Rating: 
Summary: A Little Disappointed
Review: A good sea story. Buy it for any college boy who talks of making big money in a short time in the Alaska fisheries. Follows a pattern somewhat like "THE PERFECT STORM" but is less painstakingly researched, and dwells a little much on the issue of safety regulations rather than detailing the sea experience. Some errors appear, leaving a shade of doubt about the author's expertise: Page 158 A discussion of the Bernouille effect likens it to the action of an airfoil Page 54 Use of "gale" in place of the more precise "storm" (See the Beaufort scale) Page 132 Use of "righting arm" as an angle Page 17 "Scantlings" defined as "cross sections" rather than the nautical use meaning drawings or sometimes small members of a frame. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book. i recommend its reading, and am passing mine on to son and grandson, in the hope they never go crabbing.
Rating: 
Summary: Resurrected from the dark depths of the past...
Review: A heart wrenching story of the way things are in the unforgiving profession of Alaskan Crabbing. This book reached right into my soul, reminding me of the extraordinary community that embraced every grieving individual influenced by this horrible tragedy. Anacortes and the folks that call it home are truly stronger and wiser from this. I will pass my copy on to everyone I know. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Fishing the last frontier job.
Review: After reading the Perfect Storm by S. Junger, I was casting about in the sailing/adventure section and found this gem. I remembered vague readings from the newspapers about the sinking of these ships and that it seemed a really dangerous business, crabbing in the North Bering Sea. Mr. Dillion explains it better than any other article I've read. He puts a human face on those missing fisherman. The book isn't quite as much as a thriller as "Perfect Storm" is but I was hooked and stayed up most of the night to read the first half. The second half of the book is the formation of public policy and the making of the laws regarding safety at sea. Its a bit dryer but since I voted for some of these politicans I'm glad that they did their job. That aspect of the story wasn't reported very well in the local news. It is interesting but not the page turner that the first half of the book is. Still whenever I buy King Crab legs in the grocery store I say a prayer for the saftey of the fisherman. Anyway if you liked the "Perfect Storm", or any of the other disaster at sea books, "Fastnet Force 10" etc., you'll like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and frightening
Review: Although a blurb on the cover of my edition of this book claims that it is superior to "The Perfect Storm," I must disagree. Both are excellent stories, but I missed Junger's descriptions of the last moments of the Anrea Gail in "Storm." After finishing "Lost," I felt that there was more that could have been said--or surmised--about the fates of the two boats so tragically lost. While realizing that no one will ever know for sure what happened to the boats, I anticipated more details about the possible reasons for their loss. Some of those details do appear in the investigation of the disaster, but in a dry, courtroom form. Why call this book frightening? For two reasons. First, I'm frightened and dismayed by the fishing industry's utter lack of concern for the very fisheries that keep it going. Their modus operandi seems to be "fish them for all they're worth, until they're worthless, then move on to another area, and to heck with the environmental impact." When will they realize the extent to which they are cutting their own economic throats? Second, the industry is obviously uninterested in protecting the young men and women who man its boats and ships. To fight so determinedly against the logical and reasonable laws providing for simple safety is completely, well, unreasonable and irresponsible. If you're looking for an edge-of-the-seat thriller of adventure at sea, you will be disappointed in much of the book, although the author's own experience as described in the final chapter is fascinating. However, if you're looking for an intelligent and intelligible account of a terrible tragedy and the legal and political maneuvering which followed it, this is a book to read. It's too bad, though, that the publishers did not include any photographs, at least not in the paperback volume. For those of us completely unfamiliar with crab boats and their equipment, photos or more diagrams would be invaluable.
Rating:
Summary: A captivating read
Review: As a life long resident of Anacortes, I found the book a captivating read, mainly because I knew nearly all of the 14 men who perished. Several times the book brought tears to my eyes as I remembered them and thought of their families that remain here. Although I realize some of the stories were embellished to improve the read...and some are outright "Hollywood" fabrications, still the book gives the reader an idea of how unforgiving fishing in Alaska and in the Berring Sea can be. Overall, the book is heart wrenching. Anacortes has not been the same since the two "A-Boat's" went down.
Rating:
Summary: Glad We Didn't Read This Before....
Review: Both my sister and I read this book. We're glad we didn't have it to read years ago, since we would have been even more apprehensive of our brother's safety these last sixteen years (his first year fishing north was the year the Americus and Altair capsized). Gratefully, he is alive with all his parts intact, is still is in the comm. fishing business and still goes up to Dutch Harbor each year, but at least safety standards are better now, thanks to the work of the persons Mr. Dillon writes about. While the book may not be technically perfect, it is clearly a window on an industry too many are almost unaware of. I would definitely encourage persons to read the book; it's gripping, combining "true-life" adventure, great human loss, detective work and frustrating politics.
Rating: 
Summary: While very interesting and compelling, somewhat inaccurate
Review: Dillon did a fine job of creating a story. To those outside the industry the book must have seemed very interesting. A very good story that gives a good image of the fishing industry at the time. The "facts", however, should not be taken as such. From the first page throughout much of the book Dillon embellishes small tales to make them more appealing to the reader, stearing them away from the reality of the different situatuions that take place in the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Learning about crab fishing
Review: Found this book very informative about crab fishing. Did not know how dangerous it is and how a small town is held together by it. Found it exciting and scary at the same time. Glad I bought the book
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading if you are a boater and/or fisherman
Review: Good story, well documented. Shows where the governments priorities are: $ or lives? The result is the IFQ system which has saved lives at the expense of the Sportfishing industry.
Rating:
Summary: It has been on my mind since I started reading it.
Review: I am a biased critic of this book because it has a special grasp on me. You see, I am from Anacortes, WA, the town in the book where the boats are from. Because of this, I know many of the names in the book and can relate to their situations. I don't know if that changes my perspective as a reader drastically, but it may. Anyhow, I am not completely finished with the book, but I am finding it incredible. This book has been so unbelievably gripping on my attention that I find myself thinking about it even as I sit in class. What I'm getting at is that I strongly recommend this book, especially to anyone who can relate to small town life or the commercial fishing industry. READ IT!!
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