spike Walker's descriptions are excellent. He did not need to fluff things to make the story work. From what some have said about the book I almost feel like one needs to have experienced the fury of the Bering Sea and Gulf to accept his account.
I passed the book to a reader unfamiliar with Alaska, commercial fishing, and the maritime industry. He had a hard time accepting it. I was stunned that people were so out of touch. Then I reminded myself storms that happen every year in Alaska only come once in 20 - 100 years on the east coast of the USA.
Spike Walker kept me involved. I might have been involved with a lesser writer but I kept thinking "Right on." I have seen the USCG show up when things looked grim. Spike's writing brought personal feelings back from 30 years ago.
As a writer I found myself studying the style. Anybody can report a storm but Spike let me feel the wind cutting through my fireside recliner. This is a five star book. It is a five star subject but only a five star writer like Spike Walker could have turned out "Coming Back Alive."
There is no overlapping of themes, events, or characters, between "Coming Back Alive" and "Inherit the Tide", but I wish I would have read Walker's book earlier. I got the sense his grip on the reader is developed by dragging them into the action. This same action-based relation with the reader is what makes his characters real. Being able to do that without overblown descriptions and accounts is a real talent. Nevertheless there is something to be said about the value of understated events that let the reader's imagination fill the gaps.
Great Book...........2006-07-18
If you're a fan of the Discovery Show "Deadliest Catch" you need to read this book.
I couldn't put it down.
real Alaskan flavor and good for helicopter enthusiasts.......2005-07-30
Walker does a good job of portraying the always-interesting folks who choose to live in the more remote corners of Alaska. He also does a good job of explaining the hazards and technology of small fishing boats in these waters. For a guy who doesn't actually fly helicopters he does a creditable job of explaining how the helicopter operations work. Maybe it is because I've been up to Alaska three times or because I'm a licensed helicopter pilot but I found this book much more interesting than Perfect Storm.
Note to helicopter nerds: If you fly helicopters in good weather for fun or airplanes IFR you must read this book to find out just what kinds of risks the Coast Guard pilots are willing to run.
"I've Been There".......2005-02-11
After 20 years in the Coast Guard as a rescue pilot, I can attest, Spike has got it right! I flew the HH-52 in the prologue of "Working on the edge", spent 10 of 20 years in Kodiak and know some of the people involved. He captured the fear, the pride, the adrenaline rush, the feeling of accomplishment, the bravery and the "spirit de corps" of our noble service. Those who attack the grammar and use of adverbs missed the point and flavor of this great story teller. It wasn't all scary crap in the USCG as evidenced in my book "I Never Liked Those C-130's Anyway". Keep them coming Spike!
Malcolm Smith
Book Description
This breakthrough book describes the games that nations and organizations play in order to exploit the ocean's migratory fishery resources in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean waters. It examines the attitudes and actions of different countries, fishermen, and consumers, all lobbying for greater allocations for themselves while the supply is being rapidly depleted. Stephen Sloan weaves together his provable theory that the oceans are being depleted three times faster than is reported by scientists. He uses simple formulas and addresses what the numbers mean in a biological ecological sense, and whether they match up with those found in statistical reports.
OCEAN BANKRUPTCY offers a fresh look into world conservation. The author tells this unique story through accounts of international meetings of government delegations, lobbyists, special interest groups, and nongovernmental environmental organizations, along with other fisheries groups. The book utilizes nonscientific jargon that appeals to the large number of people who are concerned about the health of our oceans, and ultimately, the health of our planet.
Customer Reviews:
I Don't Share the Others' View of this Work!.......2007-10-08
This book read like a bunch of loosely connected letters that did not keep my attention for very long. If it were not for the fact that I do not start a book and not read the whole thing, I would have not read the rest of this book past Chapter 3. There are many better wrtitten books that are concerned with the state of our oceans, so research another and don't waste your time.
Most Important Book on Saving our Fisheries and Oceans!.......2003-06-04
If you are looking on how to improve your fishing methods or where-to-go fishing, Stephen Sloan?s Ocean Bankruptcy is not the book. Steve has taken the pulse of our oceans repeatedly through the years, and let me tell you something: this book is not only for anglers, but for everyone on earth who is concerned about our fisheries, our environment, our oceans, our earth.
Every decade a book comes along that alerts us to various problems that face our world.
