Customer Reviews

The Last Run: A true story of rescue and redemption on the Alaska seas

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Living in Florida, I was unaware of this story. It must have made the inside headline, but surely disappeared quickly from Florida newspapers. Too bad. This is an amazing story of rescue and survival. It is an illustration of how unlikely heroes come to the fore in time of crises. Lewan paints an excellent portrait of events and people leading up to the disaster, then the book fairly runs, or should I say, falls to its conclusion with the finality of asteroid hurtling into earth's atmosphere. Once the fishermen are in the water, you cannot put the book down.

A masterfully told story. And you come away with a new appreciation of the Coast Guard, who too often get into the news making a gigantic drug seizure or picking up Cuban rafters. This is a story about heroism and survival in an immensely hostile environment. In retrospect, you might think a top-notch fiction writer had to dream it up, but, no, it is not fiction.

I bring a somewhat unique perspective to the reading of this book, I've actually been out once long line fishing. It was just a one time deal for me, but I gained an insight that will stay with me for a lifetime. Commercial fishing is not only one of the most dangerous jobs it is also one of the most physically demanding. It attracts a certain type of individual, much like those rugged individuals that went west long ago searching for gold, enduring incredible hardship and possible death, the long line fisherman goes to sea hoping to hit a mother lode of fish all the while facing the possibility that the catch may not even pay for the expenses of the trip. The only sure thing, when at sea fishing, are long periods of doubt and loneliness and the nagging thought in the back of your head that you may never set foot on land again.

Lewan took on a huge task when he set out detail the events that lead up to the sinking of the fishing vessel La Conte because he delved into the lives of the crew and some of the Coast Guard rescuers, besides chronicling the day to day events of the fateful fishing run. The result of such detail and precision became, in my opinion, a mixture of pro and con and thus my 4 (actually 4+) rating instead of five. I do appreciate detail, but when Lewan took the time to note that on a certain morning the men had "four" strips of bacon, and not just some "eggs and bacon" or that so and so had coffee, but so and so had milk because he didn't like coffee, well my patience was stretched a bit. I do recall that on the day of the rescue the Coast Guard CO had half a bagel and some Dr. Pepper for breakfast, but I'm not sure why I know this. But these are minor complaints.

Of course this work is going to be compared to "The Perfect Storm" and this is my opinion: The latter focused upon one main character, and I think that was a strength as it read more like a novel. It also did a better job in explaining and narrating raw facts. This work, however, did have one thing going in its favor: there were survivors and they were able to provide details and drama that "The Perfect Storm" could not. Could this work end up being turned into a Hollywood blockbuster? I doubt it. The reason it's a good book isn't because there is much uniqueness to the basic story, it's about some guys that go to sea and their book sinks, it's a good book because Lewan takes us into the lives of the men, their failures, their hopes and their weaknesses. While a book is a perfect place to peek into the lives of several men, a movie could never spend the time. I do recommend this book to any that enjoyed the other, it was a very compelling read and in parts, read like a fast paced fictional thriller.

Imagine a paycheck of twenty thousand dollars earned in just a few days. Now imagine spending half of it in a week on drugs, alcohol and women. Then imagine the rest being taken by the courts and being sent to jail. What do you do when you get out? Why, go fishing of course, after all, where else can a man with nothing, no money, no family, no job, go and have the chance to earn a huge paycheck? A fishing boat.

Lewan tried here a monumental task, to take us into the lives of several men (some desperate, desolate and ruined) and show how, through a series of events, some fateful and some due to carelessness, these men changed (or didn't change), survived or perished. In many ways, the task was too big (and if the work fails to achieve a huge following, this will be why) however, I for one, think I got it. Maybe. I give the book a strong recommendation in any case, it's a great read.

Carrying on in the tradition of The Perfect Storm and Shadow Divers, author Todd Lewan recreates the true story of five fisherman who are at the end of a catch of a lifetime, the kind of catch that will set them up for a good while, when they realize their greed has contributed to their waiting too long to head for home. They are caught in a particularly nasty storm off the coast of Alaska - they bail, and their boat sinks, along with the fish they've caught. Those fish were part of the reason for their dilemma: the boat was too heavy, rode too low in the water, and wasn't as maneuverable as it would otherwise have been.
There's a dramatic Coast Guard mission of rescue (those guys are either truly crazy or lifetime adrenaline freaks), there's lots of past history involving women (Well, duh! What's a good yarn without a little sexual conflict?), alcohol, trouble with the law, some time in jail, and there's denouement and resolution, despair, growth, drama, tragedy...and change.
But best of all is the writing. I'm a writer myself, and when I read, I look for energetic dialogue that moves the story forward, fast pacing, evidence of good editing, the ability to tell a story without losing one's audience, and, in a book such as The Last Run, the earmarks of true creative nonfiction: telling a nonfiction story using the techniques of fiction to enhance the reading experience. Todd Lewan does it all.
Kudos.

