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57 reviews for:
Trapped Under the Sea: One Engineering Marvel, Five Men, and a Disaster Ten Miles Into the Darkness
Neil Swidey
4.01 AVERAGE
57 reviews for:
Trapped Under the Sea: One Engineering Marvel, Five Men, and a Disaster Ten Miles Into the Darkness
Neil Swidey
4.01 AVERAGE
I have not heard about the huge Boston harbor clean up project. Of course this might have something to do with the fact that I do not live in Boston or have never visited. Yet when I saw this book as one that I had a chance to review I jumped on it. I do enjoy reading about true stories. If the stories are told right then my as the reader will grow attached to the people in the stories. Which is what happened in this book. Getting to know DJ, Riggs, Hoss, Billy, and Tim, I felt like I had known these guys for a long time.
While at times I did feel like I wanted to know more about the project and not about the guys and their lives, I did realize that knowing their stories is part of the whole story. Also, this book is thick but it reads fast. I am sad that good people had to lose their lives due to poor choices by big corporations. If you are a fan of nonfiction then you should check this book out.
While at times I did feel like I wanted to know more about the project and not about the guys and their lives, I did realize that knowing their stories is part of the whole story. Also, this book is thick but it reads fast. I am sad that good people had to lose their lives due to poor choices by big corporations. If you are a fan of nonfiction then you should check this book out.
adventurous
emotional
informative
For a book about engineering it was wayyy more engrossing than I expected. Very well written and the story is fascinating.
I love to pick up books that surprise me and educate me. I don't love it ALL the time, but I really enjoy that little spice in my book list.
Trapped Under the Sea definitely fit the bill in more ways than one.
The book is a non-fiction book about the Deer Island Tunnel "incident", where two men died and three more miraculously survived.
It's an extremely detailed account of the Deer Island Tunnel from conception to completion. The tunnel was built to help mitigate the gross sewage that polluted the Boston Harbor, by pushing out sewage into the ocean more than ten miles beyond the treatment facility.
The tunnel itself is an engineering marvel never done before, but the actions post-production is the real meat of this story. The tunnel has these risers that go from the tunnel up every so many feet. While the tunnel was built, there were these plugs to stop any storm or accident fueled ocean-water from absolutely destroying the workforce. After the tunnel was built, those "plugs" had to be removed and no one (including the production company) really knew how to do this. After a bounce around between different companies and contractors, they recruit two companies to help remove the plugs. One man from each company died due to negligence and finger-pointing.
That was my best try to explain it in layman's terms. I'm not a professional underwater diver/welder nor am I in project management or construction-so this book was educational.
I'm sure that this book will be more appealing to someone more educated in any of those fields. A lot of times in this book, I felt like I didn't know what was going on and I was struggling to remember all the different companies/executives/divers/etc. There are SO MANY people in this book with names (justifiably to show ownership).
The divers in this book suffered so much more than anything/anyone I have ever heard in any profession and it's horrible what executives put the little guy through.
This review is almost just a collection of thoughts, but that's what you get from me with a book like this.
So I don't know whether to recommend it or not. It's interesting, DETAILED, and very sad. I know there is an audience that would really enjoy it to the fullest, but it's probably not me.
Trapped Under the Sea definitely fit the bill in more ways than one.
The book is a non-fiction book about the Deer Island Tunnel "incident", where two men died and three more miraculously survived.
It's an extremely detailed account of the Deer Island Tunnel from conception to completion. The tunnel was built to help mitigate the gross sewage that polluted the Boston Harbor, by pushing out sewage into the ocean more than ten miles beyond the treatment facility.
The tunnel itself is an engineering marvel never done before, but the actions post-production is the real meat of this story. The tunnel has these risers that go from the tunnel up every so many feet. While the tunnel was built, there were these plugs to stop any storm or accident fueled ocean-water from absolutely destroying the workforce. After the tunnel was built, those "plugs" had to be removed and no one (including the production company) really knew how to do this. After a bounce around between different companies and contractors, they recruit two companies to help remove the plugs. One man from each company died due to negligence and finger-pointing.