Ocean Bankruptcy is the environmental book for the present decade. Compares with Rachel Carson?s Silent Spring in importance.
With the tremendous demand for seafood around the world, huge commercial longline boats are raping our oceans for quick profits. Unless something is done, and done quickly, our oceans may never recover.
Sloan is not afraid to duke it out with wealthy individuals, influential friends, powerful lobbies and he even takes on countries themselves. He names names. I?ve never read a more gutsy environmental book; Steve is lucky to be alive! There is mystery, intrigue, deception, tension so the book is a real page turner, but, more importantly, it is absolutely necessary reading if we are to save our oceans.
Sloan is one of our best, most versatile anglers today. He has done it all. Fished everywhere. H e could enjoy fishing the world?s best places for the rest of his life; instead he is greatly concerned about the future of the oceans and devotes most of his time, energies and resources to help save our fisheries.
CNN, 60 Minutes, Dateline and PBS would do well to interview Sloan regarding Ocean Bankruptcy.
Buy this book immediately... if not sooner.
Eye Opening View of World Fisheries.......2003-04-01
This fast paced book about the destruction of our world fisheries reads like a Clancy novel, the intrigue alone will amaze you. Best of all Sloan actually comes up with easy solutions to these problems. This is a must read whether you like to fish, eat fish, or are concerned about the environment.
Average customer rating:
- An inspired overview of the political cultural of California water politics
- Battling the Inland Sea
- Fascinating History of the Sacramento Valley
- Essentially the same book as "Gold v. Grain"
- Comprehensive but compelling
|
Battling the Inland Sea: Floods, Public Policy, and the Sacramento Valley
Robert Kelley
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0520214285 |
Book Description
In its natural condition the Sacramento Valley was a flood-ravaged region where an inland sea a hundred miles long regularly formed during the rainy season, to drain slowly away by the summer months. Today the Valley is marvelously productive, with a great capital city at its center, but only after a seventy-year struggle to devise and build an intricate thousand miles of levees and drains. Robert Kelley sets that battle within the encompassing national political culture, which produced, through the Republican and Democratic parties, widely diverging ideas about how best to reclaim the Valley from flood. He draws on approaches developed in the field of policy analysis to examine the relationship between American political culture and environmental policy-making. We find that the prolonged controversy over the Sacramento Valley illuminates American decision-making, then and now.
Customer Reviews:
An inspired overview of the political cultural of California water politics.......2007-07-22
I was deeply influenced by Kelley's early works on hydraulic mining in the 1950s (his book Gold vs. Grain and his papers such as the Forgotten Giant: ...Hydraulic Mining...). I also heard strong praise for this book from many water professionals in the Sacramento Valley. As I eagerly read this book, therefore, I expected more of the same: a study of the massive impact that hydraulic mining sedimentation had on California rivers, flooding, and politics in the late nineteenth century.
Fortunately - I was surprised to learn - Battling the Inland Sea (BIS) goes well beyond the physical and political effects of historical sedimentation in several important ways. This book is much broader in its geographic extent and substantive scope than Kelley's earlier works. Geographically, mining sediment primarily impacted the lowermost Sacramento River (below Fremont Weir) and its Sierra Nevada tributaries (especially the Feather, Yuba, Bear, and American Rivers). BIS is more broadly concerned with flood control in the Sacramento Valley up into and beyond the extensive Colusa and Butte Basins which had relatively little impact from mining sediment. Moreover, the emphasis of the discussion in BIS is on the history of flood control efforts in the Valley and the surrounding political culture of flood control. Although these topics are inseparable from the mining sediment issue in some areas, it is a much broader topic involving a set of deeper issues. In fact, Kelley makes it clear from the outset that the Sacramento Valley was prone to extensive flooding and that the natural river channel was incapable of conveying but a small fraction of the flow during large floods; long before mining sediment arrived. This emphasis is key to understanding the importance of BIS to educating both professional river managers and the lay public to the actual flood risks in the Valley. The long history of flood control in the Sacramento Valley represents a fight against nature. Mining sedimentation is a complication that exacerbates an already intractable flood-prone situation, but it is not the primary cause of flood risk. Extensive low-lying basins are the inherent cause for concern.
The common ground between BIS and Kelley's earlier work is that he, again, presents an inspired historical overview of the political culture underlying California water politics. The complex developments of the period are put into a context of shifting ideologies of resource management, perception of nature, and the vagaries of politics and economics.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in these broader topics. It is, of course, a must-read for students of California flood-management history.
