Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures: Great Lakes: Legends and Lore, Pirates and More! (Paperback)

~ Michael J. Varhola (Author), Paul G. Hoffman (Illustrator), Frederick Stonehouse (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Twenty-one riveting stories and illustrations about ships that met their end in the treacherous waters of the Great Lakes, such as: British gunboat H.M.S. Speedy in 1804, American Navy brig U.S.S. Niagara in 1820, Civil War steamer Island Queen in 1864, the infamous freighter Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, and many more!

From the Back Cover

ACTION-PACKED STORIES OF SHIPS SUCH AS:

SS Benajmin Noble • SS Carl D. Bradley • SS Eastland • SS Edmund Fitzgerald • SS G. P. Griffith • SS Henry Steinbrenner • SS Island Queen • SS Kaliyuga • SS Kamloops • SS Lady Elgin • SS Mataafa • SS Noronic

 

AHOY, MATE!

Step into the past and aboard the decks of these twenty-one proud vessels, each one launched with high hopes but doomed finally to disaster. From the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the last major freighter lost on the lakes, to the Le Griffin, the ill-fated liner that mysteriously disappeared during a ruthless storm, author Michael J. Varhola spins these tales with heart-pounding drama. Whether battered by hurricane-force gales, gouged by hidden rocks, or simply sabotaged by poor judgment, these ships live on in the most compelling oceangoing stories you've ever read.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Globe Pequot; 1st edition (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762744928
• ISBN-13: 978-0762744923
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #759,921 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly Surprised, October 14, 2007

By	Carl L. Hickson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This was an excellent read. I have always enjoyed books about shipwrecks. This book delves into shipwrecks of the Great Lakes opening the door to an area explored little by writers of this topic. Mr. Varhola takes his readers away from the warm waters of the Caribbean and recounts historical tales of lost ships in the colder waters in the American Great Lakes. The histories of the various ships were fascinating and the imagery of one or two short stories brought life to this topic. As a fan of historical fiction I hope Mr. Varhola will utilize his well researched knowledge to create a few tales that dig deeper into this subject matter.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy read, January 9, 2009

By	Sam Brogger - See all my reviews

I just received this book and it took me all of two days to finish it (I like to read). The chapters are short and easy to read just one or two (or all of them) in a sitting. I wish the author would have gone into a little more detail on each of the shipwrecks though. Overall, I would reccommend this book to anyone who likes maritime history in the Great Lakes. There are a lot of nautical terms [it is a book about ships] and although there is a glossary in the back of the book a few of the terms, such as draft, do not appear so a basic knowledge of boats is helpful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Sea Stories!, January 10, 2008

By	John B. Kachuba "Author of 'Ghosthunters: On ... (Athens, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

MikeVarhola's Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures: Great Lakes is an engrossing and entertaining read. Anyone who grew up on the shore, as I did, or who loves ships ("boats," as they are called on the Great Lakes) will find these twenty-five stories riveting. Varhola writes with clarity and close attention to historical details about mighty vessels that came to a bad end in the vast reaches of the Great Lakes. He takes the reader on a fascinating voyage through maritime history, beginning his chronicles in 1679 with the disappearance of French explorer LaSalle's Le Griffon and sailing right up to the 1975 fabled wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

One of my favorite stories in Shipwrecks is the story of the Eastland, a steamship that rolled over on the Chicago River in 1915--literally less than twenty feet from downtown sidewalks--killing over 800 people. I also wrote about the Eastland (more specifically, about the ghosts of its victims) in my book, Ghosthunting Illinois, but Varhola's story is a great retelling of the grim historical details for those readers unfamiliar with the disaster.

I recommend Shipwrecks for readers who are interested in ships and the lore of the sea, or who have an interest in the history of the Great Lakes region, and I look forward to reading more of Varhola's works.

John Kachuba
Author, Ghosthunters: On the Trail of Mediums, Dowsers, Spirit Seekers, and Other Investigators of America's Paranormal World


[ASIN:1578602203 Ghosthunting Illinois (The Haunted Heartland)]]