Poseidon Adventure [Hardcover]

Paul Gallico (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1985

Paul Gallico’s classic novel, The Poseidon Adventure, is the exciting story of a luxury ocean liner that capsizes after it is struck by a colossal tidal wave, leaving its survivors to fend for themselves and find a way out. The blockbuster movie remake of this story is sure to make a huge splash and lure readers into this compelling and dramatic novel.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While Baker ably keeps Gallico's potboiler afloat by providing distinct voices for a dozen different character, the audiobook starts taking on water thanks to some turgid and overripe dialogue from the source material that would sink even the best narrator. It turns out that Stirling Silliphant's screenplay for the 1972 disaster movie actually improved the original book by paring down the number of people fighting their way up to the bottom of the luxury liner's hull after a huge tidal wave capsizes the S.S. Poseidon. Fans of the movie might be surprised by some of the other differences, including the rape of one of the characters and the death of someone who survives the film. Baker is oddly cheerful while reading the passages where the tidal wave hits the ship and has a difficult time making former jock Reverend Scott sympathetic. But he's very effective playing the two most memorable couples: the ever-battling Linda and Mike Rogo and the warm and funny Belle and Manny Rosen. Kudos to Harper's helpful track listings on each disk.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Paul Gallico achieved national acclaim as a sportswriter and editor at the New York Daily News. He created the Golden Gloves amateur boxing competition and boxed with Jack Dempsey, swam against Johnny Weissmuller, golfed with Bobby Jones, and caught for Dizzy Dean. Gallico's first novel, The Snow Goose, has been continually in print since 1940 and a number of his stories and novels were adapted for the screen, the best-known being Lili and The Poseidon Adventure.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 356 pages
• Publisher: TBS The Book Service Ltd; New edition edition (February 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1850180210
• ISBN-13: 978-1850180210
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful story of survival in the face of impossible odds, March 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Poseidon Adventure (Paperback)

Although one of the best known disaster movies of the 70's came from this novel, this book is far from a mere adventure story and the focus is not on the disaster itself.

This novel is a study of people and human nature. What the author has done is assemble a collection of characters (a few more than in the movie), a number of whom do not like one another--especially antogonist/protagonist Mike Rogo and Rev. Scott, respectively. They are placed in a life and death situation in which they are forced to interact on more than a social level--they are forced to rely on one another.

As the story unfolds, so does the psyche of each character and there is not a one who's personal history is not explored. As the struggle to survive becomes increasingly more demanding and life threatening, we see relationships unravel as each character's demons and vulnerabilities are exposed.

Tensions, resentments and bitterness bubbling just beneath the surface of the characters prior to the capsizing come welling forth, sometimes violently, throughout the course of the story. For better or for worse, all are changed forever by the end.

Most notably, we see a the facade of the "nuclear family" torn down for good as the Shelby family is ripped brutally apart. Unlike the cardboard characters of Susan and Robin in the movie, the two are more developed in this book, along with parents, Richard and Jane. Susan suffers a violent encounter with a crew member and Robin is lost forever, while simultaneously the marriage of their parents Richard and Jane fall to pieces before the eyes of all.

All of this takes place against a backdrop of danger and mayhem as the striken liner continues it's slow tortureous plunge. The characters witness death at its most brutal form and literally stare into the face of Hell, watching dozens, including members of their own survivalist party meet their doom.

And in the end, when the ship finally goes down, the former life of each survivor goes down with her.

Although a huge fan of the movie, I loved this book for completely different reasons. This is a powerful story and an engrossing read. In the end, I found myself asking myself one simple question: What would I do if faced with the same circumstances?

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than a mere adventure., February 27, 2002

By 

Chadwick H. Saxelid "Bookworm" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Poseidon Adventure (Paperback)

Granted the film adaptation by Irwin Allen is a classic of its kind, but Paul Gallico's source novel is so, so much more than a mere adventure novel. The Poseidon Adventure is also a dark psychological novel about the human will and the human character, how it constantly shifts and changes, yet remains the same at its very core. Don't be fooled by the swift pace and high adventure, careful reading of this excellent piece of entertainment will be a richly rewarding experience for you. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Story, June 25, 2006

By 

Ms. Melissa Goldsberry "Colin Fan" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Poseidon Adventure (movie tie-in) (Paperback)

This book was well written and a very enjoyable read. I also recommend seeing the movie. Both were fantastic =-)