I have to thank Max from the Old Steam Ships blog for this recommendation. He knows that I am a Titanic buff and suggested I give this one a read. I’m glad he suggested it, as I had never really read anything about the sinking of the Andrea Doria.
Before I give my thoughts, here is the Goodreads synopsis:
In the tradition of Erik Larson’s Dead Wake comes The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria , about the sinking of the glamorous Italian ocean liner, including never-before-seen photos of the wreck today.
In 1956, a stunned world watched as the famous Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria sank after being struck by a Swedish vessel off the coast of Nantucket. Unlike the tragedy of the Titanic , this sinking played out in real time across radios and televisions, the first disaster of the modern age. Audiences witnessed everything that ensued after the unthinkable collision of two modern vessels equipped with radar: perilous hours of uncertainty; the heroic rescue of passengers; and the final gasp as the pride of the Italian fleet slipped beneath the Atlantic, taking some fifty lives with her. Her loss signaled the end of the golden age of ocean liner travel.
Now, Greg King and Penny Wilson offer a fresh look at this legendary liner and her tragic fate. Andrea Doria represented the romance of travel, the possibility of new lives in the new world, and the glamour of 1950s art, culture, and life. Set against a glorious backdrop of celebrity and La Dolce Vita, Andrea Doria ‘s last voyage comes vividly to life in a narrative tightly focused on her passengers – Cary Grant’s wife; Philadelphia’s flamboyant mayor; the heiress to the Marshall Field fortune; and many brave Italian emigrants – who found themselves plunged into a desperate struggle to survive. The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria follows the effect this trauma had on their lives, and brings the story up-to-date with the latest expeditions to the wreck.
Drawing on in-depth research, interviews with survivors, and never-before-seen photos of the wreck as it is today, The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria is a vibrant story of fatal errors, shattered lives, and the triumph of the human spirit.
This was truly a great read. I learned so much about this event. It read a lot like Walter Lord’s A Night To Remember about Titanic. Coincidentally, many passengers were actually reading that book on the ship!
I was unaware of many of the big names aboard the ship at the time of the sinking. The one that really got my attention was Mike Stoller. He and Jerry Leiber wrote many HUGE hits including, Hound Dog, which became a hit around the time of the disaster. If he had gone down with the ship, we’d never have gotten the songs On Broadway, Takety Yak, Poison Ivy, Jailhouse Rock, Santa Claus is Back In Town, Love Potion Number Nine, Bobbie Sue and many others.
The book goes into great detail of the time leading up to the accident, the conditions surrounding the accident, the minute by minute accounts of passengers and, the aftermath. I listened to the audio book, and truly enjoyed it. I’m going to be biased with my rating because I love books like this…
5 out of 5 stars! Thanks, Max!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 