Books like Into the raging sea by Rachel Slade

On October 1, 2015, Hurricane Joaquin struck the Atlantic, sweeping the container ship El Faro into the Bermuda Triangle and initiating the worst American shipping disaster in 35 years. Journalist Rachel Slade investigates the sinking using hundreds of interviews with family members, maritime experts, and crew whose conversations were recorded by the ship’s data recorder. She chronicles the final 24 hours on board, exposing the crew’s anguish as they attempted to obey Captain Michael Davidson’s increasingly erratic orders that ultimately led them into the eye of the storm. Slade also examines America’s aging merchant marine fleet, uncovering how razor‑thin profits and a cut‑throat industry may have contributed to the tragedy. The book offers a sobering look at modern shipping, its vulnerabilities, and the escalating dangers posed by powerful hurricanes in a warming climate.

First publish date: 2018