November: The Cruelest Month

by Frederick Stonehouse

Book by Frederick Stonehouse

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Frederick Stonehouse has authored over thirty books on maritime history, many of them focusing on the Great Lakes and contributed to several others. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and Great Lakes Lighthouse Tales are regional best sellers. Wreck Ashore, the U.S. Life-Saving Service on the Great Lakes, won a national publishing award and is the predominant work on the subject. Another book, Haunted Lakes, Great Lakes Maritime Ghost Stories, Superstitions and Sea Serpents, has opened an entirely new genre in Great Lakes study. His book, Final Voyage, is the first Great Lakes shipwreck book for children.

He has been a consultant for both the U.S. National Park Service and Parks Canada and has been an "on-air" expert for National Geographic, History Channel and Fox Family, as well as many regional media productions. Awards for contributions to Great Lakes maritime history have been received from Underwater Canada, Our World Underwater, Marquette Maritime Museum and Marquette County Historical Society. He is also the recipient of the 2006 Association For Great Lakes Maritime History Award for Historic Interpretation. The Award is presented annually in recognition of an individual making a major contribution over many years to the interpretation of Great Lakes maritime history in furtherance of the goals of the Association. In addition he was named the Marine Historical Society of Detroit’s “2007 Historian of the Year.” The award is the result of election by past MHSD Historians and recognizes persons who have actively contributed to the study of Great Lakes history. He holds a Master of Arts degree in History from Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan.

Reviews

[Shayna Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good information, but tries to cover too much. Becomes confusing and disjointed at times, dropping names of some ships and barely glazing over the details, and then turns to focus on the “main” wreck/s of the chapter.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have quite a few books about shipwrecks on the Great Lakes (since I live about 45 minutes from Lake Michigan). Spouse and I have visited and photographed many of the lighthouses in our state. So I had high hopes when I picked up this book to fulfill a category in a winter reading event at my local library. Yikes! The author was obviously asleep in English class and I fear that goes double for his editor. Enough said.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Agony to read. The subject matter has a lot of potential, but the author never gets too deeply into one particular shipwreck. Also, the author obviously did not have anyone edit the book, as there are countless spelling errors and grammatical errors.

[Marieta Grissom · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book provides an overview of many of the shipwreck disasters on the Great Lakes, which happened during the month of November. While I understand the author's intent to cover a few of the major accidents and bring in others as they fit the timeframe and enhance the story, I wonder if Mr. Stonehouse didn't tackle too much for his book. I had some trouble following the chronology. An introductory section explaining the format and plan for the narrative would have been helpful, and there really isn't much of a conclusion. In addition, an index would add to the usability of this book.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author picked good topics to focus on. Needs and editor desperately.

[David Grissom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a quick read. If you are looking for shipwrecks on the Great Lakes in November this book is for you. A lot history on each ship yet it still doesn’t tell all that we’re lost.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Great Lakes shipwreck books and now find that almost every new book that comes out has wrecks that I've read about before. Still this book had some new perspectives on wrecks I've read about and some wrecks that I hadn't. As with Mr. Stonehouse's other books, this one is well written, interesting and filled with details that make it worth the read if you like this sort of tale.