The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

I first read this book after a visit to Whitefish Point in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. At this magical location -- where waves break together from two different directions -- you can look out into Lake Superior 15 miles and see the spot where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down. You can visit the lighthouse-turned-museum where the Fitzgerald's bell sits for eternity. You can watch a movie about the tragedy and look at a half-dozen artist renderings of the ship's final moments. After doing all this, how could you not read this book? Frederick Stonehouse's book is still definitive in explaining the sequence of events that resulted in sinking the ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald and the subsequent confusion that followed. Television programs since that time have tried to convince viewers that loose hatches sunk the ship, the same conclusion the Coast Guard reached after its investigation. Stonehouse doesn't believe it and makes the case for same in his book. For one thing, hatch covers weigh thousands of pounds. Even in a rollicking storm with 30 foot waves and 75 mile per hour winds, would these be dislodged so completely that the ship's hold would be filled with water sufficient to sink it? This is the zillion dollar question never answered with certainty. The silver lining is this uncertainty keeps the mystery of this wreck alive in the imagination of anyone who loves the seas, Great Lakes or shipping. If you love any of those things, you'll want to read this book.

The first copy of the book that I bought was in 1983, the reprint of the First Edition. It began my "hobby" and fascination of the Great Lakes, including writing about the great and truly awesome natural resource that they are. I have had a chance to dive each of them, and each has its own character - and its own wrecks. Fred Stonehouse did a wonderful job piecing together the sketchy information available just after the wreck. His was the first book on the wreck, and is still the most accurate. Fred's accuracy and his completeness in the criticism of the lack of resources on the Lake that night highlight how the power of the "Eighth Sea" is many times underestimated by people. This is as true today as it was in 1975. This is a great book on a tragic event.

If you have any intrest in the Fitz, this is the book for you.This is one of the most informative books about the Fitz I have ever read.The only thing I can say is you will not be disapointed.

I just completed reading Frederick Stonehouse's book (1999 paperback addition) and could not put it down! The various theories mentioned in the text give the readers a good chance to draw an intelligent conclusion on their own. The details of Capt. Cooper's (of the SS Arthur Anderson) conversations with Capt. McSorely were an excellent way of putting us in the middle of the tragic situation. The interview with Steve Chandler of "South Shore" magazine was another useful tool in bringing up many points about the investigation of the Coast Guard, as well as zeroing in on small facts of the Fitzgerald that might have contributed to its sinking. Gordon Lightfoot's lyrics and reference were of particular interest to me, as his hit song was the way I found out about the wreck back in 1976. My only complaint; put the captions on the same page as the pictures instead of making the reader thumb back and forth to figure out what picture they are looking at. Otherwise, excellent work!

I HAVE JUST BOUGHT THIS COPY OF THE BOOK AND I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I HAVE BEEN STUDING THE BIG FITZ NOW FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW AND THIS BOOK IS THE BEST I HAVE SEEN . THERE ARE PARTS THAT I DID NOT AGREE WITH . BUT OTHER PARTS THAT I DID. THE PICTURES WHERE EXCELLENT AND THE SONG AND THE NAMES OF THE CREW MEMBERS WHERE A NICE TOUCH TOO. OVER ALL I HAVE TO RATE THIS BOOK AS THE BEST BOOK WRITTEN ABOUT THE EDMUND FITZGERALD. ALTHOUGH I PAID 25 DOLLARS FOR IT I WOULD SAY IT WAS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER BOUGHT ON THE EDMUND FITZGERALD! THANK YOU MICHELLE GREEN