Premise: Just published and already a best seller, The Perfect Storm is said to be thrilling--a boat ride into and (for us) out of a watery hell (Anthony Bailey, the New York Times Book Review ). Reviews cite the book's  It combines a lucid explanation of the storm's complex meteorology, gritty descriptions of sailor bars and, most compellingly, a reconstruction of the ship's final minutes.
Hypothesis: The particular chapter about the boat overcoming the 20-foot wave was what made this book a best-seller. 
Label: neutral