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Title: Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum by Edward T. O'Donnell ISBN: 0-7679-0905-4 Publisher: Broadway Books Pub. Date: 10 June, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.83 (40 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Living Local History
Comment: Dr. O'Donnell ahs a knack for writing and conveying both the
history and the story of this tragedy. The lives and impressions
of the people who suffered this tragedy are brought alive in his
writing. The facts and events are clearly interwoven which makes the story of the General Slocum three dimensional.
"Ship Ablaze" also details the New York City German community of KleinDetuschland. The reader is given a very clear picture of this close knit community, and what happened to it after the disaster. This book is a valuable resource for descendants of those who boarded the General Slocum, those interested in New York City's (or urban)or maritime history.
The scholarship and clarity of the events are told very well. So much so, that I added "Ship Ablaze!" to my American History class's reading list.
Daniel Padovano, Adjunct Professor of History, Pace University.
Rating: 5
Summary: Compelling Historical Disaster Saga
Comment: Edward T. O'Donnell's "Ship Ablaze" is head-and-shoulders above the glut of historical disaster books lining the shelves these days. O'Donnell's well written narrative history has all of the elements that make a book like this compelling: it details a tragic and nearly forgotten event, it paints the event on the proper historical backdrop and also tells the stories of the victims in a sympathetic and unsensationalistic way.
Though it is not well remembered, the fire and sinking of the steamboat General Slocum near New York City was the city's deadliest disaster prior to September 11, 2001. Over 1000 people, mostly women and children, perished in a few horrifying minutes. What is more disturbing about the story is that the disaster was completely preventable. Had the General Slocum's fire safety equipment been properly inspected and maintained and had the crew been trainbed in fire safety, it is unlikely that there would have been any loss of life.
All of this O'Donnell describes in vivid detail. He also describes life in turn-of-the-century New York, particularly the so-called Little Germany section where the victims were from. The latter part of the book is dedicated to the legal battles that resulted in the imprisonment of the General Slocum's captain, but not the federal inspectors or boat owners who were equally responsible for the tragedy.
Overall, an outstanding work of narrative history that will appeal to history buffs as well as general readers.
Rating: 4
Summary: An inferno of catastrophic proportions
Comment: I was unfamiliar with this historic tragedy, the fire on board the steamboat General Slocum in 1904 that cost 1,300 people their lives, on a church-sponsored outing on a popular venue that delivered charters to Long Island Sound for one-day excursions. The emotional devastation brought on by this horrendous event changed Germantown forever.
The author puts a human face on the group that participated in the outing, an annual event that offered a welcome respite to daily lives filled with drudgery. Although only a one day event, for the many residents of Germantown, the outing was equal to the two week vacations gaining popularity with working class New Yorkers, certainly as close as these day-trippers would get to any kind of leisure. The outing was carefully planned, tickets sold and whole families dressed up in their Sunday best.
In 1904, fire was a fact of life for New York City, especially along the waterfront. In fact, mandatory inspections were made of such vessels by special governmental oversight agencies; however, in the case of the General Slocum, the inspector failed to note the deterioration of the life preservers or fire hoses that were the original ones installed thirteen years prior. When the fire raged out of control, people were without any means of escape. Even the life boats were wired in place and could not be released.
The fire spread unchecked as passengers realized they were in mortal danger, smoke obscuring their vision. The crew made no effort to fight the flames or assist the desperate passengers, a factor that turned crisis into catastrophe. Most of the passengers couldn't swim and were further weighted by their clothing. Rotten life preservers turned into 20 pounds of dead weight as those who wore them jumped into the water, never to resurface.
When is was all over, 1,300 people had lost their lives, many of them children, too often all the children and mother in a family, most fathers staying home to work. Row upon row of hastily assembled coffins lined a makeshift morgue as relatives searched for loved ones. Public outrage was immediate and an inquest was called to deal with the aftermath of the fire. Someone needed to be accountable, but as so often happens in these things, the real culprits, the owners of the General Slocum and the inspectors, were well insulated by teams of lawyers. As weel, time was on their side, a fact they understood well.
O'Donnell has written a well-documented and moving account of a tragedy that stunned the city of New York on that June day in 1904, when a merry group of church-goers meant to enjoy their annual outing, only to have their vessel burst into flame around them, not far from shore. The decisions made in the moment of crisis only added to the numbers marked for death. The author introduces captain, crew and passengers in the moments before the horror began, then describes the chaos that ensued when the flames raged around the unsuspecting victims.
Above all, the people of New York City, especially the decimated population of Germantown, needed to know that a special commission would prevent another accident like this. But the public memory is short; by the time of the Triangle Shirt Factory fire, people had, indeed, forgotten about the General Slocum. All but the inhabitants of Germantown, who lost loved ones that were never recovered and those who stood over row upon row of tiny coffins, knowing they would never see their children again. These people never forgot the day they lost so many of their community, an event that changed the terrain of their lives forever. Luan Gaines/ 2004.
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Title: Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle ISBN: 0871138743 Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Chicago Death Trap: The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903 by Nat Brandt, R. Perry Duis, Cathlyn Schallhorn ISBN: 0809324903 Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History by Denise Gess, William Lutz ISBN: 0805067809 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company Pub. Date: 02 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Sudden Sea : The Great Hurricane of 1938 by R. A. Scotti ISBN: 0316739111 Publisher: Little, Brown Pub. Date: 03 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: To Sleep With the Angels: The Story of a Fire by David Cowan, John Kuenster ISBN: 156663217X Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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