The Hungry Ocean:
  A Swordboat Captain's Journey
   Linda Greenlaw
  1999 Hyperion, New York USA
   ISBN: 0786864516


In the dangerous profession of commercial fishing, Linda Greenlaw is one of a kind; a captain of an all male crew. Come along on her autumn season where the fishes are few, the weather tremendous & life on board is humorous, heartbreaking & hard.

The Hannah Boden is the sister ship to the ill-fated Andrea Gail in Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm soon to be released as a major motion picture & Linda Greenlaw decided to write her own story.

With clear & often poetic descriptions of her seafaring life, this captain takes us out to the Grand Banks in the hopes of a “slammer”-haul & in her narrative we come across a quirky & skilled crew of seamen.

I thoroughly enjoyed Linda Greenlaw's saga; her sense of vision, her captaincy, the crew & her boat & her understanding of the ocean & weather. Linda Greenlaw shows us how fishing is done, how catches are made & lost as if we were novices in her crew. She also candidly describes the endless adrenaline-pumping watches & catching while offering us memories of previous journeys, previous dangers.

The Hungry Ocean is a fine nautical read, a lively script of a crew at work & play, a satisfying self-portrait of a one-of-a-kind captain & a paean to a vanishing way of life.

Part text book, inventory & memoir, Linda Greenlaw's The Hungry Ocean is a very well done work of literature & a worthy addition to your library!
(07/16/00)

Rebecca