Collision Course: The Classic Story of the Collision of the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Alvin Moscow (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Alvin Moscow's splendid book tells the full story . . . skillfully marshalling his facts, the author shifts back and forth between the two liners during those last eventful minutes before the collision."--The New York Times Book Review

"This brilliantly exciting narrative will go down as one of the great sagas of the sea."--Harper's

"An electrifying book."--Newsweek

"A highly perceptive, immensely readable account of the collision-one which will practically compel a reader to reach a decision such as the court might have made."--Chicago Tribune
-- Review

Review

"Alvin Moscow's splendid book tells the full story . . . skillfully marshalling his facts, the author shifts back and forth between the two liners during those last eventful minutes before the collision."--The New York Times Book Review

"This brilliantly exciting narrative will go down as one of the great sagas of the sea."--Harper's

"An electrifying book."--Newsweek

"A highly perceptive, immensely readable account of the collision-one which will practically compel a reader to reach a decision such as the court might have made."--Chicago Tribune

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592282873
• ISBN-13: 978-1592282876
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #875,046 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasure, March 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Collision course: The classic story of the most extraordinary sea disaster of our times--the collision at sea of the S.S. Andrea Doria and the M.S. Stockholm (Hardcover)

When he wrote this book, Alvin Moscow was a reporter (AP, I believe), and in Collision Course he produced one of the greatest news stories ever written. You literally live the agony of the Stockholm's junior officer who had the con when the Andrea Doria inexplicably crossed his bow. You live the agony of Captain Calamai as his magnificent ship does what modern ships are not supposed to do - capsize. There are heroes (among them four heroic ships) and there are cowards, there is tragedy and there is triumph. As a sample of journalistic skill this book has no equal. I have read and reread this vivid and fascinating account of a marine disaster many times. It is a permanent and dog-eared treasure in my non-fiction library.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent account of the loss of the ANDREA DORIA, January 23, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collision course: The classic story of the most extraordinary sea disaster of our times--the collision at sea of the S.S. Andrea Doria and the M.S. Stockholm (Hardcover)

On the night of July 25, 1956, the Italian liner ANDREA DORIA collided with the Swedish liner STOCKHOLM off Nantucket Sound. The DORIA sank the next morning in 225 feet of water. This is the classic case of "radar-assisted collision" (both ships detected each other 20 minutes before the collision!). "Collision Course" is an excellent account of how the collision came about, and why the DORIA (built to modern damage stability requirements) still sank anyway. The photographs of the sinking DORIA are gripping.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Written by a newspaper reporter and it shows., February 22, 2009

By	Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Published 3 years after the event, this book gives a reasonably full account of the collision at sea between the ships Andrea Doria and Stockholm off New York in 1956. It is, therefore, an invaluable work as far as research into this particular event is concerned. It is also one of 22 books I have studied on this subject.

A reporter with some 10 years experience, Alvin Moscow was assigned to cover the hearings held to establish the circumstances which led to this tragic event. During the course of his investigations, he claims to have "examined 6,000 pages of evidence, inspected over 200 exhibits and interviewed key men among officers and crew of the ships concerned as well as passengers." Furthermore, he then sailed to Europe on board the repaired Stockholm and returned to America on an Italian ship! All very fine, but then he also claims to have "been aboard every North Atlantic liner." His words.

By 1959, passenger liners had been crossing the North Atlantic for over 100 years. They sailed between many European and Scandinavian destinations to various ports in the USA (most notably, but not exclusively!, New York) and Canada. Even had he limited that claim to, say, "during his adult life," it is quite clear that such a declaration is flawed. Sadly, however, its very existence brings into question the author's credibility which then extends to everything committed to print.

Having said that, and with the benefit of, as I say, having studied several accounts of either the Andrea Doria, transatlantic passenger ships in general and, of course, this particular collision, I did find this to be a competent and generally accurate account.

Written in a manner which reflects this author's style of reporting of 50 years ago, it is not, however, an easy book to read. The prose are awkward and I found myself constantly reading sentences again in order to ascertain exactly what the author meant. 16 pages containing 25 black & white images are placed together in the middle of the book. Unfortunately, 12 of these are all very similar photographs of the sinking Andrea Doria and any number might have been replaced with something very different in order to add variety. For example, only two photographs are of survivors and, apart from the two ships' captains, no other key players are included.

Altogether, therefore, a competent work written by a newspaper reporter and it shows.

NM