White Squall : The Last Voyage Of Albatross by Richard E. Langford
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Book Reviews of White Squall : The Last Voyage Of Albatross
Book Review: Not Sprial Bound
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great book for any reader that likes to hear of the sea or just a great adventure. The one thing I notice in the listing is it says sprial bound but I received a paperback copy of the book. I called the publisher (to get their catalog - the number is in the back of the book) and they said it has not been sprial bound for two years or more. Enjoy this read from a very good but only once published author. He and the book are real sleepers that need to be awakened.Book Review: The story the movie did not tell
Summary: 4 Stars
After watching the movie 'White Squall' I was fasinated by the concept that a sailing provided. It sounded like the best of all worlds. That to explore the world, life and attempt the music and rythum of the sea. Mr. Langford writes about a ship that spoke of all that with a lively narrative of places that we call ports of call. Quite frankly I wish it had been a longer book. For 8 months of sailing he leaves so much out. In my mind I already knew the sad out come but I wanted more. Even the mundane.
I recommend this book for those who watched the movie or even those who did not. It adds depth. I would hope at some point that Captain Sheldon would also write one.
Book Review: A Crew Members take on a Tragic Journey
Summary: 3 Stars
Having watched parts of "White Squall" on TV several times, I didn't really understand the intensity of the movie until I watched it completely. Since it was a true story I did some internet research and ran into this book written by one of the crew on that voyage. So I thought I would read it.
Overall, I wasn't impressed. It does exactly what it says it will which is give you a general overview of the cruise and what happened on it. But the most critical event, the tragedy at sea, is covered in just a few pages. Basically, "we got close to a storm and the next thing you know, we sank." Now, obviously I'm generalizing. But that's how it felt. And previous to that, there is really nothing compelling to report. There are mentions of a diversity of age of students and maybe that was a mistake as they had to let some immature passengers off early. Also, I was disappointed that there wasn't a more significant update of the remainder of the captain's life. Overall, I thought the movie was fine but this book was not worth the read. You be the judge.
Book Review: The Last Voyage of the Albatross
Summary: 3 Stars
The reviewers leave the impression that the movie White Squall was based on this book. In fact it was based on the 1962 book _The Last Voyage of the Albatross_ by Charles (Chuck) Gieg and Felix Sutton. It is a shame the book wasn't reprinted as it is a great account. If you can find a used copy it is a great coming of age adventure story.Book Review: Skip It: Buy The Movie Instead
Summary: 2 Stars
I know that sounds harsh, but it's accurate. "White Squall" is an interesting movie, but the book by Mr. Langford is dull. It's 103 small pages (117 minus 14 pages of bland photos), so there's nothing to reading it, but it's almost boring to read. This is by no means a novel, it's a story where you're dropped into the time and place and then everything proceeds from there, all described at a shallow level. There's no background information on the boys (or the skipper and his wife, for that matter), nothing that really makes you care what happens, nothing that points to why the people behave, or events transpire, as they do.
Details on the mechanics of sailing are almost totally absent, as are details about the Albatross itself. I sail, and I enjoy reading about sailing; I also enjoy coming-of-age stories where people are thrown together and, through shared experiences, form a bond; you get none of that with this story. It's all along the lines of "This happened, we saw that, we moved on, two weeks later we were here, and we saw this and that."
The book has the attribute of being true (where the movie is apparently only loosely based on the actual events, and most everything else is fictionalized): that's about all it has going for it. All of the beauty of bluewater sailing, the hard and often dangerous work of crewing a boat, the day-to-day interaction of the boat's crew, all of that's missing.
If you want to say, "I read the book, I know the real story" (not that there's much difference in the sequence of events between the book and the movie), then have at it. If you want to enjoy the story, buy/rent/view the movie. The Amazon description promises "Readers of this volume will acquire a more realistic understanding of the people and events involved." Readers of this "volume" (ahem) will be disappointed, whether or not they've viewed the "Hollywood parody". This is the first occasion where I've seen both a movie and a book and the movie's better (by far).