The Lost Boys of Montauk: The True Story of the Wind Blown, Four Men Who Vanished at Sea, and the Survivors They Left Behind
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-12-19 16:21:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Amanda M. Fairbanks
- ISBN：1982103248
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Lauren McDonnell
，
This is a story that could have been a good long form magazine piece， but as a book， is almost all filler。
Sheila Dailie
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Before reading the book， I wondered how a book about four men who did not survive a boating disaster could be so long。 Yet as I got into the narrative， I realized that the title had two meanings。 Lost as in dead， but also "lost" as in caught in the aimless cultural time they lived in。Born near the end of the 1950's， my sense of history is not so far off， but I appreciate being exposed to what was happening following WW II and the early 1950's。A great read！ Before reading the book， I wondered how a book about four men who did not survive a boating disaster could be so long。 Yet as I got into the narrative， I realized that the title had two meanings。 Lost as in dead， but also "lost" as in caught in the aimless cultural time they lived in。Born near the end of the 1950's， my sense of history is not so far off， but I appreciate being exposed to what was happening following WW II and the early 1950's。A great read！ 。。。more
Ed Maher
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“A person dies twice。 The first time they die is when their body stops moving。 The second time they die is when the last person stops talking about them。” That’s a quote from ‘The Lost Boys of Montauk。’ For those accustomed to my weekly book reviews， it’s been a while。 I’ve suffered a disruption。 My wife read the book in September and recommended it to me because she thought it was more a story about the evolution of a town than a tragic sea accident。 More nuanced than ‘The Perfect Storm，’ whic “A person dies twice。 The first time they die is when their body stops moving。 The second time they die is when the last person stops talking about them。” That’s a quote from ‘The Lost Boys of Montauk。’ For those accustomed to my weekly book reviews， it’s been a while。 I’ve suffered a disruption。 My wife read the book in September and recommended it to me because she thought it was more a story about the evolution of a town than a tragic sea accident。 More nuanced than ‘The Perfect Storm，’ which generated so much fanfare years ago。 It would be a nonfiction interlude from my steady diet of literary fiction。 So I started the book on November 24th。 Three days later， my wife of 47 years died。I’ve always felt the books I read aren’t just someone else’s stories。 If you’re a steady， consistent reader， they become the mile markers of your life。 A book can become magnified or diminished in its importance。 Remember the first law of physics; energy is neither created or destroyed。 A book’s energy can dictate your own。 In the case of ‘The Lost Boys of Montauk，’ I became one of the four fishermen lost at sea。 Their ship was called The Windblown。 It was unseaworthy from the start。 When it became engulfed in a massive storm， I found it difficult to read due to my own storm。 There’s tragedy and then there’s the aftermath。Much of Amanda’s Fairbanks book is about the four young men who went down with the ship。 Two of them were townies。 Born to be commercial fishermen。 The other two， including The Windblown’s owner and captain， were not born into their livelihood。 Quite the contrary。 They were outsiders drawn to Montauk， first by the surfing and then the fishing。 They were sons of privilege who opted for an alternative lifestyle。 The year of this tragedy was 1984。 Commercial fishing was turning huge profits。 Especially for tilefish。 A delicacy I’ve never had。 To catch them， demanded going to deeper waters farther out in the ocean。 It was and remains a risk / reward endeavor。 Commercial fishing is still more deadly than any other occupation。It took a while to see that my wife was right。 ‘The Lost Boys of Montauk’s’ bigger， more subtle story is about the socioeconomic change in Montauk over the last forty years。 And not just Montauk， but all of America。 The sea tragedy of 1984 was not only an emotional tipping point for Montauk， it also marked the beginning of the end of the small fishing port on the eastern most point of Long Island。 It’s now the enclave of the super rich。 A place where the original townspeople can no longer afford to live。 A place once so pristine because of its natural habit， it’s now such a desired address for the wealthy， the original spirit of the place has been sucked dry and replaced by the mega lords of celebrity and power。 It’s a demographic transformation that’s a metaphor for the dark side of the American Dream。 An ode to the way life once was。 Little did my dear wife know what she was really forecasting for her soon to be widow husband。 It’s in that vein， I’ll co-opt a segment of the eulogy I wrote for her。The bond that Monica and I shared most was that we were both book people。 We were readers。 At her peak， Monica read three books a week。 Throughout my life， I’ve averaged one。 I mostly read fiction。 Monica liked all categories of books。 We used to debate whether reading was a passion or a discipline。 The truth was， she loved it more， while I craved the structure。 Monica could go for hours unperturbed with the company of a book。 I tend to read more sporadically。 Now if you’re not a reader， this kind of analysis bores you to death。 I get it。 But for Monica and me， reading was a way of sharing time without feeling we had to be together。 To most， that’s not any different than going to a movie or watching TV together。 That’s true on the surface， until you think about it some。 If you’re reading two different books in the same space， you’re essentially in two different worlds。 Together， but totally separate。 It was that in between state that I actually found the most romantic part of our lives。 。。。more
