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Nights of Ice: True Stories of Disaster and Survival on Alaska's High Seas | 
 enlarge | Author: Spike Walker
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $4.99
You Save: $9.96 (67%)
New (24) Used (29) from $4.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 68656
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 0312199937
Dewey Decimal Number: 979.8051
EAN: 9780312199937
ASIN: 0312199937
Publication Date: February 15, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Pages in excellent condition with no markings. Cover has very minor shelf wear.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Frantic and entertaining in a guilty sort of way, Nights of Ice is like Endurance on steroids. The book presents eight true stories of disaster and survival involving commercial fisherman off the coast of Alaska (said to be one of America's most dangerous occupations). Included are tales of subzero temperatures, 100 mph winds, 60-foot-high waves, boats encased in ice and capsized, men trapped underwater, and other horrors. Author Spike Walker, who interviewed many of the survivors in compiling this book, is no stranger to such tales of the high seas; he worked as a commercial fisherman off the Alaska coast and wrote about it in Working on the Edge. Nights of Ice begins promisingly enough but unfortunately gives way to a sensationalism that cheapens the whole affair: "At that moment, Bruce Hinman's past life flashed before his very eyes. Launched instantaneously through time, he watched the events of his life play out before him...they flashed and froze there in his consciousness, in a kind of nostalgic collage of all that had once mattered in his life." As a result, there are a lot of unintentionally funny moments. Despite its problems, though, Nights of Ice is fun to read, and lovers of true-adventure stories or those interested in the dangers of the Alaskan fishing industry should enjoy it. --Andy Boynton
Product Description
Spike Walker has spent more than a decade fishing in the subzero hell of Alaska's coastal waters. This collection--coming on the heels of his classic memoir Working on the Edge--is a testament to the courage of those who brave nature's wrath each fishing season, and to the uncontrolled power of nature herself.. The crewmen in Nights of Ice face a constant onslaught of roaring waves, stories-high swells, and life-stealing ice. Tested by the elements, these seamen battle for their vessels and their lives, on every page evincing a level of courage and a will to live seldom found elsewhere in modern society.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Amazing survival stories November 23, 2007
Excellent book. Spike Walker is a good story teller. His other book "Coming Back Alive is excellent as well.
 Deadliest Catch October 2, 2007
A MUST READ for anyone interested in surviaval, Adventure, Commercial Fishing or just a great read! If you like the show Deadliest Catch you will love this book!
Must Read for fans of "The Most Dangerous Catch" July 28, 2007
Better than anything that could be shown on TV - you feel each and every up and down of the ship as Spike Walker spins the yarn of the life of each and every Berring Sea fisherman... must purchase "Working the Edge" also by him FIRST before reading this book. Like to see it available in a normal paperback format also for easier reading.
For "Deadliest Catch" junkies! June 19, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
As a huge fan of "Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery Channel I'm very interested in learning the true stories of these fishermen. Watching the show reminds me how easy my life is and kinda boring too! Spike Walker's "Nights of Ice" is a non-fiction compilation of stories about rescues of fishing ships in the waters around Alaska.
He does a good job painting a picture of the dangers involved for both the stranded fishermen as well as the rescue workers. Reading this book gave me a better insight into the world these men live in - and the daily dangers they face. It reads rather quickly - and is a very easy to read book.
My one complaint about "Nights of Ice" is that the author tends to lean toward melodrama when describing much of the action. It just seems exaggerated to slightly beyond belief. My other caution would be, the stories start to sound alike. Boat in trouble, men in trouble, rescue made.
I would have liked more of the day to day living experienced onboard, as well as the actual near-death (or in some cases death) faced by the fishermen.
 entertaining subject--marginal writing September 5, 2002
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
I read this on a trip to Alaska, so I got into it's "spirit" on location. The stories are quite entertaining, but when writers make junior-varsity comments and mistakes, it makes me wonder about the veracity of the actual stories:
1) Does everyone see their entire lives flash before their eyes when they are near death?
2) Some guy's one-year old child asks him if he is Santa Claus upon his return from an ordeal at sea. Clearly Spike has never spent time with a one-year old; not only can very few of them speak more than a word or two, but this one is so eloquent and knowledgeable that he thinks the old man is Kris himself!
3) The helicopter pilot makes it to a "small village airport" just before running out of fuel (which means it must have been between 5-10 minutes from the rescue locale since they only had 30 minutes of fuel left before the rescue attempt(hmmmm), but somehow a C-130 can get in and out of there to send them home while the chopper gets an inspection (hmmm hmmmm).
I'll leave it at that...
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