The Last Run is a story of dedication, greed, tenacity and heroism. Dedication of investigators to match miniscule remains to a missing person. Greed of fishermen to catch just a few more before heading back to port and safety from the storm. Tenacity of fishermen cast adrift in bone chilling water fighting towering waves and hurricane force wind until help arrived. Heroism of Coast Guard search and rescue. A true story of human struggle and redemption.

Author Todd Lewan commences his drama with a CSI-like investigation and segues ways into painting portraits of the five fishermen who later find themselves together on a sinking fishing ship in the middle of an Alaskan hurricane. The portraits he paints have the blemishes of real men who came to Alaska hoping to be allowed a second or third chance or perhaps, just the opportunity to survive.

The last half of the book is a fast paced drama of the men fishing, fighting the storm, running from the storm and then not escaping. As the fishermen are repeatedly (every 10-15 seconds) entombed in towering waves, the reader anxiously waits for the Coast Guard to arrive on scene and commence the rescue. The tension builds and builds and though the ultimate ending is told in the first few pages of the book - the reader needs to know what really happened and finds no comfort in the foreshadowing.

The story is masterfully told. It starts fast, slogs along for a bit while the characters are developed and then roars along chapter after chapter.

Author Lewan deserves kudos for including a map of the Alaskan region early in the book and later, pictures of the main characters. The map is helpful in tracking the story and the pictures put a face on the words.

What I would do to improve the book? I would change very little. Perhaps, include more information about the Coast Guard helicopters. An appendix with a detailed drawing of a helicopter described in the book would be interesting. Maybe a picture of a guardsman in rescue gear or an aerial photograph of the Coast Guard base would add to the story.

You won't be able to put this book down. As the lead Coast Guard investigator charged with delving into the sinking of the fishing vessel LaConte, I heard first hand the stories of the survivors and the heroic actions of the rescuers. Todd Lewan does a masterful job of protraying the crew's will to survive and the impossible rescue efforts of the Coast Guard pilots. It will leave you with a great appreciation for the men and women of the Coast Guard who dedicate their lives to protect people from the sea and who are Always Ready, Always There.

D. C. Stalfort
U.S. Coast Guard

I picked it up expecting to read an exciting rescue story, and it was certainly that! However, what made the book so outstanding were the stories of the men behind the adventure. These weren't your ordinary heroes, they're the luckless backbone of America. The two central characters are victims of modern feminism. Marital hell and divorce pushed them both to the edge; one drinks himself onto the street while the other seeks refuge in his job and church.

Highly recommended!

The story starts in the latter part of 1998 when 2 teenage boys on are on a hunting adventure and on the trail of a big bear when the stumble upon a neoprene glove that contains parts of human fingers. David Hanlon a forensics investigator pretty knew to the position has strong desire to find out who this person is to provide closure for the family. Because of his determination he ends up with a match of a man who was lost on a fishing boat that capsized but he cannot believe that they body could end up on a island 800 miles away so the story really begins

The story centers around the fishing boat the La Conte a 78 year old fishing schooner which had been bought and sold and retro fitted many times til it is bought by a goat and pig farmer from the georgia who made it big an decided to try commericial fishing in alaska after learning from the japanese just how much money there is to earn. One of the problems was the owner just wants to put the bare minimum moneywise into the boat which proves tragic when the boat is in hurricane forces in the alaskan sea.

The crew including the captain who proves to make the wrong choices are a broken down cast of characters who all seem to be dealing with alcohol problems broken families and broken marriages are just trying to get through and get a big enough haul to make some money that just might turn there luck around.

As you probably know from the story description that there is of course there is a disaster and the coast gaurd mission that comes about is non stop action and a roller coaster of emotion when you read this book and really get into it you can really feel the highs and lows with the successes and failures

This is a really good book i would say just as good as "Perfect Storm". If you like these kind of stories i would also recommend some books by Spike Walker. READ THIS BOOK

This is an action-packed page turner ala Blackhawk Down. The first 20 pages pique your interest, the next 100 or so are a tad slow but develop the characters, while the last third is hard to put down. The story is this: some unlucky Alaskan commercial fishermen finally have fish jumping in their boat only to go in the drink during a huge storm. The first two Coast Guard helo's can't effect the rescue but the last finally does, too late for two of the crew. The point of view is from both the men in the water trying to stay alive and the Coasties who are trying to save them.

