The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey | Linda Greenlaw

The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey | Linda Greenlaw | Excellent on its own but even better as a companion to The Perfect Storm

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The Hungry Ocean: ...

	The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey Linda Greenlaw Hyperion, 2000 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 214 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A non-fiction page turner

This is a great summer read. If you are interested in the life of a real fisherman, but don't want to get bogged down in all the details of a book like The Perfect Storm, then this is for you. Greenlaw gives lots of great stories and descriptive narrative that makes you feel like you are on the boat with her crew. From the thrill of a big catch, through the boredom of finding the right place to fish, to the personality conflicts between crew members and captains of other boats, this was an interesting and informative book.

Excellent on its own but even better as a companion to The Perfect Storm

Sebastian Junger's book was not only a great adventure tale - it was also a great description of the life of ocean fisherman. It retold the tragedy of the Andrea Gail as well as the effect it had on other fisherman.

One of those other fisherman was Linda Greenlaw. In this book she describes a typical swordfishing trip (if there is such a thing). She writes of preperations, doubts, crew problems, fishing techniques, weather and the fish themselves. Along with this main story she includes chapters entitled "mug ups" that are not directly related to the main story but are every bit as entertaining and informative.

The book is a quick read but well worth the money

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The Hungry Ocean

As with all of Linda Greenlaw's books I found this book GREAT! I keep searching for the next book, and I hate fishing! Linda is an excellant writer.

A very good read about something most of us will never do

This book isn't life-changing or even inspirational--in a good way. I was hesitant initially because I thought the book might work a 'girl-power' angle as Greenlaw is one of, if not the only, female swordfish captains in the world. Instead, it does a fantastic job of describing a world most of us will never know--the inner workings of a fisherman's (woman's) life: the politics involved in pleasing a demanding boat owner and restless crew, the tedious waiting game where instincts and electronics seek the elusive fish many days away from shore, and the excitment of the non-stop work when the fishing is good. It even gives an account of the finances involved including a breakdown of the market price of fish and how it affects everyone's pay. I had no idea of the immense costs each fishing trip takes in equipment, food, and gas. It is a great look at the day-to-day life. Where it falls short is addressing some grander issues such as the environment and the history and future of fishing. Greenlaw does have a few sentences sprinkled throughout and it's clear that from her viewpoint that the environment hoopla about overfishing is overblown and while these statements do make the reader long for more knowledge on the topic, I guess the authenticity of the book is that we get the raw one-sided opinion of a true fisherman (woman) and not some policy wonk. A very good read.

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am i sea sick or was that sordfish bad?

Greenlaw's Hungry Ocean rode the wave of the Perfect Storm's immense popularity to best seller lists, but left me hungry for more. No, not a longer book or a sequel, but vision that revealed more about this presumably interesting figure. Greenlaw's account of her experiences as a swordifish captain is filled with potential. I rooted for her- she was afterall a woman winning a man's game.
But ultimately I felt cheated by this tome. I wanted Greenlaw to reveal more. How did she become the top swordfish captain? I sensed she was at once ruthless, incredibly intelligent, and extraordinarily hardworking, but I felt as I filled in the blanks from the too often cursory information provided by the author. Her minimalist style opens the door to the world of deep sea fishing, but I found the water murky.

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