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James Croall
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Fourteen Minutes: the Last Voyage of the Empress of Ireland Paperback – Import, January 1, 1980

by James Croall (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Sphere
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1980
  5. ISBN-10
    0722125488
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0722125489
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sphere; New Ed edition (January 1, 1980)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0722125488
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0722125489
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

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James Croall

James Croall

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
15 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

M. Cooke
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, non fiction book
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2023
Verified Purchase
Very good book. Originally read this decades ago, but just as good as I remember it. Great condition, from a great seller, very quick delivery.
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Jack11615
5.0 out of 5 stars Canada's Titanic
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2017
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It’s sad to see this book out of print. It was a pioneer study of Canada’s greatest peacetime seagoing disaster, the sinking of the ocean liner “Empress of Ireland” in 1914 … just midway between the “Titanic” (1912) and the “Lusitania” (1916). “Empress” actually had a greater loss of passenger lives than the infamous “Titanic”, though not quite so many lives in total. She sank in the Saint Lawrence River estuary, after colliding with a Norwegian coal carrier, and except for nightfall and a heavy fog, would still have been in plain sight of land.
“Empress” was built in the same year as “Lusitania” and had the same reliance on longitudinal bulkheads inside the hull to keep out seawater in a collision (touted as a "double hull"). Like “Lusitania”, she turned on her side before sinking, preventing lifeboats from being launched. From impact to disappearance took only fourteen minutes (eighteen minutes for “Lusitania”). About the only disappointment for me in this well researched and well written book is that structural and design issues are not more fully pursued. The thing is, even “Titanic” actually behaved much better, and her sister ship “Britannic” very much better, from a life-saving viewpoint - and they were built to a different plan. They didn’t capsize!
But technical matters are kept in strict balance in this account, and there’s plenty of human drama (and folly) to describe, by sea and by land. During an official inquiry after the disaster, both the captain of the “Empress” and the captain of the collier that rammed her insisted that their ships were not even moving, let alone had they altered their courses in any dangerous way. Loyally supported by their subordinates, both masters showed, in effect, that what had happened … could not have happened! As a result, Canada found the Norwegian collier to be at fault, and Norway blamed the Canadian liner.
Small comfort either way for the drowned passengers, whose lives and characters are sympathetically traced and warmly presented. Small comfort for the officers and crews also, though their careers were about to be engulfed in World War I (1914-1918). I have no trouble recommending this vivid account to those who can find it, although other books (and a couple of films) have appeared subsequently.
5 people found this helpful
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Vincent B. of R.I.
5.0 out of 5 stars Reads like an adventure novel with court room drama at the end!
Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2014
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Although the book is dated from 1978 it still reads well all these years later. After a brief introduction explaining the business of trans-Atlantic travel at the turn of the last century the author proceeds to introduce you to the main characters involved in this collision from the crew and passengers of both ships. Where one chapter ends from the point of one ship, the next chapter begins as in sort of a " re-wind" fashion, describing how it was to be on board the other ship at the beginning of the events described in the previous chapter. The book reads like an adventure novel and the coverage of the inquiry in the last few chapters is smartly described in layman's terms that anyone not familiar with all things nautical will understand, yet won't insult someone's intelligence that is well versed in such subjects. This book is an excellent read. Highly recommended.
5 people found this helpful
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Clarice
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, well written.
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2017
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Read all by now. It's thrilling story and sad. Of course more tragedy than of Titanic because in shorter time so many has perished. It's a tale of heroism on the part of Storstad who clashed with Empress of Ireland. Story of animosity between the 2 captains, disbelief and character assassination of the Storstad staff although, of course, fatal mistakes happened and the Empress was hit. It'll be interesting to read and there are some nice pictures as well. I highly recommend the book.
One person found this helpful
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Lisa Schureman
5.0 out of 5 stars End of an Empress
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2013
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I read this book shortly after I found out that my grandfather had come across on her in 1911. At the time it was the only book about her that I could get my hands on. Excellent writing. The author entwines you in the lives of the passengers & crews of both ships and the tragedy that is Canada's Titanic. I jumped at the chance to own a copy and reread the book.
9 people found this helpful
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KARL SPENCE
5.0 out of 5 stars The paperback is pretty small. This book was one of the first ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2014
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The hardback book is the one to get. The paperback is pretty small. This book was one of the first modern books on the sinking and covers it well.
One person found this helpful
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bookworm005
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent book about a rare topic
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2013
There are very few books about the Empress of Ireland so the fact that this book exists at all deserves a few stars. Croall's book is an engaging read about the Empress that does not get lost in extraneous, minute information (a la A.A. Hoelhing's Lusitania book). I can't say whether everything in it is true because I am not a scholar of the subject. In the hardback edition I have, there are several glaring spelling errors (ex: "water" spelled "uater"). Not a big deal, but it's worth mentioning.

There is a pretty long section about the public inquiry into the Empress's sinking. I skipped past most of it because I don't care for reading about the "he said, she said" legal proceedings. Most of the book was very interesting and I'm glad I bought it.

I highly recommend this book for people who are interested in the Titanic. I first read about the Empress in Robert Ballard's Ghost Liners book. While the Titanic disaster has been rehashed over and over in books and movies, the Empress's story is rarely heard. To hear her story is refreshing.
4 people found this helpful
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M,P
5.0 out of 5 stars i dove on this wreck and
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2014
My passion came for this great ship after i dove on the wreck many times in Rimouski, , Quebec, , Canada. I read that book after and it's so interesting. It's captivating if you like read about facts and history, you will know everything and how it happens, it remain the greatest naval accident ever during peace time.
4 people found this helpful
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