Last Man Off: A True Story of Disaster and Survival on the Antarctic Seas - Softcover

Lewis, Matt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0241002796 ISBN 13: 9780241002797

Publisher: Viking, 2014

Synopsis

In the depths of Antarctic winter, hundreds of miles from land or rescue, a small fishing boat is swallowed by waves as high as houses.

The captain is fatally slow to act, and then paralyzed by fear. The officers flee for their lives. Only the actions of Matt Lewis, a 23-year-old British marine biologist and one of the most inexperienced men aboard, will save the lives of the South African crew.

Lewis is the last man off the sinking boat, and leads the escape onto three life rafts. There the battle for survival begins.

About this title

Review:

A story that reminds us of the unforgiving nature of the sea and the courage that lies within the everyday heroes that have found themselves in hell (Bear Grylls)

A dramatic tale of survival in one of the most brutal situations on earth. Feels like reading the diary of a doomed man . . . so personal and chillingly real; totally takes you there in a way that is not always comfortable (Steve Backshall)

Reads like a sinister version of The Perfect Storm...Thrilling, compelling, unsettling, rewarding . . . This breakneck race of a book isn't just required reading for fans of waterborne peril; Harvard MBAs could also scour the pages as a case study in dysfunctional workplaces and woeful man management. It's like the Perfect Storm, but with gruesomely, even murderously, imperfect people (Sunday Times)

A heart-thumping tale of tragedy and survival - minus the Hollywood ending (Daily Telegraph)

A thrilling, horrifying and compelling portrait of human survival. Colossal terror unfolds on every page (The Bookseller, Books of the Year)

For his compelling account of the hardships of fishing in remote Antarctic waters, and of what it means to abandon ship in a severe storm with inadequate equipment and a crew unprepared for survival. The book is objective but non-judgmental in its descriptiveness, so heightening the true sense of disaster. The style makes the book accessible to a wide public, but it is also essential reading for seafarers, fishermen and yachtsmen, as it concerns attitudes to safety and survival. A truly life-affirming and influential work. (The Mountbatten Maritime Award for best literary contribution - Certificate of Merit)

From the Back Cover:

'A story that reminds us of the unforgiving nature of the sea and the courage that lies within the everyday heroes that have found themselves in hell'
Bear Grylls

I'm waist-deep in seawater one degree below zero. My legs are numb, my fingers are frigid, and I cling to the inflatable arch which supports the roof of the flooded life-raft.
In the dim amber light I can just make out a few shapes around me. Bubbles, our Captain, lies slumped in the water, his head supported by his lifejacket. He is barely alive, his chunky-knit jumper and tracksuit bottoms no match for the water, the hypothermia and the heart attack he suffered as we abandoned the boat.
Above us, the thin canvas canopy is our only shelter from the shrieking wind and the leviathan swells of the ocean. Every few minutes we are crushed by the crest of a breaking wave.
Beneath me, weak orbs of silver light glow up from the water. The fading bulbs are attached to lifejackets, which are attached to bodies. I can feel limbs and objects under my feet and knees and sense that they are not alive.
There is little human noise. Any talk of rescue has long died away, and those who were wailing have stopped. Each person has sunk into his own struggle to survive.

'A dramatic tale of survival in one of the most brutal situations on earth. Feels like reading the diary of a doomed man . . . so personal and chillingly real; totally takes you there in a way that is not always comfortable'
Steve Backshall

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0241002796
• ISBN 13: 9780241002797
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256