★ 04/16/2018 This well-crafted and gripping account lays out the circumstances which led to the deaths of 33 crew members of the container ship El Faro when it sank east of the Bahamas in 2015 during a hurricane. Journalist Slade frames the tragedy with a meticulous review of all the ways in which it could have been avoided. Deregulation was a major factor, she concludes; El Faro was allowed to embark from Jacksonville, Fla., to Puerto Rico, despite numerous vulnerabilities, including outdated lifeboats and design flaws that left it prone to being flooded in bad weather. The push to minimize oversight was driven by shipping companies such as El Faro’s owner, Tote, whose profits depended on making speedy delivery of goods. Capt. Michael Davidson, meanwhile, repeatedly ignored advice from his crew to take a route that would keep the vessel further away from the powerful storm, perhaps out of fear that his professional future hinged on an on-time delivery. Slade had access to 26 hours of audio on the ship’s voyage data recorder, and she presents the actual conversations crew members had before the end, highlighting their stoicism. This is a painful and poignant narrative. (May)
For sheer drama on the water, it’s hard to beat the tragedy recounted in Rachel Slade’s Into the Raging Sea . . . . a fast-moving cinematic adventure. But for all of the drama, the worst scares are in the epilogue. This sinking was no simple accident.” — Janet Maslin, New York Times
“A powerful and affecting story, beautifully handled by Slade, a journalist who clearly knows ships and the sea.” — Douglas Preston, New York Times Book Review
“Riveting.” — Sam Sifton, New York Times “Tastes of Summer”
“A sea disaster tale unlike any other . . . an exciting, terrifying, and deeply sad story.” — Gilbert Cruz, New York Times Book Review “New & Noteworthy”
“Harrowing, moving...a taut adventure tale...The depth of research and reporting, and Slade’s skill at pacing and selecting the telling details produce a richly detailed narrative, tense and sad and true.” — Boston Globe
“In addition to a gripping narrative of a cargo ship’s tragic voyage into the eye of a hurricane, Slade explains the fascinating world of commercial shipping and the essential—but often hidden—role it plays in our economy.” — NPR, “Best Books of 2018”
“More than the story of how a ship was overcome by a storm, Into The Raging Sea is an allegory for what it means to be a part of the nation’s largely invisible working and middle class.” — Longreads
“Riveting.” — Entertainment Weekly , “Complete Father’s Day Book Gift Guide”
“With skillful narrative prose and sensitivity, Slade takes readers on the final voyage of the El Faro . . . provid[ing] a haunting intimacy to this maritime disaster.” — Booklist
“Intimate, eerie, and gripping.” — Outside , “Best Summer Books”
“An exhaustive account of what happens when tragedy claims a vicious price for our progress and greed. Slade’s book is a chance to name . . . and call to the fore the forces that robbed these mariners of their lives.” — Paste Magazine
“A cautionary tale for leaders who think they have all the answers, for employees who choose not to speak up... and for organizations that rely on systems and processes that don’t provide the information its people need to make the best decisions.” — Inc.
“Immensely powerful . . . exerts a relentless grip that makes the book hard to put down, right to the closing pages . . . This is an important title, with lessons that extend far beyond the terrible tragedy that it describes.” — Nautilus Institute
“A powerful reading experience . . . . as gripping as any fictional thriller you’re likely to find . . . an exceptional work.” — The Maine Edge
“Damning . . . a chilling account.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Powerful and gripping . . . The depth of Slade’s reporting is impressive . . . her storytelling ability even more so.” — The Pennsylvania Gazette
“[A] maritime classic.” — The Saturday Evening Post , “Top 10 Reads for Summer”
“A pulse-pounding, Perfect Storm -style tale ... riveting ... a nerve-wracking, tension-filled narrative ... Slade re-creates the steady pile-up of mistakes that eventually caused El Faro to founder [in a] taut-chilling, and emotionally charged retelling of a ship’s final days.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Well-crafted and gripping . . . Slade frames the tragedy with a meticulous review of all the ways in which it could have been avoided . . . a painful and poignant narrative.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Successfully, and very powerfully, navigates the difficult channel between insiders and outsiders. [Slade’s] writing style will appeal to readers of nautical thrillers interspersing a fast-paced narrative of what was actually happening aboard the vessel as it collided with 120 mph eyewall of Hurricane Joaquin lurching through the Bahamas.” — Seatrade Maritime News
“A Perfect Storm for a new generation, Into the Raging Sea is a masterful page-turning account of the El Faro’s sinking, one that leaves you profoundly moved by the crew’s dedication and grit, and infuriated at the disturbing conditions that led to this tragedy.” — Ben Mezrich, bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook
“Rachel Slade mashes up The Perfect Storm with a suspenseful, page-turning thriller, cutting through the corporate double-speak to shine a light on how it was that thirty-three men and women sailed into Hurricane Joaquin. Superbly written, this deserves a place on the bookshelf of modern maritime classics.” — Robert Frump, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Until the Sea Shall Free Them: Life, Death, and Survival in the Merchant Marine
“An extraordinary piece of reporting. I tore through it like a novel.” — John Konrad, author of Fire on the Horizon: The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster
“With gripping prose and edge-of-the-seat momentum, Rachel Slade takes the reader aboard the final, fatal voyage of El Faro. Into the Raging Sea imparts a profound message about the power of nature and the fallibility of human judgement even in our digitized era.” — Peter Stark, author of Astoria: Astor and Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire—A Tale of Ambition and Survival on the Early American Frontier
“Bracing ... a story as old as seafaring itself. This minute-by-minute account illustrates in chilling detail exactly what happens when the near-infinite might of the ocean plows broadside into the hubris of men.” — Brantley Hargrove, author of The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras
“Rachel Slade’s Into the Raging Sea made me miss my subway stop and cancel at least one appointment. It’s a gripping, moving account of a nautical tragedy, told with equal parts verve, gusto, and compassion. Don’t miss it.” — Sarah Weinman, author of The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World
A sea disaster tale unlike any other . . . an exciting, terrifying, and deeply sad story.
