| CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS
The wreck of the "Andrea Doria".
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HOMEPAGE |
| Please note: The books are listed for collectors interest
only, and not offered for sale.
This is not meant to be a definite list of books on the Andrea Doria.. |
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COLLISION
COURSE.
Alvin Moscow. The story of the collision between the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm First published 1959, Longmans, Green & Co, London. Hardcover, dust jacket, 238 pages, 16 centrally placed mono plates. A truly excellent book about a remarkable and tragic shipwreck. The ships collided off New York in 1956. Whose fault was it? There was a court of inquiry but the financial considerations were settled out of court. The author has written the definitive work on the collision. An excellent read. [ps] |
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SAVED!
The Story of the Andrea Doria - the Greatest Sea Rescue in History. William Hoffer. (Author of Midnight Express). First published in Great Britain in 1980 by Macmillan London Limited. Hardcover, dustjacket, 249 pages. Also published by Summit Books, a division of Simon and Shuster, in turn a division of Gulf and Western Corporation, New York, 1979. There appears to have been several editions, although not indicated as such within the book, however two sizes of book have ben printed by Sumit Books. From the fly: Most people never have to face the ultimate test of courage. Yet in each of us lies the question "What if?" At 11:10 P.M. on Wednesday, July 25, 1956, in the dense fog off Nantucket Island, 1706 human beings were forced to answer the question. For at that moment the beauti ful Italian passenger liner Andrea Doria was hit broadside by the Swedish liner Stockholm, whose reinforced hull was constructed to withstand the Scandinavian ice floes. The Andrea Doria was mortally wounded - a gaping hole in her side. In this totally engrossing book, William Hoffer has re-created the events of this terrifying night and tells the spectacular story of the greatest sea rescue in mod- ern history. He has traveled thousands of miles throughout America and Europe to interview scores of survivors and the main crew members of both ships. The result is an unforgettable drama of courage and cowardice, of negligence and responsibility, of sensitivity and brutal indifference. Mr. Hoffer tells the amazing story of Linda Morgan Cianfarra, age fourteen, asleep in her cabin in direct line of the crash, who awoke later on the deck of the Stockholm. He tells us of one young woman who dives into the ocean to save two children while another desperate family tries to steal a life jacket from a fellow passenger. We read of an Italian crewman who labors for hours to extricate an injured American woman from a tangle of steel wreckage and of other crewmen who flee the ship before the passengers. Saved! is also a riveting minute-by- minute account of the greatest sea rescue in history. Miraculously, all but fifty-one persons were saved in the transfer to other ships that rallied to the scene. Totally enthralling, Saved! is the story of the death of a great ship - a story of suspense andhuman drama that will rank with the classic ‘A Night to Remember'. Top image is Macmillan, London; bottonm image is Summit Books, New York. [ps] |
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ANDREA
DORIA - DIVE TO AN ERA.
Gary Gentile. Published by author. The collision between the Andrea Dorea and the Stockholm has beent he subject of unending debate since that fateful night of 25 July 1956. Fifty-two people lost their lives, the Italian Line lost its finest ship, and one of the greatest sea rescues in history made banner headlines. Today, the ship lies on her starboard side in 240 ft of water off Nantucket on the east coast USA. This book chronicles the story of the ship after she sank, including the author's twenty-two expeditions to the wreck, with the recovery of the bronze statue pf Admiral Andrea Doria, and the ship's bell. It is a fascinating book with excellent colour photographs. Hardcover, with dust jacket, 160 pages, full colour. Currently in print. Available from Oceans Enterprises. [ps] |
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DEEP
DESCENT.
Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria. Kevin F.McMurray. When the Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria was rammed by the Swedish ship Stockholm off the approaches to New York in 1956, she slowly tilted to starboard and slipped below the calm seas into 235 ft - beyond the limit of serious recreational divers at the time. In recent years however, the skills and equipment availaable has resulted in quite a few dives to the vessel lying on her starboard side, but not without mishap. Deep Descent tells of these dives, and the tragedy that continues, and complements Gary Gentile's Dive to An Era. (Gentile is mentioned and photographed in the book). Hardcover, 302 pages, mono photographs. Currently in print. Available from Oceans Enterprises. [ps] |
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THE
LUSITANIA CONTROVERSIES. Two volumes.
Gary Gentile. I was attracted to read these books because of a fascination with the Lusitania, which, as you probably know, was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland in 1915. But, as the cliche says, dont judge a book by its cover. Although the two volumes contain an interesting account of the loss of the Cunard liner, and an even more fascinating description of diving the ship, these books are an authobiography of one of most experienced and influential deep wreck divers in the world. I was initially disappointed at the sparcity of historic Lusitania facts, but Gentile's excellent writing drew me in to a world of incredible deep diving, pioneering new techniques, and virgin wrecks at over 300 feet. Of particular fascination, and one in which we can at times relate, is the petty-mindedness of government officials and the sheer bitchines of dive boat skippers and fellow divers. There seems to be a nasty rivalry betwen fellow deep-wreck divers in seeking the rewards of relics to be raised and taken into personal posession. Well, been there, done that! But Gentile pulls no punches in his condemnation of divers who lack the skills and the mental attitude to be ‘real wreck divers'. Here we have entwined superb diving with tragic episodes on the Andrea Doria, the Empress of Ireland, the Lusitania, and many other deep shipwrecks and submarines not so well known. The death toll on some of these ships is staggering for a recreational activity - thirteen at least so far on the Andrea Doria. Gentile's writing absorbs you into the scenario like a good work of fiction - which this is most assuredly not. And to make matters even more remarkable I that Gentile was shot through the chest whilst on duty in Vietnam, taking many years to recover, but not fully. This is a book(s) for the serious wreck, deep and technical diver, or, like myself, someone fascinated by the pioneering exploits of these adventurers. And all the action has taken place within the last few decades. A remarkable read. Two volumes, hardcover, dust jacket, 312, 392 pages, mono and colour plates. |
