Burning Cold: The Cruise Ship Prinsendam And the Greatest Sea Rescue of All Time

by H. Paul Jeffers

During the evening of October 4, 1980, in the Pacific Ocean nearly 330 miles from Valdez, Alaska, a fire engulfed the engine room of the Prinsendam, a Holland America cruise ship carrying 320 passengers, most of them elderly. As the fire raged out of control, the ship’s captain faced the most dire decision of his career: Could he give the order to abandon ship in the face of a typhoon bearing down on the Prinsendam’s position? The story of this disaster at sea, and of the near-miraculous rescue that ensued, is recounted in heart-stopping detail in this powerful book. Drawing on extensive interviews with passengers, crew, and coast guardsmen, combined with exhaustive research, Saving the Prinsendam brings to life the last moments of the doomed cruise ship and the heroic efforts of the Coast Guardsmen who managed to transport every passenger to safety before the Prinsendam rolled and slid bow-first to the bottom on October 11. Told in the hour-by-hour style of Walter Lord's Titanic classic: A Night to Remember, the book recreates the drama of one of the most memorable—and successful—rescue operations ever to be conducted at sea.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 18, 2006

About the author

H. Paul Jeffers was an established military historian and author of seventy books. He worked as an editor and producer at ABC, CBS and NBC, and is the only person to have been news director of both of New York City's all-news radio stations. He taught journalism at New York University, Syracuse University, and Boston University.

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because my grandma was a passenger on the Prinsendam when this happened. It was poorly researched and didn't include so many important details I had heard firsthand from her.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to read this as I'm a Coast Guard officer who knows several of the rescuers. Disappointed in the number of technical errors. Obviously was not fact checked by a military person. Lots of good details were missing but it was a great rescue so it still gets 2 stars.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

made me made. had heard about the sinking of the prinsendam after a fire on the engine room that happened in 1980 ever since i began working for them in 1985. I sailed with many of the officers and crew who were very proud that not one person was hurt or killed during the incident. this book gives no credit to the HAL officers or Crew who got every pasenger and crew member into the life boats and in the water but only to the coast guard who bravely rescued them from the lifeboats into helicopters and on to other ships. Both deseve credit.

[Jaap Van · Rating 1 out of 5]

Have read the book. I was one of the officers on board of the ship. I is a pitty that in this book all is focused on the rescue done by the coast guard. When the fire started we had to make sure that all passengers and crew were save. The rescue started on board and was done by ships offices and crew. Due to our training and skills we were able to get all people save frrom the ship. There are no credits for us as officers and crew as well as the HAL. It look like alle has been done only by the coast guard. The ships officers and the crew worked well together so both saved alle the people.

[Chris Seals · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't one of the better rescue books I have read, but it was a good story.