The Outlaw Sea: A World of Freedom, Chaos, and Crime Audiobook

" pirate stories, dramatic ships sinkings, terrorism threats, storms - this book is intense and factual and great and really makes you appreciate the power of the ocean "

" This book makes the choosing of # of stars an odd activity. On the one hand, this book changed my understanding of the world. On the other hand, parts of it went on too long and I got a bit bored, even with riveting subject matter. If you've ever wondered why international shipping is so cheap, really, stop wondering. You don't want to know. The sea gives us capitalism at its most pure and terrifying. The chapter about the ship breaking industry in India is one of the most unforgettable things I've ever read. "

" While the cover blurbs on the book promise another "Prefect Storm" quality reading experience, it's a fine read, but it's not quite that good. The book is broken up into 3 sections, a pirate hijacking in the Asian seas, the Estonia ferry sinking in heavy seas, and the ship breaking beach at Alang, India. The pirate section is great. The ferry sinking less so because in explaining the political fallout, he goes over the same information multiple times. (Though I was shocked at the statistic he threw out that supposedly 20% of all Germans believe that the 9/11 World Trade Center attack was actually done by the United States against its own people.) The 3rd section about the ship breaking industry was the reason I'd picked up the book, but it spends most its space on the Greenpeace efforts to shut down Alang. The author admires Greenpeace more than I do. When during an interview with Greenpeace, he keeps asking what I think is a very interesting question and the Greenpeace representative keeps refusing to answer it, the author says that it's really his fault for asking the wrong question. And since the ship breaking section of the book is over 10 years old, it leaves the question unanswered about what happened with the whole Greenpeace movement to shut down Alang because I believe ships are still being broken down in Alang. I would describe the book as interesting, but not crucial. "

" Just finished this book. Dunno why I thought it would be a good book to read right before bedtime--his account of an Estonian shipwreck had me up for hours with my heart in my throat. This is non-fiction that reads like a novel; both intellectually interesting and emotionally effecting. "

" This is basically a pair of magazine articles that have been padded out to book length. There is some really interesting stuff in here, but easily two thirds of the book feels like filler. "

" not bad. the book is disproportionately balanced in covering the wrecked Estonia. this shipwreck affords Langewiesche a jaw-dropping prose bonanza when he at last describes the survival-of-the-fittest series of events when the ship goes down. but the examination of the tangled investigation is too well trod, and at times too well revisited. this author is a gifted prose stylist, but because his treatment focuses on narrow, articulate examinations of particular ships and straits, i finished the book feeling still uninformed about the breadth of contemporary shipping in our world. there is only a touch of historical context, only a few nods to the geophysics of our ocean world. i would probably read other books by this author. "

" This is a hard book to rate. On one hand, I love Langewiesche's writing style. And I loved the first section of the book about modern piracy and the limitations of a state's ability to protect ports and territorial waters. Unfortunately, the middle section forced me to award three stars when I wanted to give four- too long, too detailed, out of proportion (and tone, I think) with the rest of the book. It was still compelling and truly terrifying- I had nightmares about it... "

" Contains a fascinating section on shipbreaking in Alang, India. "

" Lots of details and events you never hear about. Parts are fasinating, others tragic. It is set up like one news story after another. "

" Fascinating... and terrifying. I usually don't pay attention to journalists' names, but this fellow's reporting is something else. At this point I just have to see the name "Langewiesche" on the cover and I'm geeked. Seriously, William Langewiesche is the red-pill... "

" an enjoyable book about the frontier of the water, the oceans, a sociopolitical study combined with historical analyses of piracy and the IMO, of the dangers of the unregulated cargo liners and accounts of the deaths and sinking of ships year after year due to lax regulatory standards. "

" Parts of this book were really interesting, including the chapters about the "flags of convenience" and the shipbreaking yards in Alang. However, the chapters about the ferry accidents were too drawn out. Overall, a pretty good book that covers a very interesting topic. "

" Langewiesche doesn't have *that* much to say in this big book: Just that the oceans are ungovernable by law or engineering. The individual stories, though, are gripping and the writing propulsive. I usually read pretty dry stuff, and this wet book kept me up one night -- I finished it at 6am. "

" This guy wrote some profoundly disturbing stuff on terrorism and 9/11. Now this fantastic book on modern day piracy. "

" As with Fly By Wire, it's tough to describe this book. Langewiesche presents a few different case studies in piracy, shipwrecks, and the like with a very lyrical touch. The accounts of shipwrecks (reconstructed from survivor interviews) are absolutely riveting. "

" Solid and interesting but a bit dry (no pun intended). "

" Though I found Langewiesche's deadpan delivery a bit slow at times, the reseach and detail of this book is deeply impressive. The topic was gripping enough that I didn't mind the author's rather questionable political perspective on the whole thing. "

" Awesome book; I loved it. "

" I read whatever part of this appeared in The Atlantic as an account of the sinking of the ferry Estonia. Double brutal... "

" The book was good in spots but it didn't deliver on the title. The book seemed a bit disjointed to me. "

" We may think that we control the se. Langewiesche shows that we don't. Given piracy, oil spills, terrorism, and the abuse of flags of convenience, it's a chilling read. "

" As with Fly By Wire, it's tough to describe this book. Langewiesche presents a few different case studies in piracy, shipwrecks, and the like with a very lyrical touch. The accounts of shipwrecks (reconstructed from survivor interviews) are absolutely riveting. "

" A good book, and includes pirates! But feels superficial, false, somehow. Still, it's provided my best small talk conversations in the past month, so I recommend it. Did you know that some countries make most of their GDP on flags of convenience??? "