Great Lakes Shipwrecks & Survivals

True stories of maritime tragedy and endurance

In this breathtaking chronicle, William Ratigan provides vivid accounts of the most catastrophic shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. The doomed vessels that Ratigan discusses include the magnificent excursion liner Eastland, which capsized in the Chicago River, drowning hundreds of people a short distance from the pier; the steel freighter Mataafa, which dumped its crew into freezing waters while the snowbound town of Duluth looked on; the dark Sunday in November 1913 when Lake Huron swallowed eight ships; and the bitter November of 1958 when the Bradley went down in Lake Michigan during one of the greatest killer storms in the region. An entire section is dedicated to the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald—one of the most famous maritime disasters in modern times—in Lake Superior in 1975. Watercolor illustrations, photographs, maps, and news clippings enrich Ratigan's compelling storytelling. Sailors, historians, and general readers alike will be moved by these memorable accounts of tragedy and heroism.