Allan James
Geography Department
University South Carolina
Battling the Inland Sea.......2006-03-26
This book clarifies man's failure to accept what the Natural Environment offers and man's limited knowledge of his ability to live with nature. Man's ineptness is exemplified by politics dictating his actions.
Fascinating History of the Sacramento Valley.......2002-02-28
If you've ever taken a guided factory tour, you know the difference between someone reciting memorized facts and someone who can call upon a deep reservoir of knowledge, accumulated over a lifetime, for information that will illuminate a particular subject. Mr. Kelley clearly belongs in the latter class. Reading his book, it is apparent that we are only scratching the surface of what this remarkable historian knows about the complex interplay of history, politics, personality and nature that conspired to produce the water system northern California has today.
The story of California water is fascinating, although perhaps only of real interest to Californians. Nevertheless, even if only for that audience, Mr. Kelley has written an entirely readable, yet simultaneously scholarly volume. Anyone interested in an introduction to the state of northern California's water situation should begin with this book.
In a general sense, however, this book is also about changing political and sociological trends in America beginning around 1850. The focus is on flooding in the Sacramento Valley, and its battles between gold miners and valley farmers, or between Republican engineers and Democratic populists, but parallels are probably found elsewhere in our country during the same period of history. I enjoyed this book tremendously.
Essentially the same book as "Gold v. Grain".......2000-10-24
I am a big California rivers environmental history buff, and I found this book to be too similar to his publication "Gold v. Grain" which debuted over 40 years ago. This book is essentially an extension of "Gold v. Grain" that covers the 1960s-1980s. Much of the earlier chapters are virtually cut and pasted verbatim from his previous book. Despite these criticisms, it remains (to my knowledge) the most comprehensive book written about the Sacramento River to date. Until a better book on the Sac comes along, this is probably the one to read for factual information, and for more conceptual/abstract stimulation, I recommend "Organic Machine" by Richard White.
Comprehensive but compelling.......1999-12-13
For a native of the flood-prone Sacramento Valley, Battling The Inland Sea is the bible. Nowhere else is the history of a fitful battle against the annual floodwaters unleashed on the Sacramento Valley by the powerful Sierra Nevada watersheds captured so comprehensively. Kelley, however, informs us in a style that is relevant and entertaining. The valley resident treasures it for its history of the Big Fight. Political scientists enjoy it for its history and the lively way Kelley uses the fight over flooding in Northern California as a study in California and national politics.
Book Description
This is the greatest account of bold manhood in maritime history.This is the true story of the RMS Titanic as told by the people who knew.
Download Description
SIXTEEN boats were in the procession which entered on the terrible hours of rowing, drifting and suspense. Women wept for lost husbands and sons, sailors sobbed for the ship which had been their pride. Men choked back tears and sought to comfort the widowed. Perhaps, they said, other boats might have put off in another direction. They strove, though none too sure themselves, to convince the women of the certainty that a rescue ship would appear.
Customer Reviews:
The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters.......2007-01-04
Very good reprint of the original book. I own the original, but it is in very poor condition, so this reprint allows me to read the book as printed in 1912, without further damaging the orginal. Definitely a good value.
Rebirth through a Reprint.......2000-08-12
Because I have an original copy of this book from 1912, I was especially interested when I saw that it had been reprinted. I'm not sure why it took so long for me to know it was reprinted, but I just found out and bought it. My initial fascination with this grand ship was sparked by this very book, and lives on today. I have many Titanic books, and though I appreciate color, nothing can top this original. It's one of my favorites!
The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters.......2000-01-12
A truly wonderful but heartbreaking true story upon story told by eyewitnesses. No talking heads building it up all out of proportion that we"re so full of today. So little is mentioned today of the fact that this ship was on fire {coal bunkers} when it sailed. I own an original copy and am curious as to it"s value?
The book is great.......1999-09-27
I really enjoyed this book. I have always been interested in the Titanic I have one of the original books that has been in my family all these years and was always hearing about the titantic and now the book belongs to me. It is a 5 star book.
Awesome book!!.......1999-05-03
This is a very great book. You won't be able to put it down. The insights into what really happened that night in April will keep you reading the book in one sitting!
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