It was just another day on the job for fifty-three-year-old Richard
Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, the United States-flagged cargo
ship which 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 hostage
in exchange for the safety of his crew. Thus began the tense five-day
stand-off, 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 Captain's Duty tells the life-and-death drama of the Vermont native
who was held captive on a tiny lifeboat off Somalia's anarchic,
gun-plagued shores. A story of adventure and courage, it 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.
