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    Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea
    Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea
    Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea
    Audiobook6 hours

    Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea

    Written by Steven Callahan

    Narrated by Steven Callahan

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Before The Perfect Storm, before In the Heart of the Sea, Steven Callahan’s Adrift chronicled one of the most astounding voyages of the century and one of the great sea adventures of all time. In some ways the model for the new wave of adventure books, Adrift is now an undeniable seafaring classic, a riveting firsthand account by the only man known to have survived for more than a month alone at sea, fighting for his life in an inflatable raft after his small sloop capsized only six days from port.

    Racked by hunger, buffeted by storms, scorched by the tropical sun, Callahan drifted for 1,800 miles, fighting off sharks with a makeshift spear and watching as nine ships passed him by. “A real human drama that delves deeply into man’s survival instincts” (Library Journal), Adrift is a story of anguish and horror, of undying heroism, hope, and survival, and a must-read for any adventure lover.

    “An utterly absorbing saga.” —Newsweek

    “Fascinating…a clearly written ocean yarn in which the stakes are high and a brave man wins through.” —Wall Street Journal

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMay 25, 2007
    ISBN9781423336464
    Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea
    Author

    Steven Callahan

    Steven Callahan is the author of Adrift, Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea, which chronicles his life-raft drift across half the Atlantic in 1982, became an NYT Bestseller and has been translated into 15 languages. He also wrote Capsized for survivor Jim Nalepka who spent four months with four other men on an overturned, half-flooded boat. Callahan has contributed writings, illustrations, and photos to more than a dozen other books, many about seamanship or survival, and has authored hundreds of articles for the marine press worldwide. His website is www.stevencallahan.net.

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    Reviews for Adrift

    4/5

    326 ratings20 reviews

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    • 4/5
      it’s good not great. Enjoyed though just not a must read
    • 5/5
      The winter of 1992 I spent alone in a cabin in the woods on my brothers' property on the Olympic Peninsula, WA. Fleeing a bad relationship, and wanting to start over.
      I only had a little mattress and sleeping bag and a wood stove. My light was a kerosene lamp.
      I happened upon this book in a used bookstore somewhere, and I couldn't possibly have found a better read for that dark time of the year, and my life.
      Steven's story just burned into my brain...and it helped to put my difficult times into perspective. To put it mildly. :)
      I was constantly amazed by his ability to ...just not die of sheer terror and hopelessness, but to keep his cool and try to use what he had at hand to deal with a seemingly totally impossible situation.
      And that very thing, I found REALLY inspiring.
      One of the very best books /true stories that I've ever encountered in my 70 years .

      Ps: on Netflix I noticed a movie by the same title, and I attempted to watch it, but it was a romantic adventure. I lasted about 20 minutes. Forget it
    • 5/5
      The amazing true story of a man lost at sea, battling starvation. If it were fiction it would be a little repetitive. Picture the movie Phone Booth with Colin Ferrell where the whole thing takes place in a phone booth. But as nonfiction it is thrilling and inspiring. It really helps you to see how humans have colonized every possible place through sheer determination. Hang in there for the great ending.
    • 5/5
      Well done. You felt like you where there on Ducky.
    • 5/5
      I liked the book. I recommend it.
      Many interesting information seasoned with adventure and unexpected events.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      Amazing story of survival. I don't want to be over judgemental but the guy was so selfish he wouldn't even travel home with his parents after the ordeal. He seemed really selfish after he'd hit dry land. Maybe this was as psychological thing though after being alone in that environment for so long. Definitely worth reading.
    • 5/5
      After the 21-foot sloop Napoleon Solo sank in the mid-Atlantic, its skipper, Steven Callahan, survived 76 days at sea in a small rubber raft because more than anything else he refused to be The Man Who Cried U.N.C.L.E.If you recognize and are groaning at that allusion to Ilya Kuryakin’s partner, all I can say is it certainly fits the tale told in Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost At Sea.Callahan’s experiences in surviving the loss of his boat were brutal. By comparison, it’s almost as if Shackleton and his crew were quartered in the Antarctica Hyatt. In Adrift, Callahan suffers on a virtually daily basis physical torments and psychological stresses that are desperate. He tapped knowledge, ingenuity, tenacity, and a bit of luck to keep himself alive long enough to survive. I say, let us treat this man to the sweet ice cream, starchy baked bread, rich fruits and vegetables, sherried crab in flaky pie shells, chocolate pies, and cold beer that filled his fantasies as starvation ravaged his muscles but failed to vanquish his will. While there may be better written survival stories out there, I’ve not seen any that excel his in its detailing of vivid privation and pushed-to-the-limit greatness. It’s also a book that explains how love of the sea put him out there in the first place and afterward returned him there again. It is filled with surprises. The way dorados punch the bottom of his rubber raft, targeting where he’s sitting. How piscine eyeballs compared to other items on his raft’s menu. I wonder if Steven Callahan orders them up these days when dining at seafood restaurants. I’m guessing probably not.
    • 5/5
      5460. Adrift Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea, by Steven Callahan (read 10 Apr 2017) This book is on the Natiional Geographic's list of the 100 Breatest Adventure Books and is the 25th ook on that list I have read. The author in February 1982 set out alone from the Canary Islands for the West Indies. His boat was lost and he had to take to the lifeboat, which was quite a sophisticated craft with a roof and solar stills to produce drinking water--but no motor. He was a vry resouceful person very able to help himself but it was 76 days before he reached the West Indies and was ale o be taken ashore on the island of Marie Galante, near Guadalaupe. Since the title of the book tells us it will be 76 days before he is saved we know he will survive but of course he did not. But he was a very savvy sailor and was able to help himself overcome the many things which went wrong. It is a tension-filled book and certainly belongs on the list of great adventure books. One cannot help but feel he was foolish to set out alone to cross the Atlantic in small boat but his resourcefulness shows that was not quite as rash as it seemed.
    • 2/5
      Sea I enjoyed the first part of the book when he was in the race and the next part where he was sinking. After a while it started getting repetitious though. It got good again when he was saved. A good book to read and not worry about skimming and losing anything.
    • 4/5
      I read this when I was eight. I haven't read it since. I'm afraid that if I do, I won't appreciate it as much. When I was eight I wrote a song about the boat "Napoleon Solo." I still sing it in my head from time to time. The story was an awesome survival story (if you are into that) and Callahan even takes the time to make comparisons to other lost-at-sea adventures. 76 days! He even manages to find a way to get fresh drinking water. Impressive.
    • 5/5
      Callahan not only has an amazing story but his sincere rhythmic writing lends its self in time with the story. When a great plot, honesty and art come together that always makes a monumental book. And this is one of those.Imagine seventy-six days of just salt water some fish and a raft and it’s an absolute page turner. Also a red flag for me is that it’s a one hit wonder. None of Callahan’s other books are still in publication. But this one lasted, it’s a classic.
    • 2/5
      This book chronicles 76 days the author spend adrift on a 5 1/2 “ raft in the Atlantic Ocean. Lots of survival details- interesting story. It is amazing that her survived the ordeal.
    • 5/5
      On Tuesday, April 03, 2007 I wrote about this book:

