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Excellent book on 2 ships fighting through Hurricane Joaquin Login/Join 
Have Camera - Will Travel
Wire Gonzo, Far Bombay
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“Into the Storm: Two Ships, a Deadly Hurricane, and an Epic Battle for Survival” (Tristram Korten)

I read a lot and I rarely describe a book by saying, "I could not put it down...", but that was the case with "Into the Storm". The freshman author does a really great job of delving into the cargo shipping industry; hurricanes; the Coast Guard; and the personalities involved. This is really a excellent account and written in a very easy to follow style, with almost a "novel" feel to it. Best book I have read in quite a while.


_________________________

Sometimes good people have to do bad things to bad people to prevent bad people from doing bad things to good people.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.-Robert A. Heinlein
 
Posts: 3093 | Registered: February 19, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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thanks !

will be on the lookout for it -- fairly new book ?

----------------------


Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
 
Posts: 8940 | Location: Florida | Registered: September 20, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Have Camera - Will Travel
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quote:
Originally posted by Sig209:
thanks !

will be on the lookout for it -- fairly new book ?

----------------------


Yep. Spring of 2018, I believe. One thing I love about it is how much detail he goes into in varying subjects (how merchant marine ships function; how shipping companies work; how sailors train; shipboard life; US Coast Guard operations; hurricane behavior; etc) while still keeping the story flowing and not becoming convoluted.


_________________________

Sometimes good people have to do bad things to bad people to prevent bad people from doing bad things to good people.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.-Robert A. Heinlein
 
Posts: 3093 | Registered: February 19, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Thanks Gonzo. I'm fascinated by the maritime shipping industry especially in the Great Lakes (which I am told that can be worse than the oceans as far as violent seas)and will pick this book up.
 
Posts: 5731 | Location: Chicago | Registered: August 18, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
Thanks Gonzo. I'm fascinated by the maritime shipping industry especially in the Great Lakes (which I am told that can be worse than the oceans as far as violent seas)and will pick this book up.


LOL! I have the same fascination and this book delves deeply (but very readably) into the industry. I would love to know what you think after you read it.


_________________________

Sometimes good people have to do bad things to bad people to prevent bad people from doing bad things to good people.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.-Robert A. Heinlein
 
Posts: 3093 | Registered: February 19, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
california
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Got this yesterday from the library (I requested they buy it and was first to borrow) and am almost half way through. Fascinating lead - page turner. When he starts quoting Bowditch's American Practical Navigator you know you're in the weeds. Love it.
 
Posts: 10665 | Location: NV | Registered: July 04, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I will be buying this book tomorrow.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Thread drift. I too am fascinated with the Great Lakes and have read a couple of the available books regarding the Great Lakes Hurricane of 1913, November's Fury and White Hurricane.

I can not even imagine the horror these men and women faced during this storm.


Niech Zyje P-220

Steve
 
Posts: 36834 | Location: 45174 | Registered: December 09, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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"Page turner" is a good way to describe it. I love how he covers so much technical information but keeps it readable like a novel


_________________________

Sometimes good people have to do bad things to bad people to prevent bad people from doing bad things to good people.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.-Robert A. Heinlein
 
Posts: 3093 | Registered: February 19, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Tinker Sailor Soldier Pie
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I'm inclined to purchase this book as I studied this whole incident quite extensively.

I'll say though that this review off of Amazon turned me off a bit:

quote:
Bryan
3.0 out of 5 starsGripping read, but author feels compelled to inject partisan politics into the story
January 4, 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Into the Storm is a good book – it is well written account and tells the gripping story of Hurricane Joaquin and the loss of 33 lives on the SS El Faro in the storm.

While this book is a good contrast of two ships – one that survived the storm and one that did not, what makes this book only “good” rather than “great” is the author’s insistence on injecting his personal political views into the conclusions. Instead of analyzing what the two captain and crews did differently to help mariners learn from the mistakes that were made, the author concludes responsibility must be placed on Republicans and global warming. Really?

Here is an excerpt:
“…in the United States, powerful politicians in the Republican Party—congressmen, senators, and governors—refuse to acknowledge the threats of climate change or act in any way to lower carbon emissions, the one thing humans could do to try to offset our contribution to rising global temperatures. They have not engaged in a dialogue about what we should or can do, nor have they made much of an attempt to explain the evidence on which they base their denial. For more than eight years, congressional committees in the House of Representatives that could deal with the issue have routinely prevented federal action on climate change. Throughout his two terms in office, Rick Scott, the Republican governor of Florida—the state most susceptible to rising sea levels as well as hurricanes—prohibited the terms “climate change” and “global warming” from even being used by state agencies. Every passing minute of their inaction increases their responsibility for the safety of first responders and others affected by hurricanes, historic floods, and wildfires.”

The captain of the El Faro made a navigational mistake and literally sailed into the middle of a Category 4 hurricane, rather than away from it, but the author places blame on the Governor of Florida?

If the author had just focused on telling the story, this would have been a great book – but injecting divisive partisan politics into the story significantly detracts from the ultimate conclusions.


Did you notice any of that at all?


~Alan

Acta Non Verba
NRA Life Member (Patron)
God, Family, Guns, Country

Men will fight and die to protect women... because women protect everything else. ~Andrew Klavan

"Once there was only dark. If you ask me, light is winning." ~Rust Cohle
 
Posts: 30297 | Location: Elv. 7,000 feet, Utah | Registered: October 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
california
tumbles into the sea
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quote:
Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Did you notice any of that at all?
select text to read [ he goes full retard climate change in the last pages, which didn't spoil the book as much as identifying this guy's true colors ]

...still a worthwhile read imho.
 
Posts: 10665 | Location: NV | Registered: July 04, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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He only waved his political flag at the very end of the book. I was able to skim right through his rhetoric and, for me, it did not detract from an excellent book.


_________________________

Sometimes good people have to do bad things to bad people to prevent bad people from doing bad things to good people.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.-Robert A. Heinlein
 
Posts: 3093 | Registered: February 19, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Tinker Sailor Soldier Pie
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quote:
Originally posted by TheGreatGonzo:
He only waved his political flag at the very end of the book. I was able to skim right through his rhetoric and, for me, it did not detract from an excellent book.


Thank you. I'm going to give this book a try, though I likely won't learn anything new in regards to what happened. Still, it'll be interesting to read it in a storyline/novel type format.


~Alan

Acta Non Verba
NRA Life Member (Patron)
God, Family, Guns, Country

Men will fight and die to protect women... because women protect everything else. ~Andrew Klavan

"Once there was only dark. If you ask me, light is winning." ~Rust Cohle
 
Posts: 30297 | Location: Elv. 7,000 feet, Utah | Registered: October 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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