Description

Book Synopsis
An action-packed story of adventure and survival in one of the planet’s most treacherous places.

This is the true story of a journey to a seaside town and the always unpredictable torrent of dark escapades that accompany a life at sea. It’s a story of a world peopled by those who often live on the frayed edges of society, who shun the world in which most people thrive. It’s a story in which college students and “fish hippies” work in canneries alongside survivalists, rednecks, religious freaks, and deckhands with damning secrets in dangerous waters, driven by the need to feed an insatiable appetite for adventure.

This is the heart of the world Atcheson found himself in at the age of eighteen. Having never even seen the ocean, he took his first job on the fishing boat Lancer with Darwin Wood, a man so confounding, so complex, and so frightening that it’s hard to believe Atcheson walked away from that job unscathed. Forced to buddy up with a murderer in order to cope, Atcheson began to question his deeply ingrained ideas of success and status. The resulting conflict would finally resolve itself fifteen years later, in the least likely of places: on the Bering Sea, aboard a boat in peril, during a night of terror that would reshape the lives of everyone involved.

Reminiscent of The Perfect Storm and Into the Wild, Dead Reckoning is not only an intimate look at life at sea but also an insider’s view into one of Alaska’s small communities and the myriad of upstarts, dropouts, and rogues that color its landscape.

Trade Review
“Atcheson’s writing is akin to that of a skilled novelist . . . a page turner.” —Alaska Dispatch News

“This nail-biting, teeth-gritting adventure at sea paints a vivid picture of a part of Alaska that is not visited by cruise ships full of tourists.” —Library Journal

“Atcheson offers readers both a deep-sea adventure story and a fishing industry reality check.” —Publishers Weekly
“Atcheson’s writing is akin to that of a skilled novelist . . . a page turner.” —Alaska Dispatch News

“This nail-biting, teeth-gritting adventure at sea paints a vivid picture of a part of Alaska that is not visited by cruise ships full of tourists.” —Library Journal

“Atcheson offers readers both a deep-sea adventure story and a fishing industry reality check.” —Publishers Weekly

Dead Reckoning: Navigating a Life on the Last

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    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Tue 7 Jul 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Dave Atcheson, Andy Hall

    Out of stock

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      View other formats and editions of Dead Reckoning: Navigating a Life on the Last by Dave Atcheson

      Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
      Publication Date: 30/03/2017
      ISBN13: 9781510720732, 978-1510720732
      ISBN10: 1510720731

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      An action-packed story of adventure and survival in one of the planet’s most treacherous places.

      This is the true story of a journey to a seaside town and the always unpredictable torrent of dark escapades that accompany a life at sea. It’s a story of a world peopled by those who often live on the frayed edges of society, who shun the world in which most people thrive. It’s a story in which college students and “fish hippies” work in canneries alongside survivalists, rednecks, religious freaks, and deckhands with damning secrets in dangerous waters, driven by the need to feed an insatiable appetite for adventure.

      This is the heart of the world Atcheson found himself in at the age of eighteen. Having never even seen the ocean, he took his first job on the fishing boat Lancer with Darwin Wood, a man so confounding, so complex, and so frightening that it’s hard to believe Atcheson walked away from that job unscathed. Forced to buddy up with a murderer in order to cope, Atcheson began to question his deeply ingrained ideas of success and status. The resulting conflict would finally resolve itself fifteen years later, in the least likely of places: on the Bering Sea, aboard a boat in peril, during a night of terror that would reshape the lives of everyone involved.

      Reminiscent of The Perfect Storm and Into the Wild, Dead Reckoning is not only an intimate look at life at sea but also an insider’s view into one of Alaska’s small communities and the myriad of upstarts, dropouts, and rogues that color its landscape.

      Trade Review
      “Atcheson’s writing is akin to that of a skilled novelist . . . a page turner.” —Alaska Dispatch News

      “This nail-biting, teeth-gritting adventure at sea paints a vivid picture of a part of Alaska that is not visited by cruise ships full of tourists.” —Library Journal

      “Atcheson offers readers both a deep-sea adventure story and a fishing industry reality check.” —Publishers Weekly
      “Atcheson’s writing is akin to that of a skilled novelist . . . a page turner.” —Alaska Dispatch News

      “This nail-biting, teeth-gritting adventure at sea paints a vivid picture of a part of Alaska that is not visited by cruise ships full of tourists.” —Library Journal

      “Atcheson offers readers both a deep-sea adventure story and a fishing industry reality check.” —Publishers Weekly

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