"There is nothing imaginary about Junger's book; it is all terrifyingly, awesomely real." ― Los Angeles Times 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." In a book that has become a classic, Sebastian Junger explores the history of the fishing industry, the science of storms, and the candid accounts of the people whose lives the storm touched. The Perfect Storm is a real-life thriller that makes us feel like we've been caught, helpless, in the grip of a force of nature beyond our understanding or control. Winner of the American Library Association's 1998 Alex Award. 8 pages of illustrations *Starred Review* Junger’s most recent book, War (2010), which recounts his experiences with combat troops in war-torn Afghanistan, embodies both his ongoing fascination with life “on the tip of the spear” and his public image as a square-jawed danger-seeker. But it was The Perfect Storm (1997), written while he was a freelance tree-climber with only a notepad and an idea, that put him on the map. The outline is well known because the events made the news, because the book became a best-seller, and because the book became a major motion picture with A-list talent. In October 1991, a freak convergence of weather—a storm from the west, a cold front from the north, and a hurricane from the south—resulted in the Halloween Storm, a once-in-a-century gale that wreaked havoc on the North Atlantic. As befits a story so huge, Junger follows a diverse array of people through it, including fishermen, sailors, and rescue personnel. But it’s the story of the doomed swordfish boat Andrea Gail, whose crew was never found, that is the most compelling, and it is here that Junger shows the strength of his craft. In re-creating what might have happened to the six-man crew, he seamlessly weaves known facts with everything from interviews with survivors of other storms to explanations of fishing-boat architecture and the science behind drowning, with results so unforgettable that we can well imagine their final moments. But the Andrea Gail is not the whole story. There are other sword boats, the beleaguered sloop Satori with its crew of three, and a diverse array of rescuers whose actions are nothing short of heroic. There is a wealth of information here about the practice and business of fishing and about weather, sea, and people, but Junger shapes it all with an almost novelistic sense of pace and timing. Like Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air (1997), about disaster on Mount Everest, it’s a thrilling, sobering, and extremely accessible book that may well serve as the point of entry for readers curious about its subject. Rarely are works of nonfiction so deeply affecting. --Keir Graff "Thrilling…even if you have never been to sea, Junger's account will put the frighteners on you." ― New York Times Book Review "Guaranteed to blow readers away…A+." ― Entertainment Weekly "A superb book." ― Washington Post "[A] white-knuckle chronicle…[A] true adventure story." ― Newsweek "Every boater is drawn to storm-at-sea stories, and this one beats them all." ― Philadelphia Inquirer "Rich, compassionate characterization, as well as taut, suspenseful prose. A tale that doesn't skimp on facts, yet keeps you turning pages from beginning to end." ― Seattle Times "Riveting…The natural upheaval holds center stage and acts as a character, but the story converges upon human beings―in this case, the six-man crew of the doomed Gloucester swordfishing boat Andrea Gail ." ― Boston Globe "Harrowing, relentless…and thoroughly enjoyable." ― Kansas City Star "The pages of this book crunch with salt." ― Boating "A terrifying, edifying read…Readers…are first seduced into caring for the book’s doomed characters, then compelled to watch them carried into the jaws of a meteorological hell. Junger’s compassionate, intelligent voice instructs us effortlessly on the sea life of the sword-fisherman, the physics of a sinking steel ship, and the details of death by drowning." ― Dava Sobel "One reads with the most intense concern, anxiety and concentration; and if one knows anything at all about the sea one feels the absolutely enormous strength of the hurricane winds and the incredibly towering mass of the hundred-foot waves." ― Patrick O'Brian Sebastian Junger is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Storm , A Death in Belmont , Fire , War , Tribe , and Freedom . As an award-winning journalist, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair , and a special correspondent at ABC News, he has covered major international news stories around the world, and has received both a National Magazine Award and a Peabody Award. He lives in New York City and Cape Cod.