Torn in Two: The Sinking of the Daniel J. Morrell and One Man's Survival on the Open Sea

[Back cover copy: Schumacher / Torn in Two]



[INSIDE FRONT FLAP: ]

Dennis Hale reached the dock just in time to see the Daniel J. Morrell head out to open waters, carrying ore from Minnesota's Iron Range to steel firms around the Great Lakes. The watchman had, quite literally, missed the boat--which meant scrambling to rejoin the Morrell at its next stop or forfeiting a good chunk of his pay package. Seventy-two hours later, Hale would be clinging to a life raft next to the frozen bodies of his crewmates in the violent waves of Lake Huron. The boat would not be reported missing for another twenty-seven hours and by the time the life raft was found, Dennis Hale would be the sole survivor of the wreck of the Daniel J. Morrell.

This is life-and-death drama on the inland sea as only Michael Schumacher can tell it. In Torn in Two the Great Lakes historian recreates the circumstances surrounding the terrible storm of November 29, 1966, that broke the mighty 600-foot freighter in half, sending twenty-five of the Morrell's twenty-nine-man crew to their deaths and consigning the surviving four to the raft where all but Hale would perish. At the heart of Torn in Two are the terrible hours spent by Hale on the raft with his crewmen, desperately hanging on for thirty-eight hours in freezing temperatures and wearing only a peacoat, life jacket, and boxer shorts. The fight to save Hale and find the others, the Coast Guard hearings into what happened, the discovery of the wreckage more than twelve years later--Schumacher's vivid narrative captures every harrowing detail and curious fact of the Morrell's demise, finally doing justice to this epic shipwreck fifty years past.

[INSIDE BACK FLAP:]

Michael Schumacher has published three previous books about the Great Lakes: Mighty Fitz: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Wreck of the Carl D., and November's Fury: The Deadly Great Lakes Hurricane of 1913. He lives in Wisconsin, near the shores of Lake Michigan.

University of Minnesota Press

Printed in U.S.A.

Jacket design by Victor Mingovits

Jacket art: Chaos (The Creation), 1841 (oil on canvas), Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1841-1900)/Museo Armeno, Venice, Italy / Bridgeman Images

[BACK COVER:]

History/Regional

"Michael Schumacher's latest book is tragic, gripping, and hard to put down. He captures the fury of the Great Lakes as a winter storm rips a steel hull in two and tosses the crew into the lake's cold, dark maw. What happens next is a true survival tale." --Cary Griffith, author of Lost in the Wild

Praise for Mighty Fitz

"Michael Schumacher never fails to bring a sympathetic and knowledgeable view of the story, as well as great respect to the memory of the twenty-nine crew members who died. A rewarding narrative." --Publishers Weekly

"A fastidious history of loss at sea, for casual reader and maritime maven alike." --Kirkus Reviews

Praise for November's Fury

"November's Fury is a moving and historically rich account of spectacular survivals, daring rescues, and heartbreaking loss. Michael Schumacher's meticulous research and adroit storytelling give voice to the hundreds who perished in the Great Lakes storm of the century, revealing a human tragedy of immeasurable magnitude." --Andrew Kantar, author of Deadly Voyage

[BAR CODE ISBN: 978-0-8166-9521-8 $25.95]

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