'Eastland': Legacy of the 'Titanic'

by George Hilton

Book Overview

This is the first comprehensive account of the capsizing in 1915 of the steamer Eastland, an accident that killed more than 800 men, women, and children--the worst disaster of any kind in the history of Chicago and the worst in the history of the Great Lakes.

Reviews

"Hilton has written a comprehensive and exhaustive study of the worst disaster in Chicago's history. . . . Alterations and the addition of more lifeboats and rafts after...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804728011
• ISBN13: 9780804728010
• Release Date: March 1997
• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

a remarkable season of disaster

In the year 1915 in the good ol' days as hollywood and others would have it there were three horrible disasters caused by political corruption, corporate greed, and a dishonest judiciary in the City of Chicago. The worst theatre fire in American history the legendary fire at the Iroquios theatre the explosion of the hydrogen airship "Wingfoot Express" ala the "Hindenburg" over a part of the downtown area and the loss of over 800 people in the 15 foot deep Chicago river just north of the downtown area in the capsizing of the tippy excursion steamer "Eastland" the third worst maritime disaster in US history the second worst disaster in US history was explosion of the sidewheel paddle steamboat "Sultana" in 1865 the worst was the burning of the sidewheeler "General Slocum" on the east river of New York City oddly enough this general supervised the arson leveling of the City of Atlanta during the Civil War.The author George W. Hilton, explains through testimony, engineering equipment diagrams, mathematical graphs, a computer designed lines plan of the hull of "Eastland" how this ship sank with such a high loss of life I have been interested in the "Eastland" for years but due to political influence being used not much information was in print this book will probably be the best work on the "Eastland" disaster ever written.

Thoroughly researched--great information

Hilton has researched this subject extensively. If you are looking for flowery personal stories of the disaster, you won't find them here. What you will find is a massive source of information about the ship's construction, a detached account of the disaster, and an account of the legal proceedings and investigations following the disaster. The amount of researched facts in this book is unmatched and this amount of information about the EASTLAND cannot be found in any other source.

A painstakingly researched but nicely accessible account.

The EASTLAND incident offers a great deal to students of history as well as mariners. George Hilton's account will satisfy most readers, with its fascinating story, remarkable research and good technical descriptions. He has wrung more from the historical record than any previous writer on this subject, while managing to give the reader some human perspective on the tragedy. Helpful drawings and photographs add to the value of this book.

Superb documentary of Major Marine Disaster in US

Outstanding documentary of the events leading up to the disaster of the Great Lakes steamer in 1915. Author provides solid documentation tying the loss the Titanic three years previous and the consequences it had on regulations of lifeboats and rafts. Great explanation in layman's terms on shipboard stability. Good illustrations throughout the book. Organization of story chronologically superb. I got this book off the library shelf becuase my grandmother was a survivor of the Eastland disaster. Hilton has, after 80 years, told the story correctly erasing myths concerning the actual reasons leading up to the disaster. Great detail concerning the lives of the people involved.