Book Reviews

The Deadly Seas

by Beth Andersen, Ann Arbor District Library

Shipwrecks and diving accidents tap into a paralyzing fear of the unforgiving power of bodies of water.  Yet, sea-goers often do triumph.  If you liked Sebastian Junger's maritime tale, The Perfect Storm:  A True Story of Men Against the Sea (1997), try one of these.

Many a Midnight Ship: True Stories of Great Lakes Shipwrecks By Bourrie, Mark 2005-04 - University of Michigan Press 9780472031368 Check Our Catalog Riveting stories of maritime tragedies on North America's "inland seas" …More

The Last Dive: A Father and Son's Fatal Descent Into the Ocena's Depths Descent By Chowdhury, Bernie Foreword by Hickam, Homer H. 2000-10 - HarperCollins Publishers 0060194626 Check Our Catalog A world-class scuba diver examines his sport's lure and danger through the tragic true story of the deaths of a father and son in a deep sea accident. By examining the diver's psychology through the complex dynamic between father and son, Chowdhury offers a modern morality tale that illuminates the explorer's willingness to risk it all for the pure, adrenaline rush of the unknown and the desire to expand our knowledge and the limits of human endurance. of color photos. …More

Come Hell and High Water: Extraordinary Stories of Wreck, Terror and Triumph on the Sea By Hood, Jean 2007-04 - Burford Books 9781580801430 Check Our Catalog Readable, entertaining mini-histories of extraordinary shipwrecks, some famous (Titanic, Kursk) some little known. …More

Near Death on the High Seas: True Stories of Disaster and Survival By Kuhne, Cecil 2008-03 - Vintage Books USA 9780307279347 Check Our Catalog A spellbinding collection of the greatest writing about surviving extreme conditions at sea--the first book in a new series of adventure anthologies from Vintage Departures. …More

The Last Run: A True Story of Rescue and Redemption on the Alaska Seas By Lewan, Todd 2004-07 - HarperCollins Publishers 0060196483 Check Our Catalog In the tradition of "Black Hawk Down" and "The Perfect Storm" comes an epic tale of the daring helicopter rescue of an Alaskan fishing vessel wrecked in the worst Arctic storm in years. 8-page photo excerpt. …More

Ten Degrees of Reckoning: The True Story of a Family's Love and the Will to Survive By Rumberg, Hester 2009-02 - Amy Einhorn Books 9780399155352 Check Our Catalog In 1993, Judith and Michael Sleavin and their two children set out to sail around the world. But one night, a freighter off the coast of New Zealand altered its course and changed everything. This is the unbelievable yet true story of one family's love, loss, and a remarkable woman who decided to live against all odds. …More

A Brave Vessel: The True Tale of the Castaways Who Rescued Jamestown and Inspired Shakespeare's "The Tempest" By Woodward, Hobson 2009-07 - Viking Books 9780670020966 Check Our Catalog A riveting historical narrative (Nathaniel Philbrick), "A Brave Vessel" tells the story of William Strachey, an aspiring poet whose chronicle of a disastrous sea voyage and its aftermath had a profound influence on Shakespeare's writing of "The Tempest." …More