That was my best try to explain it in layman's terms. I'm not a professional underwater diver/welder nor am I in project management or construction-so this book was educational.
I'm sure that this book will be more appealing to someone more educated in any of those fields. A lot of times in this book, I felt like I didn't know what was going on and I was struggling to remember all the different companies/executives/divers/etc. There are SO MANY people in this book with names (justifiably to show ownership).
The divers in this book suffered so much more than anything/anyone I have ever heard in any profession and it's horrible what executives put the little guy through.
This review is almost just a collection of thoughts, but that's what you get from me with a book like this.
So I don't know whether to recommend it or not. It's interesting, DETAILED, and very sad. I know there is an audience that would really enjoy it to the fullest, but it's probably not me.
Picked this up at the library and found it very compelling. Super interesting story from an engineering perspective.
It's been months and I just need to be honest with myself: there's no way I'm going to finish this. The time has come and gone.
It's not that this is poorly written. In fact, it is an excellently researched book to an extent that I find impressive. The hook at the beginning was compelling, and the characterization of real people made me feel as though I had a good grasp of them on a personal level. What stopped me from finishing it was probably due to my mood at the time and how frustrated and angry this book made me feel. Real people died due to the greed, neglect, hubris, and ego of others. From the very beginning you know the outcome, so watching a play by play of the inevitable deaths of real humans who were just trying to do a job no one else was willing to do just got to be too much for me. It's the feeling you get when the music starts in a Jaws movie. The absolutely disgusting greed of the corporations involved, the city officials, etc. definitely got under my skin, and what was initially supposed to be a short break turned into a months long drawn-out funeral for this book. I hate what happened to these men. It just goes to show why regulation and unionizing are important to the well being of "the little guy." People in power will always pass off the blame or absolve themselves of wrongdoing. It's explicitly said on one occasion that a certain person at the top didn't want to "touch" the issue because getting involved meant taking a certain amount of responsibility. When you hear about an issue like, I don't know, the fucking safety of real humans spoken about so candidly like that, it really pisses you off. Honestly, fuck all the peope responsible for this. They've got blood on their hands and the gross part is that they don't even care. Imagine dying suffocating and terrified in a dark tunnel miles under the earth with no way of getting help. It's the stuff of nightmares and horror movies brought to life by the greed of penny-pinching corporations.
It's not that this is poorly written. In fact, it is an excellently researched book to an extent that I find impressive. The hook at the beginning was compelling, and the characterization of real people made me feel as though I had a good grasp of them on a personal level. What stopped me from finishing it was probably due to my mood at the time and how frustrated and angry this book made me feel. Real people died due to the greed, neglect, hubris, and ego of others. From the very beginning you know the outcome, so watching a play by play of the inevitable deaths of real humans who were just trying to do a job no one else was willing to do just got to be too much for me. It's the feeling you get when the music starts in a Jaws movie. The absolutely disgusting greed of the corporations involved, the city officials, etc. definitely got under my skin, and what was initially supposed to be a short break turned into a months long drawn-out funeral for this book. I hate what happened to these men. It just goes to show why regulation and unionizing are important to the well being of "the little guy." People in power will always pass off the blame or absolve themselves of wrongdoing. It's explicitly said on one occasion that a certain person at the top didn't want to "touch" the issue because getting involved meant taking a certain amount of responsibility. When you hear about an issue like, I don't know, the fucking safety of real humans spoken about so candidly like that, it really pisses you off. Honestly, fuck all the peope responsible for this. They've got blood on their hands and the gross part is that they don't even care. Imagine dying suffocating and terrified in a dark tunnel miles under the earth with no way of getting help. It's the stuff of nightmares and horror movies brought to life by the greed of penny-pinching corporations.
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
informative
sad
medium-paced
A bit meandering at times, but overall pretty well-written. He explains the science behind the tunnel and the different methods used to get it installed and functional, but the heart of the story is the lives of the men involved.
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced