Linda Greenlaw

Made famous by Sebastian Junger’s book The Perfect Storm, and the movie that followed, Linda Greenlaw was the captain of the Hannah Boden, a swordboat out of Gloucester, MA. In this book, her first, though I read her others long ago, and only just finished this one, she tells the story of a typical month aboard her ship, and explains how swordfishing really works.

As much a story of the sea, as it is a story about the people who work as commercial fishermen, this book is vivid and engaging, with equal amounts of action and humor, the latter most often represented by Greenlaw’s own dry wit. At times, I could feel the waves, and smell the salt air, so good was she and drawing her readers in.

I’m looking forward to re-reading her other work, just for more of her voice, and the flavor of her life, and I hope she continues to write.