Ten Hours Until Dawn

The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do

By: Michael J. Tougias

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

During the height of the blizzard of 1978, the tanker Global Hope floundered on the shoals off the Massachusetts coast. The Coast Guard dispatched a patrol boat, but was soon in as much trouble as the tanker. Then pilot boat captain Frank Quirk, hearing of the Coast Guard's troubles on his radio, decided to act. He gathered his crew of four, readied his 49-foot steel boat, the Can Do, and entered the maelstrom of the blizzard that was to become known as the "Storm of the Century".

Encountering one of the most monstrous seas ever recorded, Quirk struggled through the night to keep his boat from being driven to the depths of the sea, maintaining contact with a local ham-radio operator through his hand-held battery-powered radio. We know that the Can Do stayed afloat past three a.m. Then there was silence.

AudioFile Earphones Award Winner©2005 Michael J. Tougias (P)2006 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

• AudioFile Earphones Award Winner

"Tougias balances human and technical detail to create the best book of its kind since Sebastian Jungier's The Perfect Storm." (Booklist)
"Tougias delivers a well researched, vividly written tale of brave men overwhelmed by the awesome forces of nature. An absorbing account." (Publishers Weekly)

Great book needs some editing

Interesting story well researched.

Appreciated the overview and context in which the story is set. Compelling material. The author seems deeply knowledgeable of the subject matter and invested in the people of the story.

Some commentary struck me wrong and overly familiar- especially the speculation about the thoughts of the crew during the last hours. This and some other speculation went on to long, seemingly designed to elaborate on rambling thoughts of the author not germane to the story.

Agree with several reviews that no accent is better than a poor one.

Wish it didn't end!

This story was unbelieveable! The narrator Joe Barret did an awesome job portraying the different characters! This story had to be told and the author's work payed off!! If you like adventures on the Sea I highly recommend it!!!!

Excellent Book

What made the experience of listening to Ten Hours Until Dawn the most enjoyable?

Exceptionally well researched but nicely balanced with humanity to make for a poignant and riveting read.

What about Joe Barrett’s performance did you like?

Joe Barrett kills it. Great narrator and perfect for this book. 10/10

Riveting, well written account of maritime storm

Any additional comments?

Great account of the great blizzard of '78, which resulted in 99 deaths. Focuses on the martime challenges that took place, expalining many of the issues that both the coast guard and civilan crafts faced. Very well written and excellent narration. Couldn't wait for my morning and evening commute to hear what happened next.

Excellent book, terrific narration

Ten Hours Until Dawn is extremely well-researched and written with great narrative detail. The story is a tragic one, and its telling is both compelling and compassionate. The narration is excellent.