“Damn exciting.”—Stewart O’Nan, author of Snow Angels, Faithful, Songs for the Missing

“At once memoir, confession, travel book and thriller, David Vann’s A Mile Down is so vivid and intense you will dread to see it end…. The book is a testimony of passion and courage in deadly storms and scarier calms, of a man wrestling with his ghosts and gifts in the very shadow of paradise.”–Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek and Brave Enemies

“A Mile Down is pure adrenaline. Vann by all rights should have died at sea, and yet he’s lived to tell about it.  But the thrill comes also from other kinds of risk—risk of repeating his father’s suicide, risk of financial disaster, risk of prosecution, risk of losing everything including who he believes himself to be.” –Melanie Thernstrom, author of The Dead Girl and Halfway Heaven

“As if one of the heroes of The Perfect Storm had lived to write his memoirs.” –Julie Hilden, author of 3 and The Bad Daughter

“A Mile Down is far more than a tale of ruin at sea.  It’s a story, also, of desire and shame, of the struggle to escape our histories and know our dreams.  You have to read this book, even if you care nothing about sailing or the sea.  Just read it.” –Lalita Tademy, author of Cane River “A Mile Down is superbly crafted.  David Vann has created a tale of hubris and endurance that is both exciting and beautifully written.” –Keith Scribner, author of The Goodlife and Miracle Girl

“A Mile Down is a riveting and truthful account of a good man’s attempt to stay afloat on treacherous waters. This book reminded me of Robert Stone’s Outerbridge Reach, or John Casey’s Spartina, but in many ways Vann’s odyssey is more unforgettable. The fact that Vann lived to tell it is an achievement in itself.” –Tom Barbash, author of The Last Good Chance and On Top of the World: Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, & 9/11: A Story of Loss &Renewal

“Mandatory reading for anyone who’s ever flirted with thoughts of a life spent at sea.” –A. Manette Ansay, author of Vinegar Hill and Midnight Champagne

“David Vann’s book is a story both about life and sailing.  On any long offshore passage there are emotional highs and lows, good weather and bad, successes and frustrations.  It turns out that life is similar.  Everybody will enjoy David’s beautifully written book; sailors will learn about life and non-sailors will better understand the lure of the sea and boats.” –Stan Honey, Navigator for Pyewacket, Cheyenne, ABNAmro