Deadliest Sea - by Kalee Thompson (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Deadliest Sea by Kalee Thompson is the spellbinding true story of the greatest rescue in U.S. Coast Guard history. Recounting the tragic sinking of the fishing trawler, Alaska Ranger, in the Bering Sea and its remarkable aftermath in March 2008, Deadliest Sea is real life action and adventure at its finest. The full story of an amazing rescue--where extraordinary courage, ingenuity, will, and technology combined in one of the most remarkable maritime feats ever recorded--has never been told before now. It's The Perfect Storm meets Deadliest Catch.

From the Back Cover

Soon after 2:00 a.m. on Easter morning 2008, the fishing trawler Alaska Ranger began taking on water in the middle of the frigid Bering Sea. While the first mate broadcast Mayday calls to a remote Coast Guard station more than eight hundred miles away, the men on the ship's icy deck scrambled to inflate life rafts and activate beacon lights. By 4:30 a.m., most of the forty-seven crew members were in the water. Many knew that if they weren't rescued soon, they would drown or freeze to death.

Two Coast Guard helicopter rescue teams were woken up in the middle of the night to save the crew of the Alaska Ranger. Many of the men thought the mission would be routine. They were wrong. The helicopter teams battled snow squalls, enormous swells, and gale-force winds as they tried to fulfill one guiding principle: save as many as possible.

Deadliest Sea is a daring and mesmerizing adventure tale that chronicles the power of nature against man. Veteran journalist Kalee Thompson recounts the harrowing stories of both the rescuers and the rescued while paying tribute to the courage, tenacity, and skill of the dedicated people who risk their lives for the lives of others.

Review Quotes

Books about disaster in the Alaskan fishing industry are common, but titles as good as this one....This extraordinary book is accessible to every level of interest in those who go down to the sea in ships and may well keep most of them up all night are rare. - Booklist

"Kalee Thompson reports on every detail of the disaster and subsequent rescue...out of nowhere, a heroic team of Coast Guard specialists swoops in to save as many souls as they can. Needless to say, it's riveting." - GQ