Blowout [Paperback]

Robert Orrell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2000 | ISBN-10: 1574091093 | ISBN-13: 978-1574091090

Robert Orrell recounts the brutality and immense danger of life on an oil rig.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Blowout is a riveting true story, the stuff of which legends are made. -- The Midwest Book Review, May 2000

Highly recommended. -- The Seafarer, the Marine Society Magazine, January 2000

Orrell's style is engaging and immediate, something of Alastair Maclean perhaps, except...that this is not fiction... -- Petroleum Review

Weaves in a great deal of history about oil exploration, boating and the ferocious weather on the North Sea. -- Today's Librarian, May 2000

Written more in the style of a novel, this is a true story based on real events...highly recommended. --Seafarer, January 2000

About the Author

Robert Orrell knows the sea; he was a yacht skipper and a lighthouse operator, as well as in the Royal Navy. He worked as a producer for BBC radio and he is the author of several travel books on Britain.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Sheridan House (April 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574091093
• ISBN-13: 978-1574091090
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,265,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting true story - the stuff of which legends are made!, May 3, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blowout (Paperback)

In Blowout, Bob Orrell recounts the dramas of life on board "Hewett A", a North Sea oil and gas drilling rig. Life on an oil rig is arduous, brutal, highly dangerous. But the men who work there persevere with humor and camaraderie despite the appalling accidents, atrocious weather, and occasional clashes of temper. In Blowout, Orrell's rig suffered a disastrous bowout and he gives a vivid, harrowing account of how rescue boats and helicopters battled gale-force winds and raging seas to evacuate men from the gas-filled platform. There was a tremendous loss of life and Orrell found himself abandoned with only one colleague on the gas and oil spewing rig. When Red Adair (the legendary Texan oil rig firefighter) returned to the rig to cap the well, Orrell was there to man the communications equipment. Blowout is a riveting true story, the stuff of which legends are made.