Ships Gone Missing: The Great Lakes Storm of 1913

by Robert J. Hemming

Book by Hemming, Robert J.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

205 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my goddddd. how many people’s lives have been lost because their bosses wanted to make more money.

[Madi Lore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ironically read this book over the exact dates of the storm. On Lake Erie, November 7-10 2025, we too had gale-force winds and unexpected snow!

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Lakes have been called the world's eighth sea, and because storms on them erupt with a viciousness that caught mariners unprepared in the days before radio communications and modern weather forecasting , the wreckage of more than six thousand ships litters the bottom of these lakes .In November 1913 , for four horror filled days , a storm of such enormous power raged across the Great Lakes that it sank a dozen ships , damaged twenty - five more , drowned almost three hundred sailors and passengers , and wrecked havoc ashore in parts of Wisconsin, I Illinois , and Michigan and much of Ohio , Indiana, and Pennsylvania .Robert J. Hemming recreates the harrowing drama of the individuals and ships that fought to survive one of the most ferocious and costly maritime storms ever . Drawing on historical records , including firsthand contemporary accounts of survivors , Ships Gone Missing weaves a gripping tale of valor and courage .Robert J. Hemming is author of three books , including Gales of November; The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read this book, I continue my search for a very good book about the 1913 storm on the Great Lakes. This book was better than So Terrible A Storm, in that it spoke more about what had occurred to cause the storm, but after a promising start to the book, things go down hill. Despite being named Ships Gone Missing, this book is far less about the ships and what happened to them (some of them the author does not even mention what happened to them after the storm) instead the book quickly descends into pure pathos. It is impossible to ignore the tragedy of a ship going down, but it seems as though the author goes out of his way to center on the people who offered the most on the ship, ignoring those in command entirely if it is not practical for sake of the story. The author also engages in a practice that I cannot stand, that of speculating on the thoughts of people who never had the chance to tell anyone what went through their mind, since the entire ship went down with all hands.