The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria by Greg King

If you're into disasters, this is a book for you. We also follow the hearings which tried to determine whose fault the sinking was.If you're into cruise ships, this is a book for you. The ship didn't completely submerge until eleven hours after its sinking, allowing most of the passengers to gather in lifeboats and be rescued by other ships. Of course, we also have a treasure trove of recollections from the large number of surviving passengers. And we are with her every step of the way through the horrific crash and sinking.Through all of this, the authors do a wonderful job making you feel that you are on the ship, experiencing the action.

We meet the passengers who sailed on her, everyday, ordinary folks and Hollywood stars. We are taken on a tour of the ship, rich in the details of the luxuries it afforded to its passengers. In their latest book, the two authors explore the sinking of the Italian liner Andrea Doria. This was another excellent King/Wilson collaboration.

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.ĭrawing 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. 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. 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. Now, Greg King and Penny Wilson offer a fresh look at this legendary liner and her tragic fate. Her loss signaled the end of the golden age of ocean liner travel. 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. Unlike the tragedy of the Titanic, this sinking played out in real time across radios and televisions, the first disaster of the modern age. 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. 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.

The Last Voyage of the Andrea Doria by Greg King