      Finished reading this last night. Once you start reading you cannot stop.
      I love the drawings . This guys is so inventive it is unbelievable. He never gave up. How he had to struggle, just to keep the raft afloat, to get a little bit of water, and to kill the fish who always swam with him and he looked upon them as his only companions. The sea water that tortured his skin. Amazing!!
      Highly recommend. 9 out of 10 4.5 stars

    • 5/5
      Remarkable, highly readable, interesting, true account based on the author's journal kept during the 76 days he spent in a tiny life raft in the Atlantic. He recalls that in keeping the journal, he used the pages of one side to record happenings and the facing page to record his thoughts and ideas. The book is illustrated with the author's own drawings.
    • 3/5
      An interesting account of Callahan's fight to survive the ups and downs of the Atlantic in a life raft. Callahan proves to be extremely resourceful and makes do with very little for two and a half months adrift.However, after the first twenty days, days tend to blur together, and the fight to stay warm, dry, and fed rather repetitive. Less committed readers(I had students who had chosen this as a book selection for class) may struggle to stay motivated.
    • 4/5
      A truly inspiring read. While at times it drags, Callahan's description from the capsizing, his over-confidence, fear of death and unique 'relationship' with the dorados is amazingly! This is right up there with "Into the Wild" and "Into Thin Air" for curricular possibilities. The strength, will, and sheer dumb luck of the human spirit is on display here. Recommended for Grades 8-12.
    • 4/5
      Adrift is notable because it was written by an American born post-World War II, 1952 to be exact, and in recent times, early 1980s. There have been older, longer and more epic castaway stories, contrary to the publishers blurb it is not the longest survival alone at sea. It struck a chord because it happened recently, to an American Baby Boomer, making the New York Times Bestseller List for 30 some weeks. National Geographic honored it as #67 on its list of all-time greatest outdoor/adventure stories. I have yet to read a dud from the list and this is another good one.The writing is occasionally cliche and repetitive, some of the descriptions difficult to visualize, the emotions at times piled on to over-effect. Yet we do feel as if we are there, the little details add up to a whole experience and give one a sense of the hunger, physical toil and fears of being aboard an inflatable life raft. The back-story aspect is weak, he was basically just vagabonding around; the after-story is one of capitalizing on his experience. Some memorable experiences include a sense of vertigo with the only thing separating Steven and a 5000 feet fall to the bottom a thin rubber sheet, as items dropped overboard spiral out of site on a long journey downward. The image of his legs pushing through the rubber bottom into which sharks and fish crash. Eating raw fish eyeballs, cracking spinal bones, livers and the contents of fish stomachs. The heightened senses on reaching land as everything seemed ultra-real and electric, I've experienced the same thing after being bedridden for a long time.
    • 3/5
      As a story, amazing. As a book, not bad. If you like survivalist stories, it is a great one. An astounding one. Just the Herculean efforts he had to make to get drinking water are worth the read. But the writing is not all that great. It has high moments, but it also has some long slogs of somewhat repetitive content.
    • 5/5
      An incredible tale of courage and tenacity, and a powerful lesson on the value of emergency preparedness.