For three decades after World War II, the Great Lakes replaced Europe as the epicenter of global economic strength. At its heart was the 729-foot Edmund Fitzgerald—the biggest, most profitable ship on the Lakes, embodying America’s industrial might.
But on November 10, 1975, during a “storm of the century” with 100 mph winds and 50-foot waves on Lake Superior, the Mighty Fitz sank, taking all 29 crew members with her and leaving the tragedy shrouded in mystery.
In The Gales of November, award-winning journalist John U. Bacon delivers the definitive account of the disaster. Drawing on more than 100 interviews with families, friends, and former crewmates, Bacon explores Great Lakes shipping’s critical economic role, the sailors’ uncommon lives, the sinking’s likely causes, and the heartbreak left behind—“the wives, the sons, and the daughters,” as Gordon Lightfoot sang.
