Spike Walker's latest chiller/thriller on the hazards of fishing Alaskan waters is a winner. But, you gotta wade through the purple prose to get at the meat on this one, perhaps to a greater extent than his earlier offerings (Working On the Edge; Nights of Ice). Coming Back Alive mainly focuses on the harrowing helicopter rescue in January 1999 of three commercial fishers from 70-foot seas on the Fairweather Ground (Gulf of Alaska). Two others from the same vessel were lost. This is a good tale for folks interested in how high-seas helicopter rescues work, what it's like to wallow about in 45 F waters in a survival suit, and how easy it is to step over the line from "safe" to almost dead. Walker's prose in the warmups (several smaller tales of lesser rescues out of Sitka, AK) is overblown at times, but for the main event it is spot-on. I was riveted to my rocker throughout the rescue, and came away with a better appreciation for the talent and dedication of USCG personnel who run the big H-60's now popular out here with the Coast Guard. Walker is a long-time commercial fisher with a couple decades of time in Alaskan waters. He has a place up the road from me, and one in Kodiak, AK. He is the real thing. For those folks who do not take immersion clothing seriously ... the detailed dialog among the five guys in their survival suits as they wallow waiting for the helo is worth the price of admission, alone. St. Martin's Press; ISBN 0312269714; http://www.stmartins.com -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Feb 26 2002 - 14:39:34 PST
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