Tanya
，
3。5 starsSo when I started this I thought this was the story of "The Perfect Storm"。 It's not， but it is a very gripping story about what happened （mostly to the surviving friends & family） after another fishing boat was downed。 3。5 starsSo when I started this I thought this was the story of "The Perfect Storm"。 It's not， but it is a very gripping story about what happened （mostly to the surviving friends & family） after another fishing boat was downed。 。。。more
Sara
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Went into this expecting a story of a boat sinking and the stories of the people involved， but it’s basically just a trashy expose of rich people’s lives so far。 Didn’t even bother finishing it。
Carrie Jacobs
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I had a hard time keeping everyone straight with all the jumping around between stories。
Elsie
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Fascinating！！！ Could've done with less fish info but otherwise an absolute wild ride of hamptons gossip Fascinating！！！ Could've done with less fish info but otherwise an absolute wild ride of hamptons gossip 。。。more
Jacqueline Groll
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This is one of those sad tales that comes in two parts; the first one is the actual loss of the fishing boat in 1984 and the second part was what happened to the survivors of the 4 men lost。 I liked the first part better。 It was sad to read about the lifestyle choices of the survivors and all the secrets of their past。 And because of that， I wanted to get the book finished and put it away。
Jodi Hawkins
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Not sure what my problem with this book was。。。。I was really looking forward to it， but it was hard to get into。 I had it on audio and it may have been the narrator。 I don't know， but I couldn't finish it。 It felt like torture。 Not sure what my problem with this book was。。。。I was really looking forward to it， but it was hard to get into。 I had it on audio and it may have been the narrator。 I don't know， but I couldn't finish it。 It felt like torture。 。。。more
Peter
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Interesting story， not a great ending to the book。
Friend of Buzz
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DNF
JGWNC
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This is a solid thoughtful read。 It starts off ploddingly and slow but stick with it。 It starts to come together and come alive around page 35。 An insightful story about the ties of family and friends， some healthy， some surely not。
Laura
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A little bit under 2 stars， rounded up。The organisation and the way that this book was sectioned out did not make much sense to me and was pretty disjointed/confusing/all-over-the-place， not to mention the many bits of included information that seemed （and turned out to be） irrelevant and unnecessary。 For those reasons， it took me actually months to get through。 Nevertheless， the aim of the book is quite noble， the author clearly did extensive research， and I don't have any real problems with th A little bit under 2 stars， rounded up。The organisation and the way that this book was sectioned out did not make much sense to me and was pretty disjointed/confusing/all-over-the-place， not to mention the many bits of included information that seemed （and turned out to be） irrelevant and unnecessary。 For those reasons， it took me actually months to get through。 Nevertheless， the aim of the book is quite noble， the author clearly did extensive research， and I don't have any real problems with the writing style itself， I just don't really get the way it's laid out and feel that's what primarily made it hard to continue at times。Worth mentioning I won this in a giveaway， which I entered in an effort to get myself to read more nonfiction。 。。。more
Margaret
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I liked the story- I did not like all the family history that was brought in。 I did not think it was needed
BON ☆
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Sorry but this is lame。 Random facts all over the place， backstory about high school antics - I came for seafaring tension and that was not visible in the first third of the book。 DNF。
Kb
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A fantastic period capsule of history。 I learned much about surfing; commercial fishing; the development of "The Hamptons"; what grief can do to a person， a family， and a community; how lost is different than being dead; the 1980's。 Highly recommend！ A fantastic period capsule of history。 I learned much about surfing; commercial fishing; the development of "The Hamptons"; what grief can do to a person， a family， and a community; how lost is different than being dead; the 1980's。 Highly recommend！ 。。。more
Barb
