INTO THE RAGING SEA – SS El Faro
We’re honored to be publishing today INTO THE RAGING SEA: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm and the Sinking of El Faro (Ecco; On Sale 5/1/18) by Rachel Slade.
The book has already received STARRED reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and was reviewed by Douglas Preston for the New York Times Book Review where he said INTO THE RAGING SEA is “a powerful and affecting story, beautifully handled by Slade, a journalist who clearly knows ships and the sea. The book tells of the heroic search-and-rescue operations, the hunt for the black box, the investigations and hearings and the nature of hurricanes. It chronicles the despicable reactions of Tote and its upper management to the tragedy…. One can’t help reading it, page after page, in disbelief.”
The book is expansive in its scope but reads like a thriller. It goes deep into the story of El Faro, the attempted search and rescue, as well as the USCG and NTSB inquiry. It humanizes the tragedy, giving voice to the mariners aboard and the families they left behind. It is a very compassionate telling of the tragedy. The book carefully traces the decisions on the ship and on land that led to El Faro‘s sinking, especially as it details the complex communication on the ship’s bridge that led to a series of fatal conclusions. It also examines weather forecasting, the role of the National Hurricane Center, and how mariners work with uncertainty when charting their course. But more importantly, it gives a broad overview of US maritime history, labor unions, and the history of admiralty law and shipping regulations, as well as contextualizing the merchant marine of today.
To write this book, Rachel interviewed a vast array of experts in the maritime industry from working officers to members of the Coast Guard who were close to the investigation, to the families of those lost aboard the ship. This book offers an unparalleled view of the profession as it stands, and important lessons we can glean from this tragedy.
More information can be found on Rachel’s website: www.rachelslade.net.
