politalX Politics Store - Until the Sea Shall Free Them: Life, Death, and Survival in the Merchant Marine (Blue Jacket Books) (Blue Jacket Books)
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List Price: $19.95
Our Price: $15.96
Your Save: $ 3.99 ( 20% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.12309163
EAN: 9781591142843
ISBN: 1591142849
Label: US Naval Institute Press
Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 341
Publication Date: 2007-03-16
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
Release Date: 2007-03-16
Studio: US Naval Institute Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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Robert Frump s Until the Sea Shall Free Them has an unusual setting: off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, in February 1983. There the merchant vessel Marine Electric, a coal carrier converted from a World War II-vintage Liberty ship, participated in the rescue of a fishing boat caught in a fierce storm, only to be herself overwhelmed by the raging sea. Though only 30 miles off the coast, the Marine Electric had no chance to survive, and heroic Coast Guard helicopter pilots and Navy rescue divers were barely able to save a handful of survivors. Frump, a former reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, meticulously reconstructs the sinking, along with the investigation and litigation that followed in its wake. In attempting to evade corporate liability for the sinking, the ship s owners put the blame on faulty loading and preparation for the storm by the former chief mate, Bob Cusick, who was one of the survivors. The corporation devoted immense resources to substantiating its claims, hiring marine salvage specialists for an exhaustive survey of the wreck, and naval architects to construct an elaborate theory of the accident. The theory soon began to unravel, however, due to the determination of then-Philadelphia Inquirer editor Gene Roberts, who decided to have his newspaper investigate the whole issue of marine safety and turned loose Frump and other reporters on the story. Frump s book recounts in some detail how the journalists penetrated layers of industry secrecy and the closed ranks of seamen fearing for their jobs to establish that old Liberty ships were virtual serial sinkers. In this page-turner, Frump starts from a single sinking to expose weaknesses in the entire system of maritime safety and sketchy reforms that ultimately took out of service many of the old unseaworthy Liberty ships. Washington Post book review by John Prados
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Until the Sea Shall Free Them
Comment: This book arrived in great condition. However, it did not arrive in a timely manner, and in fact arrived many days later than the promised arrival time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: US Mechant Mariners must read
Comment: A must read for anyone, and their love ones, who goes to sea for a living. Mr. Fumpt writes about an event in maritime history which outcome caused better safety standards that has saved lives every since.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This book is DOA
Comment: Be advised, believe it or not, this book is ALL text. There are absolutely NO photos, maps, charts, or drawings. How can you possibly tell the story of a ship sinking with nothing but text? The Marine Electric had a fascinating history as a WW2 T-2 tanker that was converted into a bulk freighter. Where are the builder's photos? WW2 era shots? Conversion diagrams or plans? The navigation charts showing the wreck site? This book was obviously written by an amateur, you can tell by the rambling, over the top prose, lengthy, asides that distract from the story line, and the lack of willingness to research and pay for photos and other visual aids. The book is written for someone unfamiliar with ships and the sea since it goes into explanations of the simplest marine terms that most people interested in reading the book would already know. $24.95 brand new? I don't think so Tim. Buy it used and don't pay more than $7.00 with shipping. I bought it sight unseen, what a dissapointment!
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Great, Page-Turning, Investigative Piece
Comment: Through his in-depth research and wonderful writing style (ignore the "overblown" PW review), Mr. Frump brings these men back from the deep and tells their story. I bought this book after seeing him profiled on the History Channel and found his book much more engaging than the TV documentary. I recomend without reservation.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The true and sometimes hidden tragedy of life at sea...
Comment: I am considering joining the merchant marines and this book definitley gave me an inside look into where they have been and where they are going.
The main part of the book takes you along with the crew of the marine electric, and the final voyage which took several sailors to their cold, watery death. I could not put this book down as I read about the poor conditions of the ship, the varied background of each sailor as they all found a common link in sailing on the marine electric that fateful night. As the book goes on it also tells of many other historical sinkings.
THE KICKER: What really drives a point home besides a "love lost at sea" feeling is the fact that the owners, up to the 80's, were protected by the coast gaurd. The old WWII ships were continuing being patched up and sent back out to the ocean instead of being scrapped. However, when the ship sank, it was the captain and officers who always took the fall instead of the owners being cheap and costing countless lives.
The Truth: Book definitley shows how helpless it can be to be stranded at sea. Puts you right alongside men as they try to swim to life rafts in 30 foot swells, only to be to cold to move their limbs to climb over the 3 foot walls of the liferaft. The recounting of the coast gaurd choppers coming in and seeing the men waving to them, only to get closer and realize that they were dead, and the motion of the waves were making their arms go up in a waving motion. One described the look on their faces like they were home in their recliner, watching the TV.
If you are interested in the merchant marines of like stories about the sea in general then pick this book up. A truly great read as it mixes in cover ups, familyies coping with death, and the perserverance of the modern day sailor.
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