...
A "must read" for health professionals, 2010-03-04
Atul Gawande is a great communicator, but first is a physician, second a surgeon, third a scientist, and finally a writer.
His three books are great books. Probably the less "literary" is the last, but it should be read and applied by health professionals, health politics, and scientific medical organizations. Read, but not only read, APPLY

Peter Nichols' previous book, Sea Change, was the telling account of his own crossing of the Atlantic in a ridiculously small wooden boat. Now he's taken the skills he employed in that much-praised slice of autobiography to relay another quixotic tale. The subject this time is the infamous Golden Globe yacht race of 1968, when nine men, some French, some English, all bonkers (hence the title), undertook the most challenging adventure of their lives. The goal was to sail around the world solo, a feat no one had yet achieved; to make matters just that extra bit tricky some of the sailors were total novices.

The book analyses the fate of each sailor in turn. Using polished, craftsman-like, clear and sometimes moving prose, Nichols describes how the nine fought through storms and collisions, through the roaring 40s and the furious 50s, and how each man experienced those moments of solitary despair, lonely disappointment and occasional mystical elation that are unique ...
A must for all off shore sailors, 2010-01-22
I was recommended this book after completing this years Fastent Yacht race and was hooked from page 1.
The storyline kept me gripped and it was even more captivating because it was a true story.
Mad as it may seem, it has made me want to sail round the world even more rather than less!