White Hurricane: A Great Lakes November Gale and America’s Deadliest Maritime Disaster

Product Description

“Brings history to life in a book as readable as any novel.” –Good Old Boat
On Friday, November 7, 1913, after four days of winds up to 90 miles an hour, whiteout blizzard conditions, and mountainous seas, 19 ships had been lost on the great-lakes, 238 sailors were dead, and Cleveland was confronting the worst natural disaster in its history.
David G. Brown combines narrative intensity with factual depth to re-create the “perfect storm” that struck America’s heartland. Brown has created a vast epic ranging over Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie and echoing down the decades.

From the Back Cover

A Riveting Account of the Worst Storm Great Lakes Mariners Have Ever Experienced
As ships left port on Friday, November 7, 1913, a deadly atmospheric disturbance was already churning Lake Superior and spreading east. By Sunday night, Lake Huron was battered by winds up to 90 miles an hour, whiteout blizzard conditions, and mountainous 35-foot waves. The White Hurricane became the worst Great Lakes storm on record: twelve ships sank, and thirty-one more were stranded on rocks and beaches. At least 248 sailors lost their lives, and the city of Cleveland faced the worst natural disaster in its history.
In White Hurricane, nationally recognized nautical writer and experienced Great Lakes mariner David G. Brown uses firsthand accounts and contemporary newspaper reports to re-create the desperate struggles aboard doomed and damaged vessels and on shore, and reconstructs the progress of the storm in a tight chronology packed with vivid detail and unforgettable drama.
“[David Brown] brings history to life in a book as readable as an adventure novel.”–Good Old Boat
“A riveting, well researched account. . . . A fascinating read.”–Inland Seas

About the Author

David G. Brown is the author of six books, including The Last Log of the Titanic. A lifelong Great Lakes sailor and commercial vessel operator, he lives on the shore of Lake Erie.