The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue (Thorndike Nonfiction) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Michael Tougias (Author), Casey Sherman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1410419215 | ISBN-13: 978-1410419217 | Publication Date: September 2009 | Edition: Lrg

In the winter of 1952, New England was battered by the most brutal nor’easter in years. As the weather wreaked havoc on land, the freezing Atlantic became a wind-whipped zone of peril, setting the stage for one of the most heroic rescue stories ever lived.

In the early hours of Monday, February 18, while the storm raged, two oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer, found themselves in the same horrifying predicament. Built with "dirty steel," and not prepared to withstand such ferocious seas, both tankers split in two, leaving the dozens of men on board utterly at the Atlantic’s mercy. The Finest Hours is the gripping, true story of the valiant attempt to rescue the souls huddling inside the broken halves of the two ships.

The spellbinding tale is overflowing with breathtaking scenes, as boats capsize, bows and sterns crash into one another, and men hurl themselves into the raging sea in their terrifying battle for survival.

Not all of the eighty-four men caught at sea in the midst of that brutal storm survived, but considering the odds, it’s a miracle—and a testament to their bravery—that any came home to tell their tales at all.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In a 1952 nor’easter, the distress of two ships off Cape Cod initiated a dramatic Coast Guard operation recounted here by coauthors Tougias and Sherman. Both vessels were World War II surplus, cheaply built, unwisely kept in service, and broken in two by the storm. All four halves floated, for the moment, and the authors’ narrative accordingly tracks four separate search-and-rescue efforts that form the complete story. The most prominent, in the press at the time and in official honors conferred afterward, concerned one motorized lifeboat, a puny 36 feet long and manned by four men, dispatched to do battle with the maelstrom’s towering waves. This is the seascape of The Perfect Storm, and the authors do justice to the peril in a tight account of the action. Plotting the course of CG36500, the utilitarian name of the lifeboat captained by Bernie Webber (interviewed for this book), Tougias and Sherman reach their peak of tension in the sink-or-swim moments when mariners abandoned ship and chanced their lives on their rescuers’ skill and bravery. An excellent entry in the disaster-at-sea genre. --Gilbert Taylor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"In February of 1952, eighty-four men were in danger of drowning off the coast of Cape Cod when a ferocious Nor'easter split their ships in two. The Finest Hours recounts the incredible heroism of the Coast Guard, who risked their lives to save others. A gripping read." -- James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 347 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (September 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410419215
• ISBN-13: 978-1410419217
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #904,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Large Print > History

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Finest Hours, May 29, 2009

By 

Shelly - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue (Hardcover)

I started reading this book, and a day and half later I finished it. I couldn't put this book down and it's an incredible story. I'm not usually into stories like this, but it was tastefully done, quick, to the point and the story was not exaggerated. It gives us a look into what our Service men and women from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, National Guard, and Coast Guard (if I forgot anyone I apologize), really go through on a daily basis in protecting everyone in this country and how dangerous it can be at times. I highly recommend reading it. You won't be disappointed.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, May 30, 2009

By 

Peter B. Kennedy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue (Hardcover)

As the person responsible for the restoration and preservation of the MLB CG36500 , the story told by Mike and Casey is outstanding . Excellent research and interviews have been used to produce the story . Being responsible for this historic vessel that was involved in the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history and having spent time with all four crewmen , I can assure the readers that this is an accurate and well told account of the 32 seamen rescued from the Pendleton .

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping Tale of Sacrifice and Heroism, June 8, 2009

By 

P. J. Kelly MD (Northeast Harbor, ME) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue (Hardcover)

This book is REMARKABLE! The story - a true story- moves right along and unfolds as it happened and without hyperbole. Off the coast of Cape Cod in 1952 a killer winter storm with hurricane-force winds and massive seas break not one, but two tired World War II vintage tankers in two. The stranded crews on the sinking derelicts desperately hope for rescue in these miserable conditions. Coast Guard men responded without hesitation and put their own lives in extreme peril. The characters do not consider themselves "heroes" - they are simply doing their duty; you get to know them because of what they have done - and what they have done and their courage is incredible. You CANNOT put this book down. Many non-fiction authors just tell the story leaving one to wonder about what happened to the "characters" after the epic has passed. This is not the case here. In the Epilogue and Acknowledgments sections - it's great to find out what happens to these people that you've come to know in the pages of this book. The research was clearly extensive. Michael Tougias and Casey Sherman working together have produced a tour-de-force - a work much greater than the sum of its parts.