{"product_id":"9781416567301","title":"The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue","description":"The true story of an incredible disaster and heroic rescue at sea told by two masterful storytellers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the winter of 1952, New England was battered by the most brutal nor'easter in years. As the weather wreaked havoc on land, the freezing Atlantic became a wind-whipped zone of peril.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn the early hours of Monday, February 18, while the storm raged, two oil tankers, the \u003ci\u003ePendleton\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eFort Mercer\u003c\/i\u003e, found themselves in the same horrifying predicament. Built with \"dirty steel,\" and not prepared to withstand such ferocious seas, both tankers split in two, leaving the dozens of men on board utterly at the Atlantic's mercy.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Finest Hours\u003c\/i\u003e is the gripping, true story of the valiant attempt to rescue the souls huddling inside the broken halves of the two ships. Coast Guard cutters raced to the aid of those on the \u003ci\u003eFort Mercer\u003c\/i\u003e, and when it became apparent that the halves of the \u003ci\u003ePendleton\u003c\/i\u003e were in danger of capsizing, the Guard sent out two thirty-six-foot lifeboats as well. These wooden boats, manned by only four seamen, were dwarfed by the enormous seventy-foot seas. As the tiny rescue vessels set out from the coast of Cape Cod, the men aboard were all fully aware that they were embarking on what could easily become a suicide mission.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe spellbinding tale is overflowing with breathtaking scenes that sear themselves into the mind's eye, as boats capsize, bows and sterns crash into one another, and men hurl themselves into the raging sea in their terrifying battle for survival.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eNot all of the eighty-four men caught at sea in the midst of that brutal storm survived, but considering the odds, it's a miracle—and a testament to their bravery—that any came home to tell their tales at all.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eMichael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman have seamlessly woven together their extensive research and firsthand interviews to create an unforgettable tale of heroism, triumph, and tragedy, one that truly tells of the Coast Guard's finest hours.","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47175281705200,"sku":"9781416567301","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781416567301_p0.jpg?v=1763727451","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781416567301","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}