Customer Reviews

Out of the Fog: The Sinking of Andrea Doria

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How often has it been said by someone looking at the written word "but it says so here, so it must be correct!" Said as though everything is subjected to some sort of honesty check prior to publication. Such sentiments demonstrate how readers trust writers to produce accurate facts. This book is an abuse of that trust.

First published over 30 years after the Andrea Doria sank and written by the man who was the official information officer of the Holland-Amerika Line who owned the Stockholm. This so-called author was that company's spin doctor of his day. His job was to make his company look good, make defeat look like a victory and annihilation like a temporary setback. This book is an extension of that process.

26 year old (in 1956) Johan-Ernst Bogislaus Carstens-Johannsen (known as Carstens) was Third Officer (i.e. fourth in order of seniority after the Captain, First and Second Officers respectively) on the Stockholm and was on the 2030 to midnight watch on that night. This was his first-ever watch in charge of a ship. Captain Gunnar Nordenson had set a course from New York into a shipping lane rarely used by outbound ships because it was favoured by inbound traffic. Fog was also forecast and Carstens was instructed to call the Captain when fog was sighted. Ignoring standing orders which demanded TWO ship's officers be on the bridge, Nordenson left Carstens to get on with it - and he did.

On board the inbound Andrea Doria, things were much different. Captain Calamai was on his 101st crossing of the Atlantic in that ship. On seeing fog, he had personally taken command of the ship and reduced speed. He was also assisted by two of his officers. On the Stockholm, Carstens had his radar set to the 5 mile scale but thought it was set to the 15 mile scale! Consequently, when he did see that blip which told him a ship was headed his way, he thought it was much further away than was actually the case. At one point he even left the bridge at a critical time. Utterly out of his depth, he eventually turned his ship towards the Andrea Doria at the very last moment.

For me, it is probably for what Carstens did not do that he should always be remembered. Firstly, he did not seek help at any time. Not once did he ask advice. Secondly, he did not inform the captain when he saw fog - as were his instructions. When making that final, fatal, turn, he did not even sound the obligatory warning on the ship's whistle as was standard procedure. Had those on board the Andrea Doria heard such a signal, they could have reacted immediately. Instead, they were caught unawares. Later Carstens denied having seen any fog, although, he did admit to wondering why he had not seen the oncoming ship until the last possible moment. He later changed his testimony more than once.

This book was first published 30 years after the event and the author admits much of the content comes courtesy of Carstens. Make of that what you will. My point is this; Had Carstens been as innocent as he would still have us believe, there would not be a need for him to continue shouting that innocence from the rooftops after so many years. Instead those experts who have studied the facts would have already exonerated him. As Shakespeare would have said; "Methinks he doth protest too much."

What this book reveals, however, is a man seemingly without conscience who remains unaffected by the events of 1956. Whilst Carstens went on to become a ship's master himself, Captain Calamai never returned to sea. Piero Calamai died on 7 April 1972 in Genoa. On his deathbed, his very last words were; "Are the passengers safe?"

Somehow, when his time comes, I get the impression Carstens will have problems remembering the event at all. I have certainly never read any account of his having expressed any remorse, not even of his sorrow. As far as this book is concerned, the reader really should not be fooled by such a biased work and must regard the entire content as fictional.

NM

Out Of The Fog: The Sinking Of Andrea Doria is a thoughtfully presented and informatively detailed account of the events that led up to the tragic 1956 sinking of the luxury liner Andrea Doria upon its fateful collision with the Stockholm. Fifty-six people died, the two companies who owned each ship chose to settle out of court, and the lack of documented resolution leaves questions hanging on to the present day. Knowledgeably written by Algot Mattsson (an information officer for Swedish America Line when the wreck happened), Out Of The Fog was originally published as "The Long Night" in 1986; now, this insider's account has been skillfully translated into English and presented to a new generation of readers in this Cornell Maritime Press edition. Out Of The Fog is a confidently recommended addition to 20th Century Maritime History collections and reading lists.

This book was originally published in Swedish by Algot Mattsson, and has fortunately now been skillfully translated to English. Mattsson, at the time a public affairs official with Swedish-American Line, tells the story of the "Andrea Doria"-"Stockholm" collision accurately and skillfully. People already familiar with the case will, no doubt, occasionally find hints of pro-Swedish bias in the account, but I believe that the book is overall quite objective and it fascinating to read.

There are numerous excellent, rare photographs and illustrations as well as reprints of several important articles on the collision in the appendices. The only part of the book I really didn't enjoy was Chapter 19 "'Andrea Doria' v. 'Stockholm': an Imagined Conversation." This chapter conjectures a conversation between lawyers of the two parties arguing the merits of their cases. The actual material is good, but the fictitious method in which it is written would have been better replaced by a factual recap of the legal arguments and opinions involved.

Overall, I highly recommend this book: it is a valuable edition in the library of anyone interested in the fates of the "Andrea Doria" and "Stockholm".

The book is well-written, but it is not factual. Rather, it is based on a false premise: that a letter was written by an Italian shipbuilder revealing defects in the Andrea Doria's structure. No one has ever seen the letter! The book's intention is to thwart criticism of the Stockholm's crew who was clearly to blame for broadsiding the Andrea Doria. The book's title could easily be changed to Out of the Smokescreen since there are no substantiated facts.

Fascinating photos and history of the great ship. I highly recommend this book!