Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Gales of November:
If it’s November, don’t go on the Great Lakes.
Quick synopsis:
The story of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Fact for Non-History People:
The Great Lakes hold 80% of North America’s freshwater and 20% of the entire world’s.
Fact for History Nerds:
Between 1875 and 1975, the Great Lakes claimed at least 6,000 ships.
My Take on The Gales of November:
There’s a certain guilt in enjoying books about disasters. Much like true crime, it can often feel like you are a voyeur of human tragedy. However, I think this is only true when what you are reading doesn’t respect its subject. For me, if I can talk smartly about the tragedy when I am done then it is no longer about the catastrophe. It is about the people who got caught in the storm and the people who are left behind.
In the case of The Gales of November by John Bacon, it is a superb telling of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald by an author who is enamored with his subject and the people around it. Bacon’s narrative is very much a love letter to Great Lakes sailors and their families (with the expected slight exaggerations now and again). Bacon took the time to speak to as many primary sources as possible, including people who were on the Mighty Fitz before its fateful final journey. It makes for a story which is fully immersive and crushingly sad by the end.
I have read other books on the sinking which generally end up being quite short. The ship went down with all hands so much of what we know is some facts and a lot of conjecture. Bacon gets around this by telling the story of Great Lakes shipping and how these bodies of water can be just as deadly (if not more) than the open ocean. The author even spends some time on what I think might be the most overlooked natural disaster in American history, the White Hurricane. Haven’t heard of it? Well, now you have another reason to read this book (and David G. Brown’s White Hurricane for an even deeper look). This book is much longer than someone may expect because the whole story is not just the sinking. Bacon gets that and the narrative is exceptional because of it.
And yes, Bacon does remember to discuss Gordon Lightfoot’s The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Like the song, I think the families of the Mighty Fitz would heartily approve of this book.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company/Liveright.)
Verdict:
A must read. Buy it here!
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