HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea (1986)

by Steven Callahan

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,0643618,947 (4)24
Travel. Nonfiction. HTML:

Before The Perfect Storm, before In the Heart of the Sea, Steven Callahan's dramatic tale of survival at sea was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than thirty-six weeks. In some ways the model for the new wave of adventure books, Adrift is an undeniable seafaring classic, a riveting firsthand account by the only man known to have survived more than a month alone at sea, fighting for his life in an inflatable raft after his small sloop capsized only six days out. â??Utterly absorbing" (Newsweek), Adrift is a must-have for any adventure library.… (more)

None
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 24 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 36 (next | show all)
I bought this by accident after seeing a preview for the new movie Adrift that’s coming out in summer 2018. Turns out that’s a different tale of disaster at sea.

Anyway, this one is about a young guy in the 80s who is sailing solo from the Canary Islands to Antigua when something (likely an accidental whale strike) causes his sailboat to sink. He throw what supplies he can into the lifeboat and spends the next 76 days adrift.

It’s terrifying just to consider it for a single day!

Callahan writes beautifully about his time on “rubber ducky iii” and describes well his physical issues but more importantly his mental state and how he feels about what’s happening to him and his relationship to the ocean and the fish he observes alongside his raft. There’s plenty of technical detail too - including diagrams - that I admit I skimmed over in large part.

Not a book for everyone, certainly, but time well spent for me. ( )
  hmonkeyreads | Jan 25, 2024 |
Great true story of surviving in a tiny life raft in the Atlantic. He's almost like McGiver for using things at hand to improve his chances. Makes you appreciate life more. I was relieved when he finally made his goal. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
Callahan's description of his time at sea is filled with vivid details and beautifully written. I found the beginning eerie since things are going smoothly and appear calm but you know something is going to happen to his ship.

Adrift is as much a story of man's persistent nature as it is about the sea. ( )
  NicholeReadsWithCats | Jun 17, 2022 |
I read this book in one layed out afternoon after reading some of the reviews herein.
A fascinating read, and then bought the book on 'Sea Survival' Steven mentions, which probably saved Stevens' life from the knowledge gleaned from it.
The middle of the book somehow wanders (like chunks had been cut out and the continuity was not looked after afterwards), and yet the storyline builds dramatically in the last 1/3 to an almost mystical ending, (and I felt the mystical aspects could be written more fully if this book was ever revised).
This continuity in the middle part (of missing details of what was actually happening to Steven on the physical/ emotional/ mental levels) could have added to the story considerably.
An amazing story, that it is... and in some parts the writing could be better, yet the experience shared, moved me greatly . . . ( )
  SamQTrust | Dec 26, 2021 |
Nathaniel Philbrick, in writing the lost-at-sea saga of "In the Heart of the Sea", had a much easier task than the author of this book. In Philbrick's book, there were multiple characters who interacted, which led to dialogue, conflict, arguments, and ultimately cannibalism in order to survive. In "Adrift", it's a solo journey, and that type of action isn't possible, and isn't what this book is about. In order for the reader to associate with the tedium of being alone, lost at sea for two and one-half months, those days adrift need to be described in that way. So there were parts of the book which seemed slow and repetitive, but that's because each day adrift certainly was that way. Ultimately, rescue was affected, and you have to admire the toughness of the author in facing the hardships of this survival challenge. ( )
  rsutto22 | Jul 15, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 36 (next | show all)
Forfatter: Steven Callahan

Båten har sunket. I en 5 ½ fots oppblåsbar flåte driver han over Atlanteren. Stormer, brennende sol... Haiangrep, lekkasjer, ødelagt redskap... i 2 ½ måned...! En moderne Robinson Crusoe, men uten noen Fredag og uten øyas ressurser. Hvordan skaffe ferskvann og mat? Pleie sår? Reparere? Med hva?! Og stadig dukker det opp nye utfordringer. En beretning om overlevelsesvilje og oppfinnsomhet - aldri gi opp! - men også om naturopplevelser og om den skipbrudnes tanker, drømmer og indre kamper.
Overleve! Vil bli stående som en av tidenes store sjøfortellinger.

Steven Callahan, f. 1952, er båtkonstruktør og bor i Lamoine i staten Maine i USA. Under hele ferden førte han detaljert loggbok. Han beskriver selv i forordet hvordan han på grunnlag av denne har skrevet boken.

Og for ordens skyld, mannen seiler fremdeles...
added by KystbiblioteketOslo | editFlyt Forlag, Anne Nygren
 

Belongs to Publisher Series

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
This book is dedicated to people everywhere who know, have know, or will know suffering, desperation, or loneliness.
First words
It is late at night.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (2)

Travel. Nonfiction. HTML:

Before The Perfect Storm, before In the Heart of the Sea, Steven Callahan's dramatic tale of survival at sea was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than thirty-six weeks. In some ways the model for the new wave of adventure books, Adrift is an undeniable seafaring classic, a riveting firsthand account by the only man known to have survived more than a month alone at sea, fighting for his life in an inflatable raft after his small sloop capsized only six days out. â??Utterly absorbing" (Newsweek), Adrift is a must-have for any adventure library.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4)
0.5
1
1.5
2 12
2.5 1
3 39
3.5 7
4 99
4.5 14
5 60

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 202,648,742 books! | Top bar: Always visible