A Captain's Duty
The true story that inspired the major film, Captain Phillips
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4.3 • 51 Ratings
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
'This riveting account spares none of the detail and paints fascinating portraits of the desperate young pirates.' Daily Mail
An extraordinary true story of piracy, heroism and survival on the high seas . . .
8th April 2009 was just an ordinary day for 53 -year-old Richard Phillips, captain of the United States-registered cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama, as it headed towards the port of Mombasa. Ordinary that is until, two hundred or so miles off the east coast of Africa, armed Somali pirates attacked and boarded the freighter as it headed towards the port of Mombasa. It was the first time an American cargo ship had been hijacked in over two-hundred years.
What the pirates didn’t expect was that the crew would fight back, nor did they expect Captain Phillips to offer himself as a hostage in exchange for the safety of his crew. And so began a nail-bitingly tense five-day stand-off, which ended in a daring high-seas rescue by U.S. Navy SEALs.
In A Captain's Duty, Richard Phillips tells his own extraordinary story - that of an ordinary man who did what he saw as his duty and in so doing became a hero. It is a thrilling true tale of adventure and courage in the face of deprivation, death threats and mock executions and also a compulsively readable first-hand account of the terrors of high-seas hostage-taking.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this fascinating, suspenseful first person account of his capture by Somali pirates, which dominated news media for five days in April 2009, captain Phillips brings the growing pirate threat (up 20 percent in 2009's first quarter) to life. An experienced Merchant Marine, Phillips was recently made captain of the cargo vessel Maersk Alabama, and, like all captains, was weary of the threat from pirates: "since 2005... captains had been going out fifty, then one hundred... then six hundred miles" to avoid the Somali coast. His feeling that "if pirates got onboard, it was all over" proves unfortunately correct; it took the armed criminals just five minutes to board the ship and take the bridge. Phillips has a sailor's penchant for the dramatic, which he puts to good use alternating between his own five-day ordeal-replete with Navy SEALs and a daring escape attempt-and the plight of his family in Vermont, watching the drama unfold on cable news. Despite his harrowing experience, Phillips stays afloat with steadfast faith and an unfailing sense of humor that are, ultimately, rewarded. Phillips's story is not just riveting and timely, but also an informative, heartening look at perhaps the least-celebrated branch of the U.S. military, the Merchant Marines.
Customer Reviews
Captivating
I made the mistake of watching the film before reading the book, which almost distorted the facts and confused what was going on. I was always trying to relate the book to the film, not the other way round. The film being based on the book, there are some huge differences and important information left out.
The book as a read is captivating from beginning to end. It can slump to boredom at places but picks up rapidly.
The descriptive techniques can help you to try and understand what it may have felt like in the situation faced.
I also read some news articles during my time of reading the book, which certainly didn't help and changed my view dramatically on proceedings. I wouldn't recommend the same, but read the articles after the book and you may be surprised from what you read.
Overall a gripping read. Emotional, action packed and real.
Gripping!
One of the most gripping books I have ever read! I saw the film and decided to buy this book. The film was amazing, this book was phenomenal! Captain Phillips is a hero. I'm now a fan.