A review by kairosdreaming
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger

3.0

Having just read a book about a Captain of the sister ship to the Andrea Gail, I figured I should read the book about the actual Andrea Gail. It's best known as being the ship that went down in the movie 'The Perfect Storm', which was based on this book and claimed the lives of all who were on board.

Junger plays investigative reporter in this book, learning about the lives of the men who fished on the Andrea Gail. He tries, through narrative, to piece together what the preparation and voyage must have been like and combines it with historical references of similar storms and shipwreck experiences.

It's not a job I'd ever want to take, that's for sure. And even though the payout can be large (although that's a gamble), the risks are also quite large. Junger does a good job of presenting the men as honorably as he can, while still keeping their realities (I was a little disturbed by the casual references to domestic violence committed by a girlfriend).

This is another book that I'd definitely more recommend to those interested in the fishing/sailing theme, as opposed to just general reading.

Review by M. Reynard 2023