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Ship Ablaze
- The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
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Publisher's summary
There were few experienced swimmers among over 1,300 Lower East Side residents who boarded the General Slocum on June 15, 1904. It shouldn't have mattered since the steamship was only chartered for a languid excursion from Manhattan to Long Island Sound. But a fire erupted minutes into the trip, forcing hundreds of terrified passengers into the water. By the time the captain found a safe shore for landing, 1,021 had perished. It was New York's deadliest tragedy prior to September 11, 2001.
The only book available on this compelling chapter in the city's history, Ship Ablaze draws on firsthand accounts to examine why the death toll was so high, how the city responded, and why this event failed to achieve the infamy of the Titanic's 1912 demise or the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
Masterfully capturing both the horror of the event and heroism of men, women, and children who faced crumbling life jackets and inaccessible lifeboats as the inferno quickly spread, historian Edward T. O'Donnell spotlights an important incident with which most Americans are unfamiliar. Ship Ablaze brings to life a bygone community while honoring the victims of that forgotten day.
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Performance
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On November 18, 1958, a 623-foot limestone carrier - caught in one of the most violent storms in Lake Michigan history - broke in two and sank in less than five minutes. Four of the 35-person crew escaped to a small raft, to which they clung in total darkness, braving 30-foot waves and frigid temperatures. As the storm raged on, a search-and-rescue mission hunted for survivors, while the frantic citizens of nearby Rogers City, Michigan, anxiously awaited word of their loved ones' fates.
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A harrowing story of survival and loss
- By Ron T on 03-25-16
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Dead Wake
- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
- By: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic.
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Naivety VS Barbarians Of War
- By Sara on 03-05-16
By: Erik Larson
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Miracles on the Water
- The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-Boat Attack
- By: Tom Nagorski
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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An unforgettable story of children in wartime, of heroism at sea, and - above all - of courage and the power of the human spirit. On September 17, 1940, at a little after 10 at night, a German submarine torpedoed the passenger liner S.S. City of Benares in the North Atlantic. There were 406 people on board, but the ship's prized passengers were 90 children whose parents had elected to send their boys and girls away from Great Britain to escape the ravages of World War II. They were considered lucky, headed for quiet, peaceful, and relatively bountiful Canada.
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Riveting history
- By appreciative reader on 05-21-17
By: Tom Nagorski
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Titanic's Last Secrets
- The Further Adventures of Shadow Divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler
- By: John Chatterton, Richie Kohler, Brad Matsen
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Abridged
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Why did Titanic sink as quickly as it did? Two of the greatest wreck divers in the world, the heroes of Shadow Divers, solve the mystery of history's greatest wreck. Titanic's Last Secrets peers into the lives of scientists, financiers, adventurers, and industrialists to bring listeners a thrilling and revelatory work of history and contemporary adventure.
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Not much diving but interesting story
- By Jonas on 10-17-08
By: John Chatterton, and others
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The Great Fire
- By: Jim Murphy
- Narrated by: Taylor Mali
- Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The Great Fire of 1871 was one of the most colossal disasters in American history - with damage so profound that few people believed the city could ever rise again. By weaving personal accounts of actual survivors together with careful research, Jim Murphy constructs a riveting and dramatic narrative, ultimately revealing how the human spirit triumphed even in a time of deepest despair and the people of Chicago found the courage and strength to build their city once again.
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Wow. I didn't know that!
- By DonnaMarie113 on 02-17-22
By: Jim Murphy
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Last Train to Paradise
- Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean
- By: Les Standiford
- Narrated by: Del Roy
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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The paths of the great American robber barons were paved with riches, and though ordinary citizens paid for them, they also profited. Les Standiford, author of the John Deal thrillers, tells how the man who turned Florida's swamps into the playgrounds of the rich performed the almost superhuman feat of building a railroad from the mainland to Key West at the turn of the century.
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A Pleasant Surprise
- By Roy on 04-05-09
By: Les Standiford
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Tinderbox
- The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation
- By: Robert W. Fieseler
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Buried for decades, the Up Stairs Lounge tragedy has only recently emerged as a catalyzing event of the gay liberation movement. In revelatory detail, Robert W. Fieseler chronicles the tragic event that claimed the lives of 31 men and one woman on June 24, 1973, at a New Orleans bar, the largest mass murder of gays until 2016. Relying on unprecedented access to survivors and archives, Fieseler creates an indelible portrait of a closeted, blue-collar gay world that flourished before an arsonist ignited an inferno that destroyed an entire community.
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New Orleanians are Picky
- By Samantha Ruegge-Winn on 10-25-19
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Other Side of the Night
- The Carpathia, the Californian and the Night the Titanic Was Lost
- By: Daniel Allen Butler
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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A few minutes before midnight on April 14, 1912, the "unsinkable" RMS Titanic, on her maiden voyage to New York, struck an iceberg. Less than three hours later she lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. While the world has remained fascinated by the tragedy, the most amazing drama of those fateful hours was not played out aboard the doomed liner. It took place on the decks of two other ships, one 58 miles distant from the sinking Titanic, the other barely 10 miles away.
