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A review by alexblackreads
Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of El Faro by Rachel Slade
5.0
I'm gonna open this review with the fact that I know nothing this subject matter so my enjoyment comes from a total place of ignorance. I may have loved this just as much if I was more knowledgeable, but I have no idea.
This was fascinating. I pick my audiobooks at random, basically just make a whole list from the library with whatever seems vaguely interesting, so I didn't have any expectations going in, but I was riveted. Start to finish, I wanted more. I was enthralled. I love when I read a nonfiction book about a subject I'm not really interested in (shipping disasters) and it completely draws me into this completely new world.
This also made me cry. Not much and I probably would have cried more reading the physical copy on account of I listen to audiobooks while driving, but I was definitely tearing up. The emotion was there. Slade spends so much time with the mariners on the boat, getting to know them and their lives and their last moments, and then with their families as well. It was heartbreaking.
I did feel like she didn't lay enough blame on the company who owned the ship and employed the mariners, TOTE Maritime. She definitely discussed their faults, but she spent what felt like equal time on the captain (who definitely earned his share of the blame too, but not to the same degree, in my opinion). It made me wonder if she was attempting to avoid legal troubles with TOTE, especially after her depiction of their lawyers. I do really wish she'd come down much harder on them.
Some of the specific shipping terminology and technical discussions was a little over my head, but not in a way that affected my understanding or enjoyment. Slade did a really great job explaining everything.
This honestly reminded me a lot of Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, so if you like that, I'd recommend picking this up. Obviously Slade wasn't on the ship as it sink, but she captured the same personal connection that he did. It was masterfully written and I'm very excited for her 2023 release this fall.
This was fascinating. I pick my audiobooks at random, basically just make a whole list from the library with whatever seems vaguely interesting, so I didn't have any expectations going in, but I was riveted. Start to finish, I wanted more. I was enthralled. I love when I read a nonfiction book about a subject I'm not really interested in (shipping disasters) and it completely draws me into this completely new world.
This also made me cry. Not much and I probably would have cried more reading the physical copy on account of I listen to audiobooks while driving, but I was definitely tearing up. The emotion was there. Slade spends so much time with the mariners on the boat, getting to know them and their lives and their last moments, and then with their families as well. It was heartbreaking.
I did feel like she didn't lay enough blame on the company who owned the ship and employed the mariners, TOTE Maritime. She definitely discussed their faults, but she spent what felt like equal time on the captain (who definitely earned his share of the blame too, but not to the same degree, in my opinion). It made me wonder if she was attempting to avoid legal troubles with TOTE, especially after her depiction of their lawyers. I do really wish she'd come down much harder on them.
Some of the specific shipping terminology and technical discussions was a little over my head, but not in a way that affected my understanding or enjoyment. Slade did a really great job explaining everything.
This honestly reminded me a lot of Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, so if you like that, I'd recommend picking this up. Obviously Slade wasn't on the ship as it sink, but she captured the same personal connection that he did. It was masterfully written and I'm very excited for her 2023 release this fall.