We had the honor of hosting Thomas Nelson on December 6, 2025 to speak about his new book WRECKED: THE EDMUND FITZGERALD AND THE SINKING OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY. He opened with a poignant story about being a child and seeing a lifeboat from the tragedy at a museum. He immediately had a visceral response that he has remembered to this day…a vivid portent of writing this book all these years later!
There was a great exchange of ideas at Tom’s talk. We spoke about how America, those of us who live by the GREAT LAKES, and the families of the victims have been forever changed by this preventable catastrophe.
Tom took time to sell books and meet and greet patrons after the presentation. The slides that Tom shared were very helpful in giving context to the book.
Before Tom arrived Elizabeth did a short Trivia presentation which you can look at here:
Here is Elizabeth’s review of the book:
This book was peer reviewed prior to its publication by Michigan State University Press. The Edmund Fitzgerald was built in 1958 and sunk in 1975. The ballad by Gordon Lightfoot called “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” is a haunting tune that is indelibly etched on the minds of many of the people who were alive in the seventies. For those of us who reside on the Great Lakes, there are also many reminders of the tragedy in museums and landmarks. The 50th anniversary of the catastrophe was in November of this year. (2025)
Nelson and Podair did a great deal of research for this book. Nelson had some amazing interview opportunities with family members. They are still alive with a 50-year buffer from the day that changed them forever. This book explains how the overworking of the ship coupled with lack of proper maintenance inevitably led to this misfortune. That has been helpful for families to learn when some of them thought the twenty-nine victims (potentially) had done something wrong for the sinking to occur. They did not!
The book takes us through the lows and highs of coming to terms with what happened. I especially enjoyed reading about the ship’s bell which was rescued from the deep waters. That bell is used ceremonially by being rung twenty-nine times, one toll to match each victim. Set against the backdrop of recent history, the reader learns about things not immediately thought of. For example, what settlements did family members receive and how did that work?
This is a humane book that is sensitive and seeking truth. My understanding is that other books on the same subject are trying to determine the science around what happened. Naturally, that is interesting and where we begin with our questions. However, this book seeks to pose larger questions of how this event reflected and reflects the American economy. It does an excellent job of asserting that we can and we must do better.
“Examination of our past is never time-wasting. Reverberations from the past provide learning rubrics for living today“. Kilroy J. Oldster from DEAD TOAD SCROLLS