The story behind the major motion picture from Disney—starring Chris Pine, Eric Bana, and Casey Affleck—written by a recognized master of the genre—“a blockbuster account of tragedy at sea” ( The Providence Journal ). It’s the winter of 1952 and a ferocious Nor’easter is pounding New England with howling winds and seventy-foot seas. Two oil tankers get caught in the violent storm off Cape Cod, its fury splitting the massive ships in two. Back on shore are four young Coast Guardsmen who are given a suicide mission. They must save the lives of the seamen left stranded in the killer storm, and they have to do it in a tiny lifeboat. The crew is led by Bernie Webber, who has to rely on prayer and the courage of his three crewmembers to pull off the impossible. As Webber and his crew sail into the teeth of the storm, each man comes to the realization that he may not come back alive. They’ve lost all navigation and have no idea where the stranded seaman are, and have no idea how to get back home. Whether by sheer luck or divine intervention, the crew stumbles upon the wounded ship in the darkness. More than thirty men appear at the railings of the SS Pendleton, all hoping to be saved. Once again, Webber and his crew face a daunting challenge. How can they rescue all these men with their tiny lifeboat? Dripping with suspense and high-stakes human drama, The Finest Hours has incredible and astonishing true-to-life heroism and action-packed rescue scenes. This “marvelous and terrifying yarn” ( Los Angeles Times ) “deserves a place as a classic of survival at sea” ( The Boston Globe ). “This book captures the wit, grit and sacrifice of Coasties and their boats.” -- Minneapolis Star Tribune “A blockbuster account of tragedy at sea.” -- The Providence Journal Michael J. Tougias is the author of a number of books, including Rescue of the Bounty : Disaster and Survival in Superstorm Sandy ; Overboard! ; The Finest Hours (with Casey Sherman), the basis of the major motion picture released in 2016; Fatal Forecast ; and Ten Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do. He is a sought-after lecturer who gives more than seventy presentations each year. He lives in Massachusetts. Casey Sherman is an acclaimed journalist and author of ten books, including 12: The Inside Story of Tom Brady’s Fight for Redemption , a New York Times bestseller and CBS Films’s Patriots Day . A graduate of Boston University, he is also a contributing writer for Esquire , Time , The Washington Post , and Boston Magazine. He is a much sought-after national speaker. He lives in Massachusetts. The Finest Hours CHAPTER ONE CHATHAM LIFEBOAT STATION The sea is master here—a tyrant, even—and no people better than ours, who have gone down to the sea in ships so often in so many generations, understand the subtle saying…“We conquer nature only as we obey her.” —E. G. Perry, 1898 CHATHAM, MASSACHUSETTS February 18, 1952 Boatswain’s Mate First Class Bernie Webber held a hot mug of coffee in his large hands as he stared out the foggy window of the mess hall. The cup of mud wasn’t half bad. It came from a three-gallon pot and was brewed by mixing the coffee with a couple of eggshells to help the grounds settle at the bottom. The minister’s son from Milton, Massachusetts, watched with growing curiosity and concern as the storm continued to strengthen outside. The midwinter nor’easter had stalled over New England for the last two days, and Webber wondered if the worst was yet to come. He watched as windswept snow danced over the shifting sands and large drifts piled up alongside the lighthouse tower in the front yard of the Chatham Lifeboat Station. At one time, two lighthouses had stood here; together they were known as the Twin Lights of Chatham. All that remained of the second lighthouse was an old foundation, and on this morning it was completely covered by snow. Taking a sip of his coffee, Webber thought of his young wife, Miriam, home in bed with a bad case of the flu at their cottage on Sea View Street. What if there was an emergency? What if she needed help? Would the doctor be able to reach her in this kind of weather? These questions were fraying his nerves and Webber fought to put them out of his mind. Instead he tried to picture the local fishermen all huddled around the old woodstove at the Chatham Fish Pier. They would be calling for his help soon as their vessels bobbed up and down on the waves in Old Harbor, straining their lines. If the storm is this bad now, what will it be like a few hours from now when it really gets going? he thought. Webber, however, wouldn’t complain about the tough day he was facing. The boatswain’s mate first class was only twenty-four years old, but he had been working at sea for nearly a decade, having first served with the U.S. Maritime Service during World War II. Webber’s three older brothers had also served in the war. Paul, the eldest, had been