More than the story of how a ship was overcome by a storm, Into The Raging Sea is an allegory for what it means to be a part of the nation’s largely invisible working and middle class.
With skillful narrative prose and sensitivity, Slade takes readers on the final voyage of the El Faro . . . provid[ing] a haunting intimacy to this maritime disaster.
Harrowing, moving...a taut adventure tale...The depth of research and reporting, and Slade’s skill at pacing and selecting the telling details produce a richly detailed narrative, tense and sad and true.
Riveting.
For sheer drama on the water, it’s hard to beat the tragedy recounted in Rachel Slade’s Into the Raging Sea . . . . a fast-moving cinematic adventure. But for all of the drama, the worst scares are in the epilogue. This sinking was no simple accident.
Riveting.
Intimate, eerie, and gripping.
“Best Summer Books” Outside
A powerful and affecting story, beautifully handled by Slade, a journalist who clearly knows ships and the sea.
In addition to a gripping narrative of a cargo ship’s tragic voyage into the eye of a hurricane, Slade explains the fascinating world of commercial shipping and the essential—but often hidden—role it plays in our economy.
Damning . . . a chilling account.
Powerful and gripping . . . The depth of Slade’s reporting is impressive . . . her storytelling ability even more so.
An exhaustive account of what happens when tragedy claims a vicious price for our progress and greed. Slade’s book is a chance to name . . . and call to the fore the forces that robbed these mariners of their lives.
A Perfect Storm for a new generation, Into the Raging Sea is a masterful page-turning account of the El Faro’s sinking, one that leaves you profoundly moved by the crew’s dedication and grit, and infuriated at the disturbing conditions that led to this tragedy.
Successfully, and very powerfully, navigates the difficult channel between insiders and outsiders. [Slade’s] writing style will appeal to readers of nautical thrillers interspersing a fast-paced narrative of what was actually happening aboard the vessel as it collided with 120 mph eyewall of Hurricane Joaquin lurching through the Bahamas.
[A] maritime classic.
The Saturday Evening Post
A cautionary tale for leaders who think they have all the answers, for employees who choose not to speak up... and for organizations that rely on systems and processes that don’t provide the information its people need to make the best decisions.
Rachel Slade mashes up The Perfect Storm with a suspenseful, page-turning thriller, cutting through the corporate double-speak to shine a light on how it was that thirty-three men and women sailed into Hurricane Joaquin. Superbly written, this deserves a place on the bookshelf of modern maritime classics.
Rachel Slade’s Into the Raging Sea made me miss my subway stop and cancel at least one appointment. It’s a gripping, moving account of a nautical tragedy, told with equal parts verve, gusto, and compassion. Don’t miss it.
Bracing ... a story as old as seafaring itself. This minute-by-minute account illustrates in chilling detail exactly what happens when the near-infinite might of the ocean plows broadside into the hubris of men.
A powerful reading experience . . . . as gripping as any fictional thriller you’re likely to find . . . an exceptional work.
With gripping prose and edge-of-the-seat momentum, Rachel Slade takes the reader aboard the final, fatal voyage of El Faro. Into the Raging Sea imparts a profound message about the power of nature and the fallibility of human judgement even in our digitized era.
Immensely powerful . . . exerts a relentless grip that makes the book hard to put down, right to the closing pages . . . This is an important title, with lessons that extend far beyond the terrible tragedy that it describes.
An extraordinary piece of reporting. I tore through it like a novel.
With skillful narrative prose and sensitivity, Slade takes readers on the final voyage of the El Faro . . . provid[ing] a haunting intimacy to this maritime disaster.
A cautionary tale for leaders who think they have all the answers, for employees who choose not to speak up... and for organizations that rely on systems and processes that don’t provide the information its people need to make the best decisions.
★ 2018-04-11 A pulse-pounding, Perfect Storm-style tale of a shipping disaster.In this riveting account of the demise of El Faro, the merchant ship that sank off the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin on Oct. 1, 2015, killing all 33 crew members, Boston-based journalist Slade uses a variety of sources—e.g., hundreds of pages of audio transcriptions from the ship's black box, interviews with family members of the victims and with Coast Guard personnel—to compile a nerve-wracking, tension-filled narrative. The author expertly blends the actual conversations of the mariners as they traveled from Florida to Puerto Rico on an overloaded ship with their personal nautical histories, information about merchant shipping and its importance in the global economy, and the intensive investigations that transpired after the incident. Vivid details of the storm's progress and its effect on the ship place readers onboard with the ill-fated sailors. "Lightning shattered the darkness, turning torrents of rain whipping across the ship's windshield into bright white claws," writes the author. "Furious gusts made a deafening howl on the bridge. The ship jerked and plunged as though she had lost her mind with fear." Slade re-creates the steady pile-up of mistakes that eventually caused El Faro to founder, including inaccurate weather reports and a storm that did not perform as forecast by computer models, human hubris, the fear of upsetting the chain of command, and inadequate and antiquated equipment. All of these problems contributed to an inescapable scenario for one of the worst maritime disasters in decades. The author does solid work giving voice to the 33 mariners who lost their lives. The book serves as both a eulogy to them and a shoutout to the thousands of sailors who risk their lives every day to move goods around the world.A taut, chilling, and emotionally charged retelling of a doomed ship's final days.