Saved!: The Story of the Andrea Doria, the Greatest Sea Rescue in History

Written by an acclaimed author, this book has clearly been well researched. Altogether, it provides those of us with an interest in the complete story of the loss of the Andrea Doria with what is probably the best book with which to commence. I say "commence" because this book was first published in 1979 and much more information has been discovered since that time. As an underwater photo-journalist with a speciality in shipwrecks - and whilst I have yet to visit this particular wreck (though I certainly shall!), I am already conversant with the general story. Of all the accounts I have read, however, this one appears to be exceedingly well researched and reported. Now that I have read the book, it seems probable to me that many other accounts have commenced with this work before adding something (and in some cases nothing) of their own. As I said, a good place to start for those interested in the loss of the Andrea Doria. NM

When you get down to it, the review's title says it all. William Hoffer followed in Walter Lord's literary footsteps with regard to the tragic sinking of a great transatlantic liner. He reseached his book the same way, interviewing as many of the survivors, particularly the ship's officers, as would talk to him about the night of July 25, 1956. His work was greatly aided by the facts he was writing barely 20 years after the fact rather than 40 years later, and that the number of deaths was nowhere near as high in the Doria's case as it was in Titanic's. As did Lord, Hoffer has the knack of putting you right into the scene and getting you to feel the fear, anxiety and sometimes terror the passengers and crew experienced when the Swedish motorship Stockholm collided with and mortally wounded the queen of the Italian passenger ship fleet, the Andrea Doria. He recounts the tales of courage and cowardice among the people aboard the dying liner very well, visiting with someone, then cutting away to see others, returning to his players at intervals of time to show what happened to them in such a way that you actually feel the passage of time. In this, his writing is actually superior to that of Lord's classic book. Not being a seaman himself, Hoffer carefully refrains from attempting to place blame for the collision on either the officers of the Doria or the Stockholm. However, he includes sufficient information from the transcripts of the inquiry into the sinking held as part of the attempts to settle the financial losses of the two shipping lines to allow his readers to draw their own conclusions as to who was at fault, and to what extent; and what could have been done differently on either bridge to have averted the dreadful collision. The Andrea Doria - Stockholm collision is used as an example in every radar observer's training class I ever attended as a Merchant Marine officer. After reading this book, you will understand why. The fact that in an age when every merchant vessel of any size was equipped with radar such a collision could still occur borders on the incomprehensible. But how different people respond when put into a situation no one ever expects to experience is at the heart of this book, and by telling the stories of the passengers and crew of the two ships, William Hoffer tells us all something about ourselves. For anyone who loves the sea, this book ought to be a "must read."

Written by an acclaimed author, this book has clearly been well researched. Altogether, it provides those of us with an interest in the complete story of the loss of the Andrea Doria with what is probably the best book with which to commence. I say "commence" because this book was first published in 1979 and much more information has been discovered since that time. As an underwater photo-journalist with a speciality in shipwrecks - and whilst I have yet to visit this particular wreck (though I certainly shall!), I am already conversant with the general story. Of all the accounts I have read, however, this one appears to be exceedingly well researched and reported. Now that I have read the book, it seems probable to me that many other accounts have commenced with this work before adding something (and in some cases nothing) of their own. As I said, a good place to start for those interested in the loss of the Andrea Doria. NM