The perfect storm : a true story of men against the sea

It was the storm of the century—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 comin' on, boys, and she's comin' on strong," radioed Captain Billy Tyne of the Andrea Gail from off the coast of Nova Scotia. Soon afterward, the boat and its crew of six disappeared without a trace.\*The Perfect Storm\* is a real-life thriller, a stark and compelling journey into the dark heart of nature that leaves listeners with a breathless sense of what it feels like to be caught, helpless, in the grip of a force beyond understanding or control. 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 a virtually no warning. "She's comin; on, boys, and she's comin' on strong." radioed Captain Billy Tyne of the Andrew 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 illustrates 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 the storms, and the candid accounts of the people whos lives the storms 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. SUMMARY: October 1991. It was "the perfect storm"--a tempest that may happen only once in a century--a nor'easter created by so rare a combination of factors that it could not possibly have been worse. Creating waves ten stories high and winds of 120 miles an hour, the storm whipped the sea to inconceivable levels few people on Earth have ever witnessed. Few, except the six-man crew of the Andrea Gail, a commercial fishing boat tragically headed towards its hellish center. General; Historical; Science; New England; Autobiography; Biography & Autobiography; Biography; Social Science; Movie novels; Transportation; Northeast storms - New England; Specific Groups; Storms; Northeast storms; Natural Disasters; Ecosystems & Habitats - Oceans & Seas; Customs & Traditions; Alex award; Nature; Gloucester (Mass.); Fisheries; Tropical Storm Grace; 1997; Specific Groups - General; Earth Sciences; Oceans & Seas; Ships & Shipbuilding; Hurricane Grace; 1991; Ecology; Meteorology & Climatology; Halloween Nor'easter; 1991; Weather; Swordfish fishing Presents a vivid account of a history-making storm that hit the New England coast in October 1991 and the lives it changed, weaving together the history of the fishing industry, the science of storms, and personal accounts The Number-one New York Times Best-seller Recounts The Dramatic Story Of The Fishing Boat, Andrea Gail, Which Was Lost In The North Atlantic During An Extraordinarily Violent Storm. Reprint. National Ad/promo. Tour. Nyt. ONE midwinter day off the coast of Massachusetts, the crew of a mackerel schooner spotted a bottle with a note in it.