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Title details for A Captain's Duty by Richard Phillips - Available

A Captain's Duty

Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea

by Richard Phillips
Stephan Talty
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
"I share the country's admiration for the bravery of Captain Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew. His courage is a model for all Americans." —President Barack Obama


It was just another day on the job for fifty-three-year-old Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, a United States–flagged cargo ship that was carrying, among other things, food and agricultural materials for the World Food Program. That all changed when armed Somali pirates boarded the ship. The pirates didn't expect the crew to fight back, nor did they expect Captain Phillips to offer himself as a hostage in exchange for the safety of his crew. Thus began the tense five-day standoff, which ended in a daring high-seas rescue when U.S. Navy SEALs opened fire and picked off three of the captors.


"It never ends like this," Captain Phillips said.


And he's right.


A story of adventure and courage, A Captain's Duty provides the intimate details of this high-seas hostage-taking—the unbearable heat, the death threats, the mock executions, and the escape attempt. When the pirates boarded his ship, Captain Phillips put his experience into action, doing everything he could to safeguard his crew. And when he was held captive by the pirates, he marshaled all his resources to ensure his own survival, withstanding intense physical hardship and an escalating battle of wills with the pirates. This was it: the moment where training meets instinct and where character is everything. Richard Phillips was ready.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 19, 2010

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400196869
      • File size: 250815 KB
      • Duration: 08:42:31

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Captain Richard Phillips's modest first-person account of the 2009 capture of his cargo vessel, the MAERSK ALABAMA, celebrates the little-understood and even-less-appreciated responsibilities of the U.S. Merchant Marines. Former broadcast journalist George Wilson provides an authoritative, dramatic, and at times, appropriately humorous tone to the story of the captain and crew as they face off against cutthroat Somali pirates. Wilson's precise delivery is true to the author's style and easily holds the listener's attention. A thumbnail sketch of Phillips's early years provides an effective backdrop for the terrifying seizure of his vessel and the gripping days that followed. Wilson's upbeat narrative style also provides an enlightening look at the sophisticated technology on the world's ocean-going vessels. W.A.G. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 5, 2010
      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.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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