Customer Reviews

Miracles On the Water: The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-Boat Attack

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One instinct that any good parent feels down deep in their soul, an instinct even more powerful than personal survival, is the determination to protect our children. It was the opening scene in the recent CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE--as German bombers pummelled Britain, and terrified parents sent their children away to protect them--that gave that movie an added sense of poignancy.

And it's that same instinct by British parents in the new book by Tom Nagorski that also causes this true wartime story to resonate so deeply. For even as parents sent their children via the passenger liner SS "City of Benares" to the supposed safety of Canada, little did they know that the ship would be sailing straight toward a violent encounter with a Nazi submarine. This story, a personal one for Nagorski (whose great uncle actually survived the attack), gives the account of the tragic incident, and the harrowing events that followed.

The "Benares" went down during a savage, icy storm; that anyone survived at all was a miracle. And while a few passengers were rescued initially, nearly 50 others drifting in Lifeboat 12 were not spotted at that time, and they were left alone on the high seas for another incredible eight days.

In the worst kind of weather, in a small lifeboat with almost no provisions, these poor souls struggle heroically, hoping against hope, for survival. Nagorski, who relied upon mostly eyewitness accounts, takes the reader right into this horrifying scenario, where death and danger were constant realities and hope was the only buoy. This story continues to reverberate today, especially in the UK.

Nagorski is a superior writer; eloquent, but not superfluous. This is a story that sticks with you, long after you close the book. Highest recommendation!

"Miracles on the Water" is one of the finest accounts of man's ability--through hope, prayers, and selfless courage--to persevere in the face of terror and death. Nagorski is a master storyteller whose descriptive prose tossed me back and forth from joy to fear, to tears, to solitude, and ultimately to salvation. I felt as though I too was aboard Lifeboat #12 amid the stormy seas, and between the chapters, I increasingly wondered 'what would I have done?' More importantly, I continue to tell myself--as I suspect all readers of this powerful book will--to emulate those unforgettable 'SS City of Benares' survivors as I confront life's daily challenges, which no longer seem so daunting.

"Miracles on the Water" is wonderful, uplifting read! I look forward to more books from this first-time author.

I saw a small bit on the evening news about a woman who just visited the United States for rht first time. Actually, she had srt sail in thr fall of 1940 to come to North America when her voyage was inturrupted by a German U-boat. The SS City of Benars set sail with 400 people on board, including 90children who were escaping war torn England to stay in the US and Canada. A recent similar transport had been torpedoed near shore and all the passengers of that ship had survived. Ironically, several children from that ship were now finishing their journey on the Bebares. Over 600 miles from shore the ship was torpedoed and the occupants forced to take to the ocean in the 12 lifeboats provided. Several lifeboats were tossed about as they were lowered, ejecting all aboard. The idea of children being put in boats first was also not completely carried out as several boats had mostly adults. In less than an hour the ship sank and those who survived were at the mercy of the storm swept sea. In those desperate times many died from injuries and exposure. There was no rescue verssle nearby and the survivors were left to their own devices. There are men who repeatedly dove into the icey waters to retrieve children in the water. A young 12 year- old -boy who directed others to hold his ankles so he could reach another struggling swimmer. As that swimmer was being pulled aboard, the exhausted 12 year old sank into the waters and was never seen again. An 8 year old boy who tended to needs of dying adults and assisted in lowering their bodies into the water once they had died. He also took is turn steering the lifeboat and performed better than some adults in the craft. A sailor who took upon himself the job of keeping order on his craft and keeping spirits alive. The adults who were traveling with the children refused to relinquish their responsibilities even under the direst circumstances. Two friends who spent their time after the sinking sitting on an upturned lifeboat, hanging on to the boards as they were buffeted by storn tossed seas and the freezing wind. Children faced with the loss of their brothers and sisters still clinging to hope that they will be rescued. Within several days all but one lifeboat was picked up by the HMS Hurricane. The last lifeboat drifted for over eight days befor e being spotted by air and rescued. Families who were holding services for loved ones were greated with the news their loved ones had survived, others were left to mourn their lost ones. Bit by bit the survivors are introduced and it is apparent that many played a part in this miracle, that each in his own way contributed, doing what they could. the lives they lead once rescued returned to the ordinary with the interesting sideline that several of the boys eventually served in the Navy. The stories are so simple, so direct that it is obvious that survival of any in such circumstances was unlikely, and the survival of these souls was indeed a miracle. It had tears running down my face several times as I had to stop reading to compose myself. A treasure.

