Ask Bookie
The Gales of November : The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Other Available Formats
Overview
For three decades following World War II, the Great Lakes overtook Europe as the epicenter of global economic strength. The region was the beating heart of the world economy, possessing all the power and prestige Silicon Valley does today. And no ship represented the apex of the American Century better than the 729-foot-long Edmund Fitzgerald--the biggest, best, and most profitable ship on the Lakes.
But on November 10, 1975, as the "storm of the century" threw 100 mile-per-hour winds and 50-foot waves on Lake Superior, the Mighty Fitz found itself at the worst possible place, at the worst possible time. When she sank, she took all 29 men onboard down with her, leaving the tragedy shrouded in mystery for a half century.
In The Gales of November, award-winning journalist John U. Bacon presents the definitive account of the disaster, drawing on more than 100 interviews with the families, friends, and former crewmates of those lost. Bacon explores the vital role Great Lakes shipping played in America's economic boom, the uncommon lives the sailors led, the sinking's most likely causes, and the heartbreaking aftermath for those left behind--"the wives, the sons, and the daughters," as Gordon Lightfoot sang in his unforgettable ballad.
Focused on those directly affected by the tragedy, The Gales of November is both an emotional tribute to the lives lost and a propulsive, page-turning narrative history of America's most-mourned maritime disaster.
Customers Also Bought
- 1
Details
- ISBN-13: 9781324094647
- ISBN-10: 1324094648
- Publisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation
- Publish Date: October 2025
- Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.75 pounds
- Page Count: 464
Related Categories
You May Also Like...
- 1
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” the iconic song by singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, sounds so timeless that it might be a traditional folk ballad. It most decidedly isn’t: Listeners in the Great Lakes region who first caught that song on their radios in 1976 were reliving a local tragedy from just months before. For some, it brought back crushing memories of the funerals of husbands, fathers, sons, friends and boyfriends—all mourned without coffins to be buried. Fifty years on, John U. Bacon undertakes a comprehensive reexamination of that tragic shipwreck on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975, in The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, an exciting and heartbreaking narrative that relies heavily on interviews with relatives and friends of the 29 lost Edmund Fitzgerald crew members. Bacon, author of the bestselling Great Halifax Explosion, also tackles the mystery of why the 729-foot Fitzgerald, by all accounts one of the best built and best run ships on the Great Lakes, sank when other ships on the lake in the same storm survived. As one marine expert tells him, “It’s never just one thing that sinks a ship; it’s a series of events, like dominoes. And if you don’t stop the chain, they can start tumbling fast.” A lifelong Michigander, Bacon beautifully describes the gritty world of the Iron Range ore-mining districts and the Great Lakes shipping industry. His writing is most absorbing when he recreates the lives of the 29 victims, from the admired captain to the newest rookie. But the tour de force is his gripping hour-by-hour narrative of the wreck, enriched by interviews with men who had served previously on the Fitzgerald or were on other ships in the same horrendous storm. Bacon brings great empathy to his stories of the crew and their loved ones, perhaps most movingly in the tale of the unwed pregnant teen who built a relationship with her fiancé’s devastated mom. He also unsparingly examines the shipping industry’s flaws at the time and possible mistakes made by an overwhelmed captain. The Gales of November is a definitive accounting that may be the last book that can draw on direct contemporary observations of this colossal tragedy.
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” the iconic song by singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, sounds so timeless that it might be a traditional folk ballad. It most decidedly isn’t: Listeners in the Great Lakes region who first caught that song on their radios in 1976 were reliving a local tragedy from just months before. For some, it brought back crushing memories of the funerals of husbands, fathers, sons, friends and boyfriends—all mourned without coffins to be buried. Fifty years on, John U. Bacon undertakes a comprehensive reexamination of that tragic shipwreck on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975, in The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, an exciting and heartbreaking narrative that relies heavily on interviews with relatives and friends of the 29 lost Edmund Fitzgerald crew members. Bacon, author of the bestselling Great Halifax Explosion, also tackles the mystery of why the 729-foot Fitzgerald, by all accounts one of the best built and best run ships on the Great Lakes, sank when other ships on the lake in the same storm survived. As one marine expert tells him, “It’s never just one thing that sinks a ship; it’s a series of events, like dominoes. And if you don’t stop the chain, they can start tumbling fast.” A lifelong Michigander, Bacon beautifully describes the gritty world of the Iron Range ore-mining districts and the Great Lakes shipping industry. His writing is most absorbing when he recreates the lives of the 29 victims, from the admired captain to the newest rookie. But the tour de force is his gripping hour-by-hour narrative of the wreck, enriched by interviews with men who had served previously on the Fitzgerald or were on other ships in the same horrendous storm. Bacon brings great empathy to his stories of the crew and their loved ones, perhaps most movingly in the tale of the unwed pregnant teen who built a relationship with her fiancé’s devastated mom. He also unsparingly examines the shipping industry’s flaws at the time and possible mistakes made by an overwhelmed captain. The Gales of November is a definitive accounting that may be the last book that can draw on direct contemporary observations of this colossal tragedy.