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I agree with many of the reviews here - the author obviously did detailed research and extensive interviews， but the result is a book that has so much extraneous information that isn't clearly connected to the main story， and many of the details that are shared seem very personal and unnecessary。 The families may have shared that information， but I don't feel the author needed to include everything she learned。 I understand that since no one really knows what happened to the men on the boat that I agree with many of the reviews here - the author obviously did detailed research and extensive interviews， but the result is a book that has so much extraneous information that isn't clearly connected to the main story， and many of the details that are shared seem very personal and unnecessary。 The families may have shared that information， but I don't feel the author needed to include everything she learned。 I understand that since no one really knows what happened to the men on the boat that day， that this book couldn't just focus on telling that story， and the author took a different perspective on the event， but it often felt voyeuristic and uncomfortable。 。。。more
Julie
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I thought this was decent because of my connection to Long Island and Montauk。 Otherwise I think it would have been fairly boring。 I almost feel like the author didn't have enough for a story here。 Maybe for an essay， but I felt it was a stretch for a 300 page book。It ends up being part biography of these men who went missing， part history of Montauk and then a lot of side streets that go nowhere （pages about tilefish， some detours about grief， etc etc）。 Bit meandering like it didn't know what i I thought this was decent because of my connection to Long Island and Montauk。 Otherwise I think it would have been fairly boring。 I almost feel like the author didn't have enough for a story here。 Maybe for an essay， but I felt it was a stretch for a 300 page book。It ends up being part biography of these men who went missing， part history of Montauk and then a lot of side streets that go nowhere （pages about tilefish， some detours about grief， etc etc）。 Bit meandering like it didn't know what it wanted to be。 。。。more
David Przybylinski
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Story about life in Montauk the wealthy summer folks and the townies and fisherman good story
Cassandra
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This might have been my least favorite read this year。 This should have been a 4-5 page article in a magazine not a 300 page book。 Had I not won this through Goodreads and felt obligated to finish it and write a review I would have likely stopped a few pages in。 The storyline and timing were all over the place and the amount of unnecessary detail was painful to get through。 Lastly I felt like the author took a little too much literary freedom in some of the information she shared。 Just because y This might have been my least favorite read this year。 This should have been a 4-5 page article in a magazine not a 300 page book。 Had I not won this through Goodreads and felt obligated to finish it and write a review I would have likely stopped a few pages in。 The storyline and timing were all over the place and the amount of unnecessary detail was painful to get through。 Lastly I felt like the author took a little too much literary freedom in some of the information she shared。 Just because you obtained the information doesn't mean you need to share it with the world。 。。。more
Elle
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Most of the positive reviews of this book on Goodreads seem to be from paid accounts。 Wealth can buy so much， can't it？ But it can't buy good writing apparently， or an editor who knows how to do their job。This book has about 100 pages of relevant content， and the rest is filler。 If the men who died on that ship had been just run-of-the-mill poor people nobody would have bothered to write this book。 But two of them came from filthy rich families and had country club memberships， so the book makes Most of the positive reviews of this book on Goodreads seem to be from paid accounts。 Wealth can buy so much， can't it？ But it can't buy good writing apparently， or an editor who knows how to do their job。This book has about 100 pages of relevant content， and the rest is filler。 If the men who died on that ship had been just run-of-the-mill poor people nobody would have bothered to write this book。 But two of them came from filthy rich families and had country club memberships， so the book makes sure to devote literally hundreds of pages to their lifestyles， which has nothing to do with the actual vanishing ship。 It's made pretty clear that the author believes that these men's net worth makes their death more sad and tragic than when anyone else is lost at sea。 The parts of this book dedicated to the incident or even the men involved are dwarfed by the long descriptions of how rich and important their families were， and how much property they owned。 The author even manages to name-drop her own famous and wealthy family members， as if I care or it's relevant。 Most of the stories are completely common and boring。 There is absolutely nothing noteworthy about a single person in this book besides the fact that they are 1） rich， and 2） died in a storm。 That doesn't mean that their death isn't sad， or tragic。 Only tell that to the author who devotes so few pages to the tragedy and those left behind instead of chapter after chapter of detailed descriptions of country clubs and people who maybe talked to people who knew those who were involved at one time。The author at the beginning of the book says that the friends and family of these men got angry with her as she continued to ask them questions about the deaths。 She implies that it's because she's such a good journalist， asking the hard questions like journalists do。 Only she isn't， because 90% of the book is the result of irrelevant prying into the lives of people who barely even knew anyone involved。 I wouldn't be surprised if she asked these people what kind of underwear they had on。 It's like finding a 13 year old's diary where they describe getting their period for the first time and insisting on publishing it because "THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW。" No， we don't， Amanda。 。。。more
