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Harrowing rescue mission for all involved. Well written.
During Hurricane Sandy, I remember hearing about the Bounty being out in the middle of the storm. And thinking, "What was that ship doing THERE?????"Now I know. The captain's idea was to get out of the storm's path, thinking the boat was likely to suffer serious damage if it were caught at the dock. If the hurricane was something like normal, the plan might have worked. But Sandy was so huge, to an unprecedented and unexpected degree, that the Bounty never stood a chance. Now, it is obvious that...
Actually, I was disappointed in this book. Why? Both writers are experienced and superb reporters. However, as you go through this short book, it becomes pretty clear they relied primarily on publicly available information. I found little in depth interviews with crew members or even foundation members. Reporters of this caliber should have been able to accomplish this. Ultimately, reading Rescue is like watching a tragedy happen that never should have happened. Bounty should not have left the d...
For me this was a somewhat haunting book because for a few years after college I myself worked on tall ships (specifically the "Providence", "Niagara", and the "Hawaiian Chieftain"). I could very easily put myself in the shoes of the young deckhands on the Bounty. One of my shipmates had actually been on the original Pride of Baltimore when it sank, so the thought that one day any of us could face a similarly dire situation was in the mind of myself and everyone that I worked with. On that note,...
A well written non-fiction account of the HMS Bounty tall ship history and the decision to continue sailing to their destination even though Hurricane Sandy was coming up the coast. It thoroughly covers the recovery of the crew.
This is exactly what I expect from Michael Tougias!!.....A cohesive, informational disaster at sea that reads like a novel! As in his other books, I found myself unconsciously holding my breath from one paragraph to the next, feeling like I was 'there', witnessing firsthand the efforts to locate and rescue the Bounty and its crew. Other reviews can summarize the story. My review is to express that the book is an amazing, honest tribute to the Bounty's Captain and crew, as well as to the courageo...
Brisk, enjoyable read about a tragic loss that needn't have happened. Authors Tougias and Campbell paint a more nuanced picture of the Bounty's officers and crew than media reports of the day. While the captain's reasons for sailing into the teeth of such a horrific storm can never be known, this book does a serviceable job of fleshing out the personalities and shipboard routines leading up to that fateful event. The skill and heroism of the USCG aircrews sent out to rescue them is covered as we...
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a well-researched account that highlighted the actions, inactions, and conditions that sealed the fate of the Bounty and changed the lives of her crew. A great deal of history about the ship and her captain was also included, providing an even greater understanding of both the Bounty and Robin Walbridge. As engaging as it was, however, there were a couple of things that prevented me from rating it higher.I don't usually like it when authors provide a l...
I wanted to like this book, but I can't help but think it was a tale of two authors not on the same page. The storyline has too much backstory dropped in between progress of the read itself. To right this vessel, cut out all the incidental sidelines of the characters that had no effect on the outcome. There were just too many wake zones slowing this ship down. I eventually had to sink it prematurely, fortunately, I knew how the story ended.
Another great sea tale of a ship caught in a storm and the daring Coast Guard rescue. This one is an enlarged version of the HMS Bounty, used in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and for all manor of tourist functions the foolish Captain takes his partially volunteer crew out to sea as Hurricane Sandy is approaching. No one else is stupid enough to be out there and the darn wooden ship starts leaking pretty bad and the pumps aren’t working. Oops… Well narrated and Mr Tougias has gotten pretty
This book was fascinating and I read it in 12 hours. Since I have sailed on a 3 masted ship, I was interested in what led up to the sinking of the ship. The author was detail oriented and also wrote about the crew in a way that was interesting. At times there was a lot of jumping between past and present, but overall a very concise book that starts from the days leading up to the sailing through the entire rescue process.
I'm devouring these sea disaster books by Michael Tougias. He's a good writer; his nonfiction reads like good fiction, and he really does his research. He elucidates people's characters, provides credible detail, paints scenes, and weaves a plot as well as any novelist would. His description of ships caught up in horrendous storms (almost) makes me fearful of ever setting foot on a boat again. (Oh wait, I just booked a cruise for my vacation next year!) This particular book revolves around the t...
This author does such a wonderful job of drawing the reader in that I felt as though I was there, in the water, swimming, rescuing, surviving. And again, my respect and awe for the Coast Guard continues. The men and women who serve are nothing short of heroes.
Reviewed by Eric HeimbuchIn 2012, I had the opportunity to drive across country in route to my new duty station, located in Portsmouth, NH. I had to make a stop on the way in New London, CT, and as it happened, I was also chasing the last remnants of Superstorm Sandy. I got to see first hand some of the destruction that this storm put down on the east coast of the US, and it was awesome.You can read this entire review and others like it at San Diego Book Review.
Fascinating true story of the ship Bounty, built by MGM in the early 1960s as a replica of the Bounty of mutiny fame in order to film the famous story. The tall ship met an untimely end during hurricane Sandy that played out on national television. The authors do an admirable job of describing the background of the ship and its final voyage's 16-member crew; they presented just the right amount of detail with the single exception of far too little detail on Captain Robin Walbridge's wife. The au...
A very good story about a tragic event. I wasn't able to give this 5 stars, due to the extensive history on various crew members of the Bounty. Much of it could have been shortened. For that reason, I couldn't quite give it 5, unlike other books by Michael J. Tougias I've read. Once the history was dealt with, I felt more engaged with the subjects of the story.
I remember as we were preparing for Sandy ourselves watching this ship flounder in the waves on TV and thinking even then, how could this have happened? I was surprised to see this at the library and grabbed it right up. The book sucked me in but at the same time there was that feeling as you read about the Captain and his life you knew that this was going to end badly and that's all that's going to be remembered. As I read I wondered if there was more to the sinking then over confidence in the
The most haunting quote: "In the end, the pump problem was ignored." The historic replica of the sailing ship HMS Bounty was sunk during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Despite many warnings, the captain chose to sail the ship toward the storm in an attempt to make it to a southern port for the winter. The ship would most likely have weathered the storm but the seeming less threatening warning of faulty pumps was ignored. This is a true story of faulty human wisdom and pride and the resulting heroic re...
Not my first Micheal Tougias book. And honestly, they all read the same ways. It’s great. He has an uncanny ability of writing nonfiction in a way that reads like fiction.
Another great rescue at sea story from Michael Tougias, this time coauthored with Doug Campbell. The two writers try to get into the ship captain's head by dissecting his background and his personality: was he overconfident in his abilities when he decided to try sailing "around" one of the largest recorded hurricanes? The result is a compelling read that says a lot about decision making and unquestioned loyalty. It's also another great (exciting) salute to the skills of US Coast Guard, who moni...