The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald Audiobook By Charles River Editors cover art

The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

The Loss of the Largest Ship on the Great Lakes

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The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

By: Charles River Editors
Narrated by: Scott Clem
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About this listen

The Great Lakes have claimed countless thousands of vessels over the course of history, but its biggest and most famous victim was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the largest ship of its day to sail the Great Lakes and still the largest to lie below Lake Superior's murky depths.

The giant ore freighter was intentionally built "within a foot of the maximum length allowed for passage through the soon-to-be completed Saint Lawrence Seaway." But despite its commercial purpose, the Edmund Fitzgerald was also one of the most luxurious ships to ever set sail in the Great Lakes. One person who sailed aboard the ship recounted, "Stewards treated the guests to the entire VIP routine. The cuisine was reportedly excellent and snacks were always available in the lounge.

A small but well stocked kitchenette provided the drinks. Once each trip, the captain held a candlelight dinner for the guests, complete with mess-jacketed stewards and special 'clamdigger' punch. Indeed, when it was completed in 1957, the Edmund Fitzgerald was nearly 730 feet long and dubbed "Queen of the Lakes", and it was so popular that people would wait along the shores to catch a glimpse of the famous boat.

The ship had already earned various safety awards and never suffered a serious problem when it set sail from Superior, Wisconsin with over 26,000 tons of freight on November 9, 1975 and headed for a steel mill near Detroit.

©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors
United States Transportation
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What listeners say about The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

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Should be longer

Should be longer and a little more in depth. Good otherwise would recommend this book

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BEST BOOK EVER

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ/HEARD! THIS IS AN EDUCATIONAL AND INTERESTING BOOK. I WOULD BUY THIS IF IT COSTED 6364545363635356337364545436363781727335454637281818823737454545362728288191828276353544535267181919102938373644545363627171818827226636353636362728281818272636454456363637282819182736 DOLLARS!!! No actually I probably wouldn’t if it costed that much…BUT OVERALL A GGGGGGRRRRRRREEEEEEAAAAATTTTTTT BOOK AND ANYONE WHO DOSENT LIKE IT HAS…………problems

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not the best narration, but not a bad book.

not a bad book. could be a better narrator. Great story, but boring to listen to. Not really worth the money.

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Headline Entered Here

A good summary of events before, during, and after the sinking--just about the right length for my listening ears. I now know more about the sinking and the aftermath than I did before. I enjoyed the read.

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Great book on the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald

I see this book has gotten some negative reviews. However my opinion is just the opposite. I found the narrator and the book to be riveting. Yes, it follows the storyline of Gordon Lightfoot’s song but that just makes it all the better.

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..the Rest of the Story...

i have always loved the song by Gordon Lightfoot and the fact that it was a true story heightened its poignancy. I saved newspaper clippings/magazine articles and tucked them inside the CD case. This Audible selection gave me some sense of closure and continued amazement at the thoroughness of the song in telling the tale and knowing it will forever help keep the ship and her crew alive in our memories.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Not worth it

Definitely other books available on the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The guy can’t even pronounce ‘taconite’.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Terrible book and reading

Please don't bother to buy this book. It's is not well written or well read. Anything would be better than this.

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1 person found this helpful

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A waste of money

It's just reading off the Gordon Lightfoot song cmon really I was expecting a story what a waste

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1 person found this helpful