Christina
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3。5
Kim
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Enjoyed learning the aspects of the history of the story and the time。 Good read。
James Simms
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Yes I struggled a bit with the book being disjointed。 I resisted my tendency to purchase a book rather than taking it from the Library。 I chose not to invest my money in purchasing this book after reading some of the reviews on Goodreads still I decided as a former Long Islander （well actually Queens in New York City but my wife is from Levittown） and lover of History， to take time to read about these Four Boys who died in raging waters while fishing for Tilefish （that I've still never tasted）。I Yes I struggled a bit with the book being disjointed。 I resisted my tendency to purchase a book rather than taking it from the Library。 I chose not to invest my money in purchasing this book after reading some of the reviews on Goodreads still I decided as a former Long Islander （well actually Queens in New York City but my wife is from Levittown） and lover of History， to take time to read about these Four Boys who died in raging waters while fishing for Tilefish （that I've still never tasted）。Is there too much information about sexual conquests and adultery？ - Yes but at first I thought these might be a set up for the Lost Boys of Montauk to be a made for TV movie。 I think these dalliances are not so much a Coming Of Age thing as much as something that speaks of the lure of the Sea that may be at the heart of 32 year-old Captain Mike Stedman buying Wind Blown in the first place。 At sea in a questionable boat did he overstay his time in the Storm to land more fish or because he wanted to stay away from his wife， Mary even for another 8-10 hours？I'm not sure Chris Stedman （page 290） would give his hands down endorsement of Amanda Fairbanks' book about his father and friends but I do believe it when the Author said Chris chose to share the truth because he recognized her "pervasive 'tide' which brought about this book and your authenticity， I believe you"。I would have enjoyed the story with a Chart of all the characters and clearer photos （might just be what were the times）。 I realize that before we moved from Queens， New York in 2003 we did visit Montauk and we did see The Lost At Sea Memorial （page 255） which was erected in 1999。 If I were to again visit the end of the South Fork it would be with a deeper appreciation for the courage， the tenacity and the work ethic of commercial fisherman especially the 120 Lost At Sea including Jeremiah Conkling， a 24 year-old who died February 24， 1979 with three unidentified other seamen when a pod of whales capsized their boat。 。。。more
Kellie
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3。5 stars
Jgarvin
，
So sad
Carol Meredith
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Not a great deal of literary prowess， but a good read。 I really enjoyed the geographic aspects off the tip of Long Island， and the cultural and social disparities。
Lois
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Right off， let's clear up that this is very clearly not The Perfect Storm， whose specter lies over all， including the author of this book and people she interviewed in it。 Instead， it follows four lost young men's origins， family dynamics， and 'the commercial fishing life。'Many years ago， a favorite professor of mine in grad school tried to explain the fishing culture of coastal Connecticut to me。 He was an alcohol counselor and developed a terrific understanding and empathy for these men。 I am Right off， let's clear up that this is very clearly not The Perfect Storm， whose specter lies over all， including the author of this book and people she interviewed in it。 Instead， it follows four lost young men's origins， family dynamics， and 'the commercial fishing life。'Many years ago， a favorite professor of mine in grad school tried to explain the fishing culture of coastal Connecticut to me。 He was an alcohol counselor and developed a terrific understanding and empathy for these men。 I am not sure I ever shared it and the drugs/alcohol/hey-it's-the-70's/surfer/fisherman aspect of the book permeates。 As does the 'have and have-not' aspect of this portion of Long Island。 Nevertheless it was a quick and at least at one point incredibly startling read。 No spoilers here but wow， the damage families can inflict on each other！ 。。。more
Paul Welford
，
The chapters that focus on the lead up to the actual disaster， it's occurrence， the search， the wait and even the very relevant history are great。 But the rest is just tedious and irrelevant。 I gave up。 The chapters that focus on the lead up to the actual disaster， it's occurrence， the search， the wait and even the very relevant history are great。 But the rest is just tedious and irrelevant。 I gave up。 。。。more
Dale Bentz
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