DOC Mighty Fitz: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage) by Michael Schumacher in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great read for the Fitz enthusiast; good read; regardlessBy RYAN R.I was a year and 72 days old when the Titanic of the GL sunk; and grade school in the early 80s when I heard Gordon Lightfoot's song. I've had interest in the story since. Mighty Fitz is the only book I've read on the topic and the detail Schumacher goes into almost makes you feel as if you're onboard during the tragic final run. Reading about the sinking gave me an eerie feeling. The book gives you several conclusions from those who were both there as well as those who investigated; and explored; as to what may have happened; but it's likely to stay a mystery to all but God. Regardless if you're a Fitz buff; Mighty Fitz is a good; somewhat haunting read. It gives you a good idea of the terror both the Fitz and the Arthur M. Anderson's crew must've endured 11-10-75.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The most famous shipwreck in Great Lakes historyBy NateEven to this day; with no survivors and limited radio and visual contact with the trailing freighter; there is debate on whether the Fitz broke apart on the surface; upon hitting the bottom; and who/what was responsible for her sinking. Was it weather alone (a rogue wave perhaps); the design; the captain; the fact that she was overloaded (certainly she was over the limit she was initially designed for) and were the hatches compromised by 'green' water; did she bottom out in the shoals of eastern Lake Superior thus compromising her hull? So many unanswered questions. The families of 29 sailors endured the pain of losing their fathers; brothers; sons and friends for almost 40 yrs. No bodies were ever recovered; no survivors to tell the tale. If you red this book; be sure to listen to Gordon Lightfoots spine-chilling "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"..."When suppertime came; the old cook came on deckSayin' "Fellas; it's too rough to feed ya"At seven PM a main hatchway caved inHe said; "Fellas; it's been good to know ya"The captain wired in he had water comin' inAnd the good ship and crew was in perilAnd later that night when his lights went out of sightCame the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Truly AstoundingBy Rick KeanIt's a good; solid history of the ship and the region. Having grown up in Northern Ohio; with a father who regularly took me with him when he visited many of the large "ore boats" as part of his job with Mobil; I could relate to most of the towns and ports that were part of the story. Having worked one summer as a deckhand for the Columbia Steamship Division of Ogelsbay Norton (the same company as owned the SS Edmund Fitzgerald -- on the SS Crispin Ogelsbay); I could relate to the ships as well. Having taken one long voyage from Detroit to Green Bay; WI in the midst of a summer storm on Lake Superior; I can attest to the mammoth power of that freshwater lake that is larger; deeper and more ferocious than many saltwater seas.Yet the idea that a gargantuan vessel like the Mighty Fitz could have been driven under and broken up by wave action is truly astounding.