Rating: 
Summary: Greed
Review: O'Donnell has done an extraordinary job in writing about a horrible event. His sytle is more than simply presenting facts but has put together an account any reader will have difficulty setting aside until the last sentence. In large part the deaths of over 1,000 are to be blamed on greed, by the boat company and the inspectors who were paid to look the other way when checking life preservers, fire hoses and safety boats. Had the inspector, Henry Lundberg, properly done his job, it is fair to say that only a few, if any deaths, would have occurred on that fateful day in 1904. Like any event about which we know the end there came to me the strange desire to somehow reach back through 100 years of history and tell the folks: "Don't get on the boat." But we know history can't be changed. There is the problem of dealing with the realities of awful events and learning from them. Many of us probably felt the same way when the news of 9/11/01 struck us in the face, an event to which O'Donnell compares the General Slocum fire. Like others have said in their reviews, this book gives interesting insights to the common, everyday life of early 20th century in New York. It has been said that the life of a human being is largely the same day after day; it is the extraordinary by which much of an existence is measured. This can truly be said of the folks who gathered for a wonderful June picnic in 1904, little knowing that by the day's end their lives would be over.
There can be no doubt in anyone's mind that the cause of the fire was that someone loved money more than safety. The Bible says that "the love of money is the root of evil."
I highly recommend this book for anyone wishing to learn more about a tragic event in American history.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent, Very Entertaining & Informative Read
Review: I highly recommend this book! I had the pleasure of attending a Big Onion Walking Tour on the 99th Anniversary of the General Slocum tragedy this past June given by the author, Mr. O'Donnell, and then went and bought the book immediately after the tour. It's amazing how few people have ever heard of the General Slocum tragedy even though it was the biggest NY City tragedy before the attack on the World Trade Center - mainly because those who perished were "only" immigrants and mostly women and children. A sad story of capitalist corruption and greed!
Rating:
Summary: Death And Greed Count The Profits......
Review: Too many "disaster" books leave you with little or no feeling for the actual victims, survivors, and relatives. That is certainly not the case with "Ship Ablaze." The book is, at times, almost unbearable in its unrelenting intensity. Mr. O'Donnell sets the scene well: a church group, in a tight-knit Lower East Side German community, preparing for and embarking upon a weekday steamboat excursion/picnic. We get to know the pastor, and we get to know some of the families. As the ship leaves the dock, we know what's going to happen...but that doesn't matter. We are horrified as the fire starts and spreads, and over 1,000 people (mostly women and children, with more than one member from many families) die from burning or drowning. We are outraged by the negligence of the shipowner (too cheap to buy new lifejackets and fire hoses, to replace the old equipment which was, literally, disintegrating), and the captain (too "proud" to instruct his crew in fire prevention or to hold fire drills), and the safety inspectors (who "passed" equipment they knew to be not in proper working order- and who most likely pocketed some payoffs). Mr. O'Donnell leaves no area unexplored, although you might sometimes wish he had: he goes into detail concerning the different ways a person can drown- either by "inhaling" water or by lack of oxygen; he talks about people drowning in 5 feet of water, because they were so frightened they didn't realize they could just stand up; he talks of black hearses being used for adults and white ones being used for children; he talks of "survivor guilt" and suicides and undertakers taking advantage of bereaved people by engaging in high-pressure sales tactics and by charging double the normal price for burials. But he also talks about brave people risking their lives to save others, and of people who donated generously to relief funds. The entire spectrum of human behavior is on display. On a lighter note, Mr. O'Donnell's curiosity seems to know no bounds: he informs us that people flocked to Coney Island to see disaster spectacles such as "The Fall of Pompeii" and "The Fire and Flames Show." (He also explains that prior to being "cleaned up" and made into an amusement area, Coney Island was known for prostitution and gambling.); we also learn that the "General Slocum" tragedy was mentioned in James Joyce's "Ulysses" and that the tragedy was also used as the basis of a 1934 movie called "Manhattan Melodrama," starring William Powell and Clark Gable. It was also the movie John Dillinger saw on the day he emerged from a movie theater and was gunned down by FBI agents. But for every funny or interesting fact, there is something like this: there was a 7 year old girl named Margaret Heins, who had been on the steamboat but whose body had not been recovered. The day after the tragedy, her body was found floating in the East River- one block from her family's home. She had drifted 8 miles from where the "General Slocum" had run aground. Even though I'm a New York City native, I'd never heard of the "Slocum" tragedy. Now, because of Mr. O'Donnell, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to forget it.
Rating:
Summary: storyteller extraordinaire!
Review: Avoiding sensationalism, Ed O'Donnell provides a masterful account of the great disaster through a perfect combination of riveting detail, pathos, and shrewd analysis. The result is a story of tremendous tragedy that, even as it brought devastation and heartbreak, confirms the power of the bonds of love, family, and community. Although set in 1904, it offers a powerful message for today.
Rating:
Summary: We Can't Forget
Review: About a year ago, I read a New York Times obituary of a woman who was thought to be the last living survivor of the General Slocum disaster. The piece described it as the worst disaster in New York City before the events of September 11, 2001. And I knew nothing about it, nor did my family and friends. Having been in New York for the more recent disaster, and feeling that it should never be forgotten, I was comepelled to learn more about the Slocum sinking. I was thrilled to find O'Donnell's book after reading a review in the New York Observer. I was even more delighted as I read it not only to learn everything I wanted to know about this terrible earlier disaster, but to have the pleasure of reading an historical account that read like a compelling novel. Were it not for the reminders of the pain and suffering of the victims, I would describe reