Into the Raging Sea:
Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of El Faro
On October 1, 2015, Hurricane Joaquin barreled into the Bermuda Triangle and swallowed the container ship El Faro whole, resulting in the deadliest American shipping disaster in thirty-five years. No one could fathom how a vessel equipped with satellite communications, a sophisticated navigation system, and cutting-edge weather forecasting could suddenly vanish—until now.
Relying on hundreds of exclusive interviews with family members and maritime experts, as well as the words of the crew members themselves—whose conversations on the bridge were captured for a remarkable 26 hours leading up to the sinking by the ship’s data recorder—journalist Rachel Slade unravels the mystery of the sinking of El Faro. As she recounts the final hours onboard, Slade vividly depicts the officers’ anguish and fear as they struggled to carry out Captain Michael Davidson’s increasingly bizarre commands, which, they knew, would steer them straight into the eye of the storm. Taking a hard look at America's aging merchant marine fleet, Slade also reveals the truth about modern shipping—a cut-throat industry plagued by razor-thin profits and ever more violent hurricanes fueled by global warming.
A richly reported account of a singular tragedy, Into the Raging Sea takes us into the heart of an age-old American industry, casting new light on the hardworking men and women who paid the ultimate price in the name of profit.
Accolades
National bestseller
Winner of the Mountbatten Award for Best Book
NPR’s best books of 2018
New York Times notable book of 2018
NYT editors’ pick
Amazon’s editor’s pick for Best History
Maine Literary Book Award
Massachusetts Honor Book
Paste Magazine's best books
Longreads' best books
Inc. Magazine's seven best business books
The Maine Edge’s favorite books
Janet Maslin's must-read book of the summer
Outside magazine's top five summer reads
Amazon’s best nonfiction of the year
Number 6 on Down East Magazine's top 25 "New Maine Classics" in 2023
National bestseller Winner of the Mountbatten Award for Best Book NPR’s best books of 2018 New York Times notable book of 2018 NYT editors’ pick Amazon’s editor’s pick for Best History Maine Literary Book Award Massachusetts Honor Book Paste Magazine's best books Longreads' best books Inc. Magazine's seven best business books The Maine Edge’s favorite books Janet Maslin's must-read book of the summer Outside magazine's top five summer reads Amazon’s best nonfiction of the year Number 6 on Down East Magazine's top 25 "New Maine Classics" in 2023
Reviews for Into the Raging Sea
“For sheer drama on the water, it’s hard to beat the tragedy recounted in Rachel Slade’s Into the Raging Sea.”
— Janet Maslin, New York Times
“This is a staunchly humanistic work, adroitly told, with a wide emotional range that incorporates both a sense of loss and a call for change.”
— Portland Press Herald
“The depth of research and reporting, and Slade’s skill at pacing and selecting the telling details, produce a richly detailed narrative, tense and sad and true.”
— The Boston Globe
“A powerful and affecting story, beautifully handled by Slade, a journalist who clearly knows ships and the sea.”
— Douglas Preston, New York Times Book Review
“A taut, chilling, and emotionally charged retelling of a doomed ship’s final days.”
— Kirkus Review (starred review)
More praise for Into the Raging Sea
“With gripping prose and edge-of-the-seat momentum, Rachel Slade takes the reader aboard the final, fatal voyage of El Faro. Into the Raging Sea imparts a profound message about the power of nature and the fallibility of human judgement even in our digitized era.”
— Peter Stark, author of Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire
“Rachel Slade's bracing Into the Raging Sea is a story as old as seafaring itself. Only Slade isn't guessing here at the fate of the El Faro. This minute-by-minute account illustrates in chilling detail exactly what happens when the near-infinite might of the ocean plows broadside into the hubris of men.”
— Brantley Hargrove, author of The Man Who Caught the Storm
“Rachel Slade mashes up The Perfect Storm with a suspenseful, page-turning thriller, cutting through the corporate double-speak to shine a light on how it was that thirty-three men and women sailed into Hurricane Joaquin. Superbly written, this deserves a place on the bookshelf of modern maritime classics. Even those who have followed El Faro closely will find major surprises here.”
— Robert Frump, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Until the Sea Shall Free Them: Life, Death, and Survival in the Merchant Marine
“An extraordinary piece of reporting. I tore through it like a novel but with the inside knowledge of how insulated the shipping industry is, how well it protects its secrets, and of the countless nets it deploys to entangle journalists. Slade pushes through the waves, heavy seas, and military court imbroglio in the same way the El Faro faced hurricane Joaquin: dead on at Full Speed Ahead.”