Why the Edmund Fitzgerald Sank

On the night of November 10, 1975, shortly after seven fifteen, the 729-foot long iron ore freighter, Edmund Fitzgerald, nose-dived to the bottom of Great Lake Superior. The end was so sudden and catastrophic that not a single mayday was transmitted. All hands were lost. There weren’t any survivors. Ever since that tragedy took place, countless theories have been advanced as to why this happened. Some were credible; others were absurd. Emotional elements hampered underwater investigations and tied the hands of subsequent explorations. As a result, the truth was prevented from being told—not anymore.

In the book Why the Edmund Fitzgerald Sank, brilliant author Timothy J. Thompson has unveiled the reasons behind this entirely avoidable tragedy. Drawing upon both primary and secondary sources, Mr. Thompson retells the incredible story of the Edmund Fitzgerald in the most dynamic way. He vividly describes the questionable hull construction, the constant overloading, the poor maintenance, the industry-wide negligence, and the faulty navigation that all worked in unison to create the perfect recipe for disaster.

Once you, the reader, are finished reading this phenomenal book, you will know exactly what caused the loss of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. Moreover, you will realize that it was not a mystery as so many others have described it but rather a tragedy just waiting to happen.