Customer Reviews

North by Northwestern: A Seafaring Family on Deadly Alaskan Waters

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an excellent read. If you enjoy the series as much as I do, you will appreciate this book. I had the pleasure of having lunch with Sig last year at Catch Con, and his personality - that of a vivacious and passionate professional, certainly comes forth in this book. This book celebrates this family, back several generations. There is an extradorinary appreciation and respect for hard work, perfection, determination and drive. This family is clearly identified by what they do and do it extremely well - Crab fishing in the deadly Bering Sea.

This book will be an inspiration to those who read it, as a testimony to what a person can achieve when you put your entire self into your passion. Great job, Sig, Edgar, and Norman.

Elliana Agnello

I received this book today and read it in one sitting, could not put it down. If you enjoy watching Deadliest Catch you will love this book. The book reads just like Sig talks, which is a plus. He takes us back to his roots and explains how he became a fisherman. I HIGHLY recommend this book. Even if you don't watch the show, you will enjoy this book!

Interesting book for fans of "Deadliest Catch". Provides good history of how the Northwestern began and how it has evolved into a state-of-the-art fishing boat. Great characters and insight into the family that has fished this boat for years. Easy to read but definitely not a literary masterpiece. Highly recommend this read to any fans of the show who want to know how it all came about.

This was an exceptional book in many ways. Obviously, Sig Hansen is an incredibly fascinating person. The co-author did an amazing job of putting his stories together in an interesting and easy to follow way. The book really provides great depth in to his personality.

Most of us find Sig to be a bit of an enigma. We have great admiration for his power, work ethic, and bravery, but struggle with his lack of compassion. I think Sig largely communicates the same in this book. It is always pleasing to me when somebody can evaluate themself with some objectivity.

There is a very interesting technical description of the crabbing process and the science of crab as a species. It is just enough information to give the reader a much better grasp of the process without boring them with the details.

The Deadlist Catch has redefined reality tv for me in a genre populated with a lot of mediocre shows that have a staged feeling. It is the real deal and chronicles the often dangerous and back breaking conditions of fishing for crab in the Bering Sea. Since I have been watching this show from the first season, I have become a real fan of Captain Sig Hansen and his brothers, the Hillstrands, and the late and lamented Captain Phil Harris. This book has only increased my admiration for Sig and the others as Sig details what is involved in fishing for crab in much greater detail than the show manages to do.
As a bonus, the usually stern Sig provides his reader with the history of his family and of norwegian fisherman in general. He takes much pride in the business, his family, and his roots in Norway. The entire effect is that it humanizes the man and explains why he has to run a tight ship with little margin for error.
Written in Sig's voice, one with which I have long been familiar with, is a plus.
While the book is co-authored with a professional writer, this account isn't jazzed up for a book buying audience. It simply tells the story of a family and their experiences fishing. Sig has fishing in his blood. Starting from his teen years (and even earlier)he apprenticed himself and worked his way up the ladder. He has a respect for the sea and understands the dangers inherent in the constant battle between man and nature and the stories he relates are often quite frightening.
This is definitely a must-read for any fan of the show and the captains and crews that choose to do this for a living. This book kicks it up a notch from just what a viewer sees on The Deadliest Catch and provides a fuller picture of what goes on in the crab fishing industry.

From the very first episodes of the premiere season of Deadliest Catch, viewers knew they'd been invited into a world that they'd had little idea existed. To call it the deadliest job in the world is a large claim to make, but anyone who has watched the show - as excited and thrilled they might be at the fantasy of riding the rough seas and risking their lives - knows it's a feat that these guys make it back to Dutch Harbor at the end of each season. But how did these people become the incredible fisherman and brave human beings that they are?

Captain Sig Hansen, and his brothers Edgar and Norman, are part of the crew of the F/V Northwestern, and after six seasons have become international celebrities, with a website, attending conventions, fish products, and a videogame. But regardless of their celebrity status, for a number of months out of the year they risk their lives in unbelievable weather, working nonstop, all for fresh crab to be served on dinner plates around the world. In North by Northwestern, Sig Hansen, along with Mark Sundeen (who has written for Outside Magazine and New York Times Magazine), tells the incredible story of how he and his brothers became crab fishermen. Hansen lets readers know throughout the book that he wouldn't be where he is, and the crabbing industry wouldn't be where it is, if it weren't for his father and his generation of fishermen working with inferior technology and tools and coming up with new, efficient, and improved ways to fish. Hansen tells the story of his Norwegian childhood, growing up in Ballard near Seattle, but he also tells the story of how the tough Norwegian who began fishing the Nordic seas came over to Washington with hopes of making more money and becoming a great fisherman.

The Alaskan King Crab gold rush began in the seventies and lasted through the nineties. It was during this period that the Hansen brothers grew up and learned the tools of their trade under the wise guise and learned hands of their father and his brilliant fishermen friends. North by Northwestern is the truly incredible story of a generation of fishermen about which little is known, as well as about how three Norwegian brothers went from simple fisherman to international celebrities.

Originally written on October 1 2010 ©Alex C. Telander.

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I purchased the eBook version for my reader, and was pleasantly surprised when I started to read. So surprised that I stayed up late to read it all in one sitting! This book is much, much more than just an accessory to the TV show. It is more than a must-read for fans of "Deadliest Catch."

It also covers much, much more than that. There is an insider's view of the Norwegian immigration to the United States, in particular Washington state in the early 1900's. There is a detailed history of the evolution of crab fishing and the Marco crab boat's evolution to supremacy. I was fascinated by the attention to historical details, such as the use of surplus Army cots to build the first crab pots. The wisdom of a seasoned fisherman peppers the book - discussing why certain boat designs work better than others, why a tank full of solid ballast is better than tanks full of mobile crab, and why navigation at sea is not as simple as going in a straight line from Point A to Point B.

Encircling all these historical details are the stories of the Hansen family in the USA. His father's boats. Moving up, moving down and out. The evolution of a skipper/captain.

This book will satisfy the fans. It covers the ground that fans will want to know about - close calls out at sea, pranks between the crew members, embarrassing growing-up stories among the Hansen brothers, and how the Northwestern came to be on TV. It also tells the story of how the first coveted F/V Northwestern jackets came to be!

The digital version of this book had some minor issues. There are many, many words which had been spliced - there is a space in the middle of the word or a dash in the middle of the word inappropriately. The best feature of the digital version, however, was the click-able index. Next to the word in the index was a hyperlink that you could click, which would take you right to the reference.

This book is as good as the Hillstrand's book is bad. Covers the interesting history of not only the Hansen family, but the Alaskan Crab industry as well. Worth reading.

I've seen all the seasons of the Deadliest Catch and feel like I have come to a good understanding of how the crab industry works but this book really explains things in great detail. It's the story of Sig Hansen and his family all the way back to his great-grandfather. Further if you count him telling of the Vikings and discoving North America first. In the book his talks about how his uncle and dad first came to america and how he and his two brothers first became invovled in crabbing. I would say a good majority of the book isn't even about the Deadliest Catch show so if that's why you want to read it, I wouldn't really recommend it. However if you find the crab industry intriguing like I do and like to read about other peoples life and the things that they have had to over come, then it is a good read. He tells the history of the industry and all the Norwegians in it. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it jumps around quite a lot from the dad's story to his brother's to his and so own. It is a great book and I happy that I read it.

This book was so good my husband could hardly put it down! If you are any kind of sportsman you will enjoy this book!!