I devoured Miracles on the Water over a Saturday night and Sunday morning. I couldn't put it down. I think it is better than The Essex and Endurance books. Nagorski has done a masterful job with this. The amount of material he has molded into the narrative is fabulous. All of the conversations and detail from all of the boats big and small is just wonderful. It feels like I was there. It has that level of detail. I can see the movie in my head and can't wait to see it on the wide screen. Wow. What a wonderful piece of work. I wish there were several thousand more books i could read with such pleasure. It exemplifies why reading is fun when you happen on something this good. Congratulations to the author.

Miracles on the Water tells the gripping, inspiring and tragic story of the sinking of the British passenger liner S.S. City of Benares on September 17, 1940. Among the passengers, 90 children who were being escorted to Canada to escape Hitler's bombing campaign against Britain. I picked up the book last week and could not put it down until I reached the bibliography (and I am one tired working mother so that is saying something!)

I had never heard of the sinking of the Benares before picking up this book, and I am amazed that such a compelling story could have become so obscure. The drama of the story is similar to The Perfect Storm, but Nagorski has created a much more personal connection between the reader and the human beings in this amazing story of survival.

This is a most moving and thoroughly researched account of one of the great little known stories of World War II. It has sadness and joy, tragedy and triumph. It must have been a labour of love as the author's uncle was one of the survivors. The story would make a wonderful movie.

The saga of the sinking of the City of Benares in September 1940 - which brought to an end the evacuation of British children to North America - is one that I know well from my own researches but I couldn't put Nagorski's narrative down. I was one of those evacuees who came through unscathed.

Michael Henderson, author of 'See You After the Duration'

This is an amazing story - even more amazing that it is true. Nagorski is a master story teller, bring this heroic tale to life. A must read.

"Miracles on the Water" has all the elements of great adventure stories--a luxury liner torpedoed late at night; young children racing to lifeboats; and survival six hundred miles from land. This is a survival account well worth telling, and Nagorski (a relative to one of the survivors) gives it justice.

In 1940, as World War II settled in for a long dreary fight, families in London faced nightly ings by Hitler's Luftwaffe. Stay and be killed? Or send the children to other countries for safety? These questions faced staunch British souls. Through this book, we understand the drama of their decisions, and the resulting nightmare for numerous families when they discovered that the liner carrying their children across the Atlantic had been sunk. The real story, though, is the heroism and endurance of those who survived the attack--and a few who didn't.

Like previous survival accounts, such as "The Perfect Storm" and "Into Thin Air," this is a story that highlights the strength of the human spirit and the costly effects of muddled bureacracy. Why was the liner left unprotected, for example, when there were reports of a German U-boat in the area? While "Miracles on the Water" never reaches the narrative pace of the fore-mentioned books, it does serve as a reminder to those of us raised in a glutted western culture that we should always count our blessings.

I've been recommending this book to all my friends, saying it is as engaging (if not more so!) than Junger's "A Perfect Storm" and Krakauer's "Into Thin Air," but minus the show-off testerone. Nagorski's book touched my heart like few non-fiction books ever have--there were times I literally threw my arm out to try to grab one of the children falling overboard or being tossed around by waves! It is so thoughtfully well researched--the mood of the early war years is conveyed so well--yet Nagorski doesn't bog down the story with extraneous details. Only incredibly human, poignant, insightful ones that drive this narrative so masterfully. Bravo!