The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 20 May 2000
by Sebastian Junger
In October and November of 1991, hurricane Grace was petering out in the North Atlantic. When it collided with a cold system blowing over New England from the Great Lakes, however, the combined energy of the storms generated extreme conditions never before recorded on those seas. The dying hurricane and the cold nor'easter became a third un-named hurricane that blew back toward the coast with renewed fury.
Late in the fishing season, the Andrea Gail and other sword boats headed out to the far edge of the Grand Banks to take in one last load of valuable swordfish for the year. When the Andrea Gail turned for home on October 24th, it headed right into the heart of this storm, and was never heard from again. This is the compelling story of that storm, the fisherfolk of Gloucester, and the people who lived and died at sea that week. Junger, more or less a journalist by trade, tells the story in a spare and direct manner, but with energy that makes the book hard to put down. He humanizes the poor souls who were lost at sea. He brings out the vivid and horrifying details of an ocean at its angriest. And he illuminates the culture and history of a struggling profession tied to the sea. There are brief weak moments as he describes the unfolding intensity and tragedy of the story, but overall, this is a surprisingly compelling book. Expect to learn quite a bit about fishing, weather, rescue, and the sea.
(This book was made into a popular, but grim, movie of the same name in 2000.)