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The Other Side of the Night
- By Amazon Customer on 04-19-15
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The Colony
- The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles on Molokai
- By: John Tayman
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1866, 12 men and women and one small child were forced aboard a leaky schooner and cast away to a natural prison on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. Two weeks later, a dozen others were exiled, and then 40 more, and then 100 more. Tracked by bounty hunters and torn screaming from their families, the luckless were loaded into shipboard cattle stalls and abandoned in a lawless place where brutality held sway. Many did not have leprosy, and most of those who did were not contagious.
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Interesting
- By Matt on 10-31-06
By: John Tayman
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How to Survive the Titanic
- The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay
- By: Frances Wilson
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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On the terrifying, chaotic night of April 14, 1912, while the Titanic was sinking, Bruce J. Ismay, the ship's owner, made a decision that would save his life - and end it. Ismay boarded a lifeboat meant for women and children, and within days became The Most Talked-of Man in the World. Branded a coward, he became a flesh-and-blood embodiment of Joseph Conrad's legendary eponymous character, Lord Jim.
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Not especially uplifting, but quite good
- By Anonymous User on 04-18-12
By: Frances Wilson
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Voyagers of the Titanic
- Passengers, Sailors, Shipbuilders, Aristocrats, and the Worlds They Came From
- By: Richard Davenport-Hines
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Late in the night of April 14, 1912, the mighty Titanic, a passenger liner traveling from Southampton, England, to New York City, struck an iceberg four hundred miles south of Newfoundland. Its sinking over the next two and a half hours brought the ship—mythological in name and size—100 years of infamy.
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Thorough, panoramic
- By Tad Davis on 04-10-12
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The Johnstown Flood
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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At the end of the last century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation's burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon.
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A page-turner! HIstory that reads like a novel
- By Susan K Donley on 06-17-05
By: David McCullough
What listeners say about Ship Ablaze
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Cynthia K.
- 07-11-23
Could not stop listening
I knew nothing of this story until this book. It was a riveting read from the beginning. Well researched and well organized, told the story from many perspectives. Heartbreaking with so many innocent lives lost. Frustrating in that no one was held accountable.
I’m a history buff so many of the details included with the back stories of the people was perfect. Great read!
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- Thomas
- 07-01-24
Can This Really Be Non-Fiction ?!
Another book that tells me a story that is really just tragic. I hate to say that a book about something so bad could be good but I liked how the story was told !
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- Adam Conley
- 07-29-24
Top tier nonfiction Disaster book, great detail, Excellent narrative and easy to follow.
Make it to chapter 9/10/11 and you won’t be sorry. It’s similar to most maritime nonfiction where you get stories of the deceased on the morning of the disaster. However the day of the accident doesn’t happen until around chapter 11, so just stick with it. Very well written and I like the narrator.
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- jmitch
- 10-14-22
Fascinating!
So much unknown history of German immigrants in NYC, the Lutheran Church in NYC, the corruption of NYC government, and most of all - The biggest tragedy in NYC until the twin towers! Historical, in depth information about the real life people who were a part of this tragedy. In depth details about the actual tragedy, rescue, and aftermath. Captivating. Listened to it less than a day. Don’t miss this one.
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2 people found this helpful
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- LISA A. DOLAN
- 11-19-20
Wonderfully Done!
This was a very thorough account of such a tragic event. It was extremely well-researched and documented.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Tsol75
- 08-20-23
Absolutely loved it!
I have run across the author of this book I took a class on great courses with him I've seen him on one day university on some of those documentaries on History channel or whatever and so I bought the book purely cuz I enjoyed listening to this guy give lectures. I had no idea what it was about, other than a boat. wow, the author, along with a good narrator, really made this story come alive for me and man like a horror story, to be honest, but it's definitely worth the read. Those poor people!
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- robert
- 01-25-24
Disaster
Excellent summary of the events surrounding the general Slocum disaster. I found myself needing to pay attention a little more than usual, but it was worth it. Good narrator
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- Maiah
- 05-14-24
Surprising forgotten history
I love maritime history and could not believe I had not heard of the Slocum until this book! Wonderfully read and wonderfully presented this was a great listen.
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- Mark Mears
- 07-17-18
I love learning the “rest of the story”
I love learning the “rest of the story.”
Ship Ablaze tells the story of the tragedy very well. But that could be completed in a couple of paragraphs. On such and such date this number of people died needlessly in a fire on a boat.
What makes this book fascinating is the detail regarding the people involved. Those lost and their survivors, the President and the Mayor, and how the politics involved affected careers and lives.
Definitely recommend this book / audiobook.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Neeva Candida
- 12-19-23
Thoroughly enjoyed this book!
I’ll be honest. I originally purchased this book because I didn’t want to lose my credit that was expiring and didn’t have time to do a thorough search. Since I often enjoy history novels I thought I’d give it a try. It was wonderful!
The author covers the event comprehensively. The details leading up to the event. The story of the event. The finger pointing following the event. Even the wrap up a hundred years later.
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