Stories of the Lifeboat

This is a book about ordinary men who did the extraordinary. Against howling gales, crushing waves, and the certain knowledge that many who ventured out never returned, the volunteers of Britain's lifeboat service rowed into the teeth of the storm to rescue strangers they would never meet. Over 150,000 lives have been saved along Britain's treacherous coastlines, and this collection preserves the stories behind that staggering legacy. Beginning with Lionel Lukin's invention of the lifeboat in the late 18th century, the narrative traces the evolution of both the boats and the unshakable culture of courage that grew around them. We see crews braving shipwrecks most would consider certain death, communities rallying to build and man vessels that offered only the slimmest hope, and the birth of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution as a organized answer to chaos. These are not tall tales of superhuman heroes but records of flawed, frightened, courageous human beings who went out anyway. For anyone who has ever wondered what people are capable of when others' survival depends on their choice to face the impossible.