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The finest hours of the U.S. Coast Guard
"Two Tankers Down"
A new book by maritime writer Robert R. Frump
Cape Cod. Chatham, Massachusetts. February 1952. Bernard C. Webber and the others at the U.S. Coast Guard Lifesaving Station, were battened down as a fierce gale struck.
Twenty-five miles out to sea, the tankers the SS Pendleton and the SS Fort Mercer split cleanly in two at nearly the same time. Suddenly, more than 80 men were at risk. The big cutters were miles away. So Webber and others took to their small lifeboats and headed into 40-foot waves and 70 mph winds. What happened next, said Collier's Magazine, was the Coast Guard's 'finest hours."
Now author Bob Frump ("Until the Sea Shall Free Them)," tells the full story for the first time from the standpoint of the men in the boats and the men in the ships.
Go to the Forum for comments and critiques.
Order it now.
| Reviews of "Until the Sea Shall Free Them"
More about "Until the Sea..." and the Wreck of the Marine Electric
"This is a spellbinding and eloquent story of tragedy, courage and the triumph of one man determined to see that his shipmates did not die in vain. Frump is a master reporter, and his prose grabs you and doesn't let you go. Until the Sea Shall Free Them is in the finest traditions of literary and investigative journalism."
Mark Bowden, author, "Black Hawk Down"
"This is a story told with riveting intensity. Frump captures both the feel of the cruel sea and the determination of a group of individuals who worked together to fix a broken system. Until the Sea Shall Free Them is maritime journalism at its best."
Paul Stillwell, US Naval Institute
"...a masterfully told tale of corruption, survival and redemption...Combining elements of salty derring-do, courtroom drama and modern corporate morality tale, it makes Sebastian Junger's 1997 best seller The Perfect Storm read like child's play."
Jim Haner, The Baltimore Sun
More about the SS Marine Electric
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Reviews of "Man-eaters of Eden"
More about The Man-eaters of Eden
"Robert Frump weaves the central story of human suffering with, in the case of "The Man-eaters of Eden," gripping accounts of horrific lion attacks. He's a master story-teller who leaves readers wondering what they enjoy most: the import debate of 'man versus nature' or the many gruesome tales of predator versus prey."
--John von Brachel, deputy managing editor of Time Inc. Custom Publishing.
"A masterful account of encounters between man and beast....a stunning portrayal of a little-known phenomenon -- the killing and eating of Mozambican refugees by the lions of Kruger National Park in South Africa. This is a richly detailed narrative that is brutal and honest. Anyone intersted in wildlife preservation and human rights should read this remarkable book."
-- David Zucchino, correspondent for The Los Angeles Times and author of "Thunder Run" and "Myth of the Welfare Queen."
"The Man-eaters of Eden" is a much-needed antidote to the Diseneyfication of African wildlife. Robert Frump portrays lions as neither virtuous nor villainous but as what they are: adaptable carnivores...As Frump shows, it's not so much the lion the bush we should fear; it's our simplistic, theme-park view of nature."
-- David Baron, author of "Beast in the Garden."
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