Customer Reviews

Fitzgerald's Storm: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

MacInnis gets right to the story,from the construction of this magnificent ship to its unlikely demise.An in depth look at the men and their families,and how this trgedy affected them and those around them.A Haunting tale of terror on the great lakes,a must read for shipwreck history buffs.

It was 7:30 PM on November 10, 1975. While we were watching Monday Night Football from the comfort of our homes, 29 sailors were fighting for their lives in a storm on Lake Superior. They were the crew of the ore-carrier S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald and they would eventually lose the battle. Dr. Joseph MacInnis led a 1994 expedition to the wreck and produced a television documentary on the subject. His book is the account of the wreck exploration and also a history of the ship. He tells the complete story from the ship's launching in 1957 to the sinking in 1975 and the search for answers in the 1990s. The primary question was how could a ship sink in the era of modern navigational technology and weather forecasting? This question and many others are examined throughout the book. The ship and crew have been immortalized in a 1976 song by Gordon Lightfoot. Dr. MacInnis uses his book to show the importance of learning from the disaster and keeping the memory alive.

In November 1975 a storm on Lake Superior ravaged the Edmund Fitzgerald, an "unsinkable" laker, and took the life of more than two dozen men. MacInnis's book seems lost in this same storm -- it jumps here and there and gets caught up in the waves of controversy. Only thirty pages or so deal with the actual sinking. The rest of the book covers the construction of the ship, the aftermath of the sinking, the telling of the families, the investigation, the scabs who harvested the Fitz for cash, and, of course, Gordon Lightfoot's famous song. The book tries to be everything and ends up being little.

MacInnis writes in an overwrought style, mixing metaphors and making poor analogies. Still, if it wasn't for his purple prose, the book would have come in far short of its 126 pages.

MacInnis obviously has a vendetta against the poachers who salvaged the Fitz. He writes about them with fury, calling them heartless thieves, which they probably are, but he loses objectivity here. Much like the Edmund Fitzgerald on that stormy November night in 1975, MacInnis falls off course and grounds himself on a shoal of confusion.

I read this book in less than a day. It is an interesting history of one of the largest ore freighters and the infamous sinking of this great vessel. MacInnis does a great job of boiling the history and the tragic sinking of this ship down into an easy to read 120 pages. This is great story, and I was surprised that it took so little time to read this book and understand the tragedy of 29 dead men.
This book is a good history of the ship and the brevity of it makes it a quick read. None of the real far fetched accounts (UFOs) for the explanation of the tragedy are included in this book. The details of the two explorers filming the results of the ship on the bottom are also detailed. MacInnis makes them out as quick buck artists working the tragedy for all its worth.
I am less sure about this, but the book is a good read.

I am an avid student of the "Edmund Fitzgerald", Great Lakes shipwrecks and Great Lakes lighthouses. I have studied the "Edmund Fitzgerald" for several years and have attended ceremonies, held each year on the anniversary of the sinking of the "Edmund Fitzgerald", at the Split Rock Lighthouse in Minnesota. I have read several books about the shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, as well as many books about the sinking of the 'Edmund Fitzgerald'. Also, I have visited exhibitions in Duluth, MN and White Fish Point, Michigan. The 'Edmund Fitzgerald' is a passion of mine and I strongly & wholeheartedly recommend "Fitzgerald's Storm...The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' by Dr. Joseph MacInnis. This book will not bore you with endless and insignificant details, but will enthrall you. Dr. MacInnis has written a book suitable for both the casual armchair reader and the serious student. When you read this book you can understand the nightmarish hell that the 'Fitz' and crew went through on that last voyage. You will be able to comprehend the fury of the storm, feel the helplessness of the doomed sailors and experience the grief and emotions of the families the crew left behind. If there is only one book that you will read, about the 'Edmund Fitzgerald', READ THIS ONE! Then, go to White Fish Point, Michigan and visit The Shipwreck Museum. I would rate this book higher than five stars if I could. It is just a good book, that will hold your interest and rivet your attention. Read it!

The fitz wreck happened 1 day after my 10th birthday and because of gordon lightfoot's tribute song i have alwayshad a strong interest about this ship.I have seen lots of documentaries and have books about it. This so far seems to be the most informative. This book gives a pretty good description of the Great Lakes especially Lake Superior background information on the crew and the investigation. The only thing I did not really like was some of the description of the feelings and the things the crew were going thru I felt there may have been a little to much speculation on ths part.But all in all are great book. The one part that always seems to really stay with me that maybe kind of haunting is the phrase from Gordon's song that says does anyone know where the love of god goes when the waves turn the minutes t hours

Joseph MacInnis has the ability to write in a way that brings you into this true story. It is difficult to not finish in one read. His writing makes this tragedy personal - you feel as if you were involved in the investigation, as if you knew the people involved - a must for lovers of true stories.

MacInnis is straight to the point on the characters behind the expeditions to the wrecksite, but a bit hypocritical in his criticism of those making money from the tragedy. A must read for any shipwreck researcher.. not for it's history on the ship and it's sinking, but on the after effects from those who saw the wreck in person.

In this wonderfully written book the author leads us through the ships history, it gives us a firsthand look at the families of all the brave men who lost their lives that fateful November day, and he shows us how sad it truly is the way that so many people are trying to cash in on this deeply emotional disaster. It is by far the best book in Print on the Subject of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. A must for anyone even remotely intersted in this subject. ***** (Five Stars)

Author MacInnis provides, in a fairly short book, a well-written, interesting summary of the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy. My only complaint is the overly-critical chapter in which he blasts those who make a profit selling souvenirs commemmorating the loss of the great ship. I fail to see why MacInnis regards those folks as criminals. After all, the Titanic museum and the Little Bighorn National Monument museum (among many others dedicated to the memory of various tragedies) also have gift shops which sell souvenirs related to the losses they honor. I've never heard any complaints about those sellers. As a matter of fact, I bought several souvenirs at each of those gift shops during my visits there, and am glad to have them. All are proudly on display in my home.