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Loading... The Tragic Story of the Empress of Irelandby Logan Marshall
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A century after it sank to the bottom of the St. Lawrence River, the ruin of the Empress of Ireland has remained one of the most devastating tragedies in maritime history. Logan Marshall's vivid and detailed reportage was the first account of the disaster and has endured as a classic chronicle of what happened that fateful night. On May 28, 1914, the grand ocean liner, the Empress of Ireland, left Quebec on the St. Lawrence River, bound for an Atlantic crossing to Liverpool, England. At a few minutes before two o'clock on the morning of Friday, May 29, the Empress sighted the Norwegian collier, Storstad, at the same time as a heavy fog bank was descending. Despite warnings and evasive maneuvers, the Empress was struck on the starboard side by the Storstad, which penetrated its hull by twelve feet. The captain and crew had less than fifteen minutes to save their passengers before the ship slipped under the waves. Of the 1,475 aboard, 1,078 perished in a matter of minutes. It remains the worst peacetime catastrophe in Canadian history. In addition to his unforgettable account of the sinking, Logan Marshall also presents a gripping retelling of the Titanic disaster, as well as other maritime tragedies. For decades, Marshall's account of the Empress of Ireland has remained the definitive version, comparable to Walter Lord's chronicle of the Titanic sinking, A Night to Remember. CENTENNIAL EDITION: INCLUDES PHOTOS AND A NEW AFTERWORD UPDATING THE STORY No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)910.916344History and Geography Geography and Travel Geography and Travel History, geographic treatment, biography - Discovery. exploration Geography of and travel in areas, regions, places in general Air And Water Atlantic OceanLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The book is divided into lots of short chapters and are refreshingly readable. Some of the diagrams leave something to be desired (the map of the St. Lawrence, for instance, was tiny and difficult to read), but others, such as the diagram showing how the Empress of Ireland collided with the Storstad, were more useful. There are chapters discussing the sinking itself, the recovery efforts, the commission of inquiry, and even the geography of the St. Lawrence (this contained some very nice writing). There is also "bonus material" about the Titanic, which admittedly I skipped over because I already know about the Titanic, and the book concludes with some notes on ship design and lifeboat/life raft standards that are probably best suited to a more specialist audience.
I would recommend this for people who like to read about maritime disasters, Canadian history, or contemporary accounts of historical events. ( )