Hurricane force storms occur in the Gulf of Alaska in the winter time. Nothing can sound more ferocious, more frightening, and more foreboding than being in the midst of a hurricane, out in the middle of ocean, in the dead of night, in the freezing waters of Alaska. Yet this is where several fishermen were when they're aging ship sunk from underneath of them, and they had to fight it out to stay alive until rescue could arrive. If you ever want to find undying appreciation and awe for Coast Guard rescue helicopter crews, this is the book.

Although this book covers the same topic as others like "The Perfect Storm" it is told in a significantly different way. This book focuses far more on the human element of the fishermen and what they went through. (Perhaps because some of them survived this time around and were there to relate their stories.) Actually, somewhat ironically because of this, the book starts off a little bit slow with a very exhaustive introduction to several of the fishermen. It, frankly, doesn't paint a very good picture of them. The two the book seems most about include a Coast Guard washout, who drank himself out of his career and his family, and a semi-career criminal drug addict womanizer. It's actually hard to be sympathetic with these guys and the amount of time spent on them gives the book a very gritty edge that at a few times made me want to put it down because I was losing interest in the main characters.

I'm glad I didn't put it down though. The trial the fishermen found themselves in and its resolution set the stage for redemption (in the act of the moment if not in the entire course of their lives), extreme bravery, and complete tragedy. Despite the varying degree of troubled pasts and less than honorable characters of some of the fishermen (the Captain of the boat and two of the non main character fishermen come off more favorable) they all band together and help each other to survive, devoting themselves to the group in a wholly unselfish and admirable manner. Their efforts to keep each other alive are stirring and memorable.

The Coast Guard efforts to rescue them are beyond amazing. No less than three rescue attempts by helicopters, flying into pitch black, hurricane force storms, must be made. In several of the rescues the waves grow so high that they actually raise higher than the hover height of the helicpoter, and the survivors find themselves in the precarious situation of looking DOWN on the helicopter that's trying to save them. Fighting nearly impossible odds rescue attempt after rescue attempt fails, with the helicopters not being able to hold position to drop a basket (not to mention the fear of the basket being lifted on a wave and the cable wrapping around a survivor, such that the trough of the wave would pull the cable taut again and slice the ensnared person in half), and not having enough fuel to stay on station in hundred knot crosswinds at the very limit of their range from base. Despite this some of the fishermen hold on for survival, watching helo after helo seemingly abandon them until one -the last available to fly- finally makes contact, where salvation is delivered while at the same time an ultimate tragedy (you'll have to read the book) occurs.

It's not quite as gripping during the first half as some other books in the genre so it only receives four stars instead of five, but still whole heartedly recommended. If you find yourself bored or put off in the first half just keep reading because it's worth it.

I found this book by accident surfing on the net under "rogue waves" and was instantly "hooked" after reading the excerpts. From page 1 where the boys find the body of the fisherman on a romote island 800 miles from the sinking to the epilogue describing the survivors and rescuers lives today, it was a real page turner! What those survivors endured for so long in that water is just mind blowing. It also goes to show you that the human spirit does not give up easily. Mr. Lewan describes the rescue by the heroic and brave Coast Guardsmen so completely, you actually FEEL like you are part of the crew in that helicoper above those 70 foot seas. You may actually find yourself gripping the book with both hands and knuckles turning white as you turn page after page. My heart was pounding as he described rescue attempt after rescue attempt in excellent detail. Mr. Lewan's descriptions regarding the lives of the men, the storm, waves, sea, weather and their thoughts will blow you away.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who commercially fishes for a living, and even those who don't. The mistakes and bad judgment calls that were made by the "powers that be" were unacceptable and I only hope that anyone who reads this book and fishes for a living will make sure the boat they go out on is completely seaworthy (this boat had a leaking problem) and the owner registers his/her rescue beacon(s) with the Coast Guard. Because of these mistakes as well as others, 2 men lost their lives unnecessarily and a handful of others, survivors and rescuers both, will never forget their experience on that frigid January night. Hopefully the experiences all these men went through will be well noted by the reader and lives will be spared in the future from the lessons learned in this book.