Run the Storm, George Michelsen Foy
Run the Storm, George Michelsen Foy
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Run the Storm
A Savage Hurricane, a Brave Crew, and the Wreck of the SS El Faro

Author: George Michelsen Foy

Narrator: L.J. Ganser

Unabridged: 9 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/01/2018


Synopsis

In the bestselling tradition of The Perfect Storm and The Finest Hours, “an exquisitely written and dramatic book…a literary page-turner” (Doug Stanton, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Horse Soldiers)—the 2015 mysterious disappearance of the SS El Faro, a gigantic American cargo ship that sank in the Bermuda Triangle, taking with it thirty-three lives.

On October 1, 2015, the SS El Faro, a massive American cargo ship disappeared in Hurricane Joaquin, a category 4 storm. The ship, its hundreds of shipping containers, and its entire crew plummeted to the bottom of the ocean, three miles down. It was the greatest seagoing US merchant marine shipping disaster since World War II. The massive ship had a seasoned crew, state-of-the-art navigation equipment, and advance warning of the storm. It seemed incomprehensible that such a ship could sink so suddenly. How, in this day and age, could something like this happen?

Relying on Coast Guard inquest hearings, as well as on numerous interviews, George Michelsen Foy brings us “the most insightful exploration of this unthinkable disaster” (Outside), a story that lasts only a few days, but which grows almost intolerably suspenseful as deep-rooted flaws leading to the disaster inexorably link together and worsen. We see captain, engineers, and crew fight for their lives, and hear their actual words (as recorded on the ship’s black box) while the hurricane relentlessly tightens its noose around the ship. We watch, minute by minute, all that is happening on board—the ship’s mysterious tilt to one side, worried calls to the engine room, ship-to-shore reports, the courage of the men and women as they fight to survive, and the berserk ocean’s savage consumption of the massive hull. And through it all, the pain and ultimate resilience of the families of El Faro’s crew. Now with a new afterword, this “tour de force of nautical expertise” (Ocean Navigator) is a masterwork of stunning power.

About George Michelsen Foy

George Michelsen Foy is the author of Run the Storm, Finding North: How Navigation Makes Us Human and Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute Silence, as well as twelve critically acclaimed novels. He was a recipient of a National Endowment of the Arts fellowship in fiction and his articles, reviews, and stories have been published by Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Harper's, The New York Times, and Men's Journal, among others. A former officer on British coastal freighters, he teaches creative writing at NYU, holds a US Coast Guard coastal captain’s license, and divides his time between Cape Cod and New York.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kurt on March 05, 2018

I worked with George in giving details of my experience aboard S.S. El Faro. I last sailed El Faro February 9, 2015. George spent allot of time and research regarding the ship and crew. I hope everyone will read this book.......more

Goodreads review by Emily on October 24, 2022

Whoosh, did this book pack a sucker punch: by the last ten percent, the narrative- always engrossing and well-written - had turned so raw and so gripping that I almost felt I couldn’t bear to read it. Foy is an excellent writer; his sentences flow and he knows the marine world well. He’s pieced toget......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on March 07, 2018

This is a really interesting look into the events around the sinking of the El Faro. It also gives a huge knowledge dump on the Jones Act (which people may have heard of after the hurricanes hit Puerto Rico last year). The author had access to the voice recordings from the ship, as well as extensive......more

Goodreads review by Karen on July 05, 2018

This book is excellent—it's a true-life tale of a maritime disaster. The book was well-researched and clearly and engagingly written. I was unaware (until recently) that a huge container ship, the El Faro—and its 33-member crew—was lost at sea in October 2015 on its regular run from Jacksonville to......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on November 11, 2023

I don’t know what it is about ships sinking but it DRAGS me in. About to go watch like 5 documentaries about the El Faro.......more