Tag: shipwrecks
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Island of the Lost by Joan Druett
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Island of the Lost: Seriously, stories like this are why I didn’t go in the navy. Quick synopsis: The story of the shipwreck of the Grafton on the Auckland Islands in 1864. Oh, it’s also the story of the shipwreck of the Invercauld on those same islands just a few months…
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The Ghost Ships of Archangel by William Geroux
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ghost Ships of Archangel: Stalin was kind of a jerk? You don’t say. Quick synopsis: The story of PQ-17, a World War II supplies convoy headed for Russia. The convoy needed to pass across German occupied seas, and it goes…. badly. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Technological limitations lead…
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Ship Ablaze by Edward O’Donnell
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ship Ablaze: Sometimes life preservers are a bad idea. Quick synopsis: The story of the disaster of the General Slocum in 1904. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: On a pleasure cruise around New York City, the boat caught fire and sank killing 1,342 people on board. It was the worst…
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The Book Was Better: In The Heart of the Sea
Alternate Tagline for In the Heart of the Sea: Don’t piss off whales. Quick synopsis: The story of a whaling ship sunk by a whale in the Pacific Ocean and the fight to stay alive after. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Moby Dick exists partially because of this story. Don’t hold that against the…
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The Finest Hours by Michael Tougias
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Finest Hours: Two shipwrecks for the price of one! Quick synopsis: The story of two oil tankers in distress off Cape Cod in 1952 and the effort to save the crew by the Coast Guard. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Both distressed ships split in half! And kept floating…
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My Favorite History: The White Hurricane
From November 7th through November 10th, 1913, the Great Lakes were hammered by what was called the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, or much more ominously, the “White Hurricane.” I love history when I have absolutely no insight before I start digging in. I am huge lover of shipwreck stories and came across White Hurricane…
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A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for A Night to Remember: Better than the movie. Certainly shorter. Quick synopsis: The classic retelling of the sinking of the Titanic. Enough said. This book was used as reference material for James Cameron when he wrote Titanic. Walter Lord wrote it in 1955. I believe that’s the definition of timeless. Fun…
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Batavia’s Graveyard by Mike Dash
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Batavia’s Graveyard: Well, this escalates quickly. Quick synopsis: The story of the Dutch ship, the Batavia in 1628. Oh, that doesn’t sound interesting? How about the subsequent mutiny, murder, and final battle on the beach for the lives of all who still lived? Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Do I…
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The Shipwreck Hunter by David Mearns
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Shipwreck Hunter: It is really hard to find old shipwrecks. Who knew?! Quick synopsis: Selected shipwreck findings of celebrated explorer/shipwreck hunter David Mearns. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Shipwrecks are sometimes so easy to find it’s kind of embarrassing. The Esmeralda, a 500-year-old ship was found in about 5…