Terrific adventure, but lousy writing.

This man had amazing ingenuity and resilience. He achieved where few others would have the skills or determination to succeed. I enjoyed his writing style and visual descriptions of creations and situations along his arduous journey. He definitely has an amazing positive spirit.

Read this book! Mr. Callahan does an excellent job of relaying his mental and physical journey after the shipwreck. The narrative is more than just a survival story.

It's interesting how authors tackle difficult stories like this. I mean, it's nonfiction and the title tells you he's adrift on the sea for 76 days so he can't use suspense to draw you in and through the narrative. You also find out in the first few pages that he's the only person in the boat so there isn't going to be any dialog except that rattling around in his head.

Nevertheless, it's a worthy read. The ordeal strips any sense of pride out of the author and he writes with a sense of Taoist detachment. The pages are alternately filled with the interesting methods he concocts to satisfy the basic animal needs of food, water, and shelter and the insights he receives from being at the edge of death for days on end.

Excellent, honest read with a sense that the truth was told and no fabrication took place. Technical details are bordered so you can choose to read them or not. Very well done.

Astounding. I particularly stay with his relationship with the fish he killed to stay alive, how that affected him, how beautiful they were, and then how joyfully he gave them up to his rescuers. I would have liked more about his life after his rescue. But very interesting. His resourcefulness and simple ability to continue trying is astonishing.

An amazing, gripping tale of survival. This book really grabs you right from the beginning.