Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #654538 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
On the morning of July 24, 1915, the liner Eastland rolled over and capsized into the Chicago River; 844 people died. In his first nonfiction book, mystery writer Bonansinga (The Black Mariah, etc.) captures the raw emotion in a story full of greed, courage and overwhelming grief. The victims were looking forward to a day of eating, drinking and dancing. Dressed in their finest, the passengers swarmed onto the boat. Gazing at the huge, sturdy looking, freshly painted vessel, most took it on faith that they were in good hands. Unbeknownst to them, the Eastland had been beset by serious problems from its launch. The ship was hard to control and prone to listing even under normal conditions, though its various owners had covered up this fact. As the disaster unfolded, the best and worst of human nature was immediately on display. Men shoved women and children out of the way in desperate attempts to escape. From shore, passersby risked their lives to save the fortunate few. In pure Chicago style, the disaster's aftermath was marked by political infighting and petty corruption. For all the loss of life and the implications to public safely, this incident is little known today; Bonansinga's powerful book returns it to the record. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

A must read
Just three years after the Titanic sank, another disaster involving a pleasure craft occurred - but only a few people remember it. The Eastland was a busy charter pleasure craft that once was a queen of Lake Michigan. But on July 24, 1915, nearly 2,000 Western Electric employees boarded her for their annual company picnic. They expected a fun-filled, care-free day of adventure on the lake. But, tragically, despite the best efforts of inspectors to have the ship's fatal flaws addressed, nearly 900 people died when the Eastland overturned-within sight of her dock in the Chicago River. Bonansinga's heartbreaking and detailed account of this forgotten event is a must read for anyone with a love of history-and the truth.
This fascinating nonfiction work delves into the disaster from every angle, including the frantic attempts by authorities to make the ship safer, the tragic day when so many lost their lives so needlessly, and (in this reviewer's opinion), the even-more horrifying chain of events in which the ship's owners, insurers, and Chicago's elite did their best to bury what really happened.
It's a powerful read, one that will leave you shaking your head at just how a few powerful people can impact the lives of the powerless. I've read this four times now, have given copies as gifts, and it my favorite work by a favorite author. Bonansinga may be better known for his wonderfully crafted thriller titles (Frozen, Twisted, The Killer's Game , and more). But it is this tale, one crafted from a tragic, embarrassing, and preventable event in America's history that is ultimately the most disturbing of his impressive canon.
(And now, every time I watch the shiny spectacle that is The Oprah Show, I cannot escape the knowledge that her studio once was called into service as the temporary morgue for the Eastland's victims. I wish Oprah would do a show on the Eastland (and invite the author in to tell his tale). It's a dark day in Chicago's history, but one that deserves its moment in the intensity of her supernova light.)
READ THIS BOOK - and share it with your friends. The memories of the people who perished no needlessly cry out in despair that their lives - and deaths - were so effectively shrouded from our collective memory. Bonansinga rights that wrong, and this book will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

Great way to learn about a forgotten tragedy
I had not heard of this tragedy until Amazon recommended this book to me. Despite it's terrible subject, it is a book that grabs the reader and after one is done, makes one want to go research more on the subject. The author did a great job documenting the senseless acts of human error both before and after the accident. Like so many other senseless cases, it leaves us looking back in retrospect slapping our foreheads asking over and over, "Why?"

The Sinking of the Eastland
Great addition to my library. Very personal to me since an aunt and two cousins died on the Eastland.