A Captain's Duty

Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea

By: Richard Phillips, Stephan Talty

Narrated by: George K. Wilson

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

"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 53-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.

©2010 Richard Phillips (P)2010 Tantor

Excellent Book

I watched the movie first and was intrigued by it being a true story. captain phillips is a legend

Great story about everyday heroes

What did you love best about A Captain's Duty?

I loved how selfless Captain Phillips was. His crew, cargo, and ship were most important to him.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Captain Phillips himself is an amazing man, but his wife seems impressive as well.

What about George K. Wilson’s performance did you like?

The Somali pirates were a tough part of the book, but it was well played.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The last couple of chapters made tears run down my cheeks. My wife asked what was so sad, but I wasn't crying. It was patriotism, happiness, and excitement causing my eyes to leak.

Any additional comments?

I have not seen the movie, but I hope it is as good as this book.

Great Story but very repetitive in parts.

This is a very good story and really enjoyed the book once I got to part 2. Part 1 was way too long with way too much background on himself and family. This info did not make a difference knowing all that to hear the story of his Pirate experience. While Captain Phillips was on the ship and experiencing the capture by the pirates the book went on too long about his wife and was very repetitive on what she was going through and how she was handling the situation. The narrator was very good. I enjoyed listening to him. I also saw the movie and there is a lot more information in the book about the time spent on the ship than what is given in the movie.

Just a bit too insufferable for my taste

What was most disappointing about Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty ’s story?

I have to admit that I had a negative reaction to the book within the first 60 seconds, and I jumped through the chapters pretty quickly and ultimately returned the book without fully reading it. 1st person narratives are difficult to pull off, and this one seemed primarily focused on portraying Richard Phillips as the greatest captain, father, and whatever else of all time (while being quite willing to point out the flaws in the crew). I found it insufferable pretty quickly. Opening the book describing a torture scene, and basically having Phillips' describe his own reaction to torture as "that all you got?" was a macho message, and it might even have been accurate, but it wasn't something I wanted to listen to for a long period of time.

A Dull Book for Dullards by a Dullard

The Captain is a self congratulatory A-hole with delusions of grandeur. What he actually is, is a moron who got himself and his crew hijacked at sea by barefoot peasants. I found myself hating the protagonist by the conclusion of this obviously embellished story.

Self serving glory hound.

Too strong? Maybe, maybe not. Captain Phillips certainly underwent a series of events that few people in the world could identify with, and for that his story is a unique and interesting. That much seems certain. What is uncertain is how much of his role was embellished after the fact to make him appear more heroic than he might have been in reality. I suggest this only to caution the listener to examine what Captain Phillips recounts with a critical ear. Initially, I didn't know much about the events recounted in the book. I watched the movie, found it entertaining, and wanted to learn more. However not far into the listen my "BS" meter began "pinging". I found a lot of his story extremely arrogant and self-righteous, and was beginning to wonder why he didn't walk on water right off the lifeboat to safety. After constantly being told why he was such a great captain throughout his career, how he continually outsmarted the pirates, and how his actions saved several of the crew's lives again and again I started researching the event to get a more complete picture. Without going into detail here, I will say there are multiple accounts of Captain Phillips' actions during that time. Most of these accounts conflict with what is set out in the book. I found many of the peripheral stories about Captain Phillips' pre-hostage experiences in the Merchant Marines burdensome and tedious. I didn't really care about what kind of a hard-case he was in academy, or how he met his wife. Some people would argue stories like that give a character depth, but in this case it just came across as filler for the book.

The narrator did a decent job with the story. I didn't really find his reading especially captivating, nor did it make a bad story worse.

Pretty awful.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

No one. Well, Perhaps Captain Phillips or his wife.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The story was interesting, but the personality of the protagonist destroyed its value.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of George K. Wilson?

Simon Vance

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

Any additional comments?

Thank God, the movie was better.