I read "The Perfect Storm" when it first came out, before the movie, and it's about a THOUSAND times better than the movie. I'm a writer in my day job, and I love good writing, and Junger nails it so well in that book, juxtaposing the inflexible laws of physics, weather, buoyancy, hypothermia, etc., etc., with the drama of what it must have been like to be out there on one of those fishing vessels, or in the helos trying to rescue them. By writing it that way, he really captures the notion that you're at the mercy of the elements when you're out there, no matter HOW big a boat you're on ... and by telling the personal stories of the people involved, he really makes you care what happens to them. (I'm also a licensed captain, so I know a bit about how FUGLY it can get out in the open ocean in nothing flat...) I thought that book was great and actually went back and re-read it a few years later to look at how he accomplished the effects he achieved...the naturalism kinda reminds me of Stephen Crane's short story "The Open Boat," which is also a good read.
I read Junger's "Fire," too, but thought TPS was a lot better. Outstanding read.
Interesting trivia: Junger appeared as himself in the Netflix series "The Affair" when the lead characters go off to some kind of commune or ayahuasca sweat-lodge thing IIRC (for some reason I get this mixed up with similar events in an episode of "Mad Men")...
www.theguardian.com
