The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm is a 1997 nonfiction book by Sebastian Junger, who writes for numerous magazines, including Outside, American Heritage, and Men’s Journal. He has lived most of his life on the Massachusetts coast.

In late September of 1991, the swordfishing boat Andrea Gail departs the town of Gloucester, Massachusetts with six men aboard, for a month-long fishing trip. In late October, as a powerful storm begins to build in the fishing waters of the North Atlantic—a storm that will come to be known as “The Storm of the Century” by those in its path, and, simply, “The Perfect Storm” by meteorologists, who watch it come together—captain Billy Tyne radios to the other ships in the fleet one line: “She’s coming on boys, and she’s coming on strong” (106). Soon after, the Andrea Gail will disappear from the face of the earth, leaving behind loved ones mourning the loss, and a stunned Gloucester.

In trying to uncover what happened to the Andrea Gail, Junger interviews captains from other ships, Coast Guard personnel, and family members of those lost. He traces the history of fishing in the Atlantic, and especially the lucrative, dangerous trade of swordfishing—“a young man’s game, a single man’s game” (17).