"The tale of Carl Wake and the hurricane that was waiting for him goes straight to the heart of the greatest sea stories: they are not about man against the sea, but man against himself. John Kretschmer's book is as perfectly shaped and flawlessly written as such a story can be. In addition to being the best depiction I have ever read of what it is like to be inside a hurricane at sea, At the Mercy of the Sea is as moving a story of a man's failure and redemption as can be found anywhere in the literature of the sea. This book is surely destined to become a classic."-Peter Nichols, author of Sea Change and A Voyage for Madmen"John Kretschmer has transformed this story of three men on a collision course with a hurricane into a modern seafaring classic."-Peter Nielsen, editor of SAIL magazine"With expert analysis and taut writing, he draws readers into that mad storm. You can't turn away. You keep reading until it breaks your heart."-Fred Grimm, columnist for the Miami Herald"Once begun, his vivid and powerful narrative is impossible to put down."-Derek Lundy, author of Godforsaken Sea and The Way of a Ship"I felt I knew Carl Wake, because John Kretschmer found in him an archetype-an aging sailor with an age-old dream."-Jim Carrier, transatlantic sailor and author of The Ship and the Storm: Hurricane Mitch and the Loss of the Fantome"A remarkable book, impossible to put down."-Herb McCormick, sailing journalist