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Perfect Storm Book Review

Willy Hess

In Sebastian Junger’s novel, The Perfect Storm, Junger tells the story about the horrible fate of a sword fishing boat named the Andrea Gail. When returning home from a long fishing journey, a freak convergence of three storms engulfed the ship several hundred miles off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Junger starts the book by talking about the history of sword fishing. He uses fascinating detail, sometimes a bit gruesome, in order to talk about the risks involved in this dangerous occupation. Sword fishing started a long time ago, and people knew the risks of being out at sea during these dangerous storms. He compares this to the 21^st century sword fishing and how very little has changed. Although there is more and more help from U.S. Coast Guards to saving lives, fatalities are bound to happen. In a storm, such as the one the Andrea Gail was caught in, it is impossible for a helicopter or rescue boat to save these men, mainly because it would just be too dangerous themselves. The winds make it so the helicopter could barely fly, let alone hover in the heat of the storm. Rescue boats run the risks of capsizing in the enormous waves. And yet, so many people still risk their lives to make a living from this job. Junger points out, that the men who mainly come aboard these ships are people who don’t have a very big name for themselves, a family to go back to, or a great life to return to. “More people are killed on fishing boats, per capita, than any other job in the United States,” Junger tells us. He precisely describes the death of a fisherman at sea and how it is not a “clean” death in any way. “When the first involuntary breath occurs, most people are still conscious, which is unfortunate, because the only thing more unpleasant than running out of air is breathing in water.”

Although there is was no way for the story to be told directly by the crew of the Andrea Gail themselves, Junger uses friends, family, and acquaintances to create a story to the best of his ability. He also does a very good job of using details, stories, and journal entries to re-create what happened on that horrible night in 1991.

In addition to the story of the crewmen aboard the Andrea Gail, Junger also includes many side stories of other ships, rescue crews, and civilians contributing to the some 10,000 Gloucestermen that have been caught in horrible storms at sea. He also includes a great deal of science about the physics of waves to the science behind hurricanes to the responses from meteorologists in the Gloucester area, though never straying too far from the main subject of the story, The Andrea Gail. “Meteorologists see perfection in strange things, and the meshing of three completely independent weather systems to form a hundred-year event is one of them. ... thought Bob Case, this is the perfect storm." The way in which Junger uses history, science, stories, and just about anything else he could to create this story is truly amazing. He incorporates language that would have been used by deckhands and captains to make you sincerely believe you are among the crewmen of these tragic ships.

At the end of the story, Junger reaches out to the families that have lost loved ones to the sea, and ends the book with a very inspiring quote, “If the men on the Andrea Gail had simply died, and their bodies were lying in state somewhere, their loved ones could make their goodbyes and get on with their lives. But they didn't die, they disappeared off the face of the earth and, strictly speaking, it's just a matter of faith that these men will never return. Such faith takes work, it takes effort."

In conclusion, I would recommend this book to everyone. The inspiring risk that these men take in order to provide a living for themselves is one that goes completely unnoticed. Junger does a very good job of re-creating the morbid story of the Andrea Gail with little more than a few journals and some stories. He reaches out and touches the hearts of many people who have lost loved ones to the sea, and it makes for an amazing story.