Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures: Great Lakes: Legends And Lore, Pirates And More!

by Michael J. Varhola, Frederick Stonehouse (Foreword), Paul G. Hoffman (Illustrator)

Twenty-one riveting stories and illustrations about ships that met their end in the treacherous waters of the Great Lakes, such British gunboat H.M.S. Speedy in 1804, American Navy brig U.S.S. Niagara in 1820, Civil War steamer Island Queen in 1864, the infamous freighter Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, and many more!

Genres: History, Nonfiction

232 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

Michael J. Varhola has a lifelong interest in the paranormal and has conducted investigations worldwide. He is a public speaker, author of several books, and a freelance journalist with a strong background in history, research, and fieldwork. He lives in Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C."

Reviews

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent stories. The storytelling is a little clumsy, but there are moments where it gleams. I especially appreciate the list of resources in the back; this is clearly a labor of love.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have liked to give this book more stars, based on its subject, but it just did not live up to expectations. Some of the issues (in no particular order) were:

- the glossary defined several terms not used in the text, and several terms in the text which would not be understood by a lay audience (such as deadweight tonnage, or DWT) were not included.

- in one of the stories, the author and editor missed that the dates 1905, 1908, and 1912 were incorrectly sequenced.

- in general, the stories were far too brief. In conjunction with the preface and intro, it felt as if the author himself didn't believe the stories merited longer discussion. I certainly felt that they did! I think he underestimated his material and it almost seems as if he thought it would seem uninteresting unless kept to a very short length. It felt like reading Cliff's Notes, and I would've appreciated more context for most of the stories (e.g., relations between the French and Indians, further context for the War of 1812 and Civil War, and especially some elaborations on what additional safety standards or longer-term impacts some of these wrecks had on Great Lakes and other shipping). At the very least, although implied for some of the stories, some explanation as to why the author saw fit to include each one!

- I found the inclusion of a foreword, preface, and introduction to such a slight volume unnecessary.

In this case, twice as long would've been many times as good.

[Brett Van Gaasbeek · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was interesting and reads well for a local history tract, but the title is a tad misleading. There are no real stories of pirates, as the only discussion that remotely relates to that would be the issue of salvaging from a wrecked ship by local thieves. There are brief discussions of ghost ship possibilities and the Great Lakes own "Bermuda triangle" effect, but these are glossed over in a couple of pages. The book is basically a collection of shipwreck stories on the Great Lakes. In that regard, the author does fairly well to tell the stories, but there seems to be limitations, as many of these wrecks had no survivors and therefore no first hand accounts of the ship's demise. Interesting read for those that are into the Great Lakes region, shipwrecks, or local history of the Northwest territory region.

[Olenka Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fantastic!
I really enjoyed the author's writing style. It kept the read interesting and engaging, while still maintaining factual value.

My only complaint is that the 'Edmund Fitzgerald' chapter was saved for the end and wasnt too long. It was one of the shortest chapters and my most anticipated one. I know this is due to the nature of the wreck and the little evidence of cause.

Educational. Entertaining. Imaginative.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting! I liked the stories, but didn’t love the history book feel of the facts.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of stories about the shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. A little long in the nautical terminology for a novice but entertaining stories.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book for my birthday. I was excited to learn more about the history of the great lakes. I thought I might read a few of the stories to the kids but all the stories end in disaster with loss of life (from a few to a few hundred). The last story is on the Edmund Fitzgerald. Eventhough the book is subtitled Legends and Lore, Pirates and more, I only remember reading about shipwrecks.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read, interesting history.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating subject, but I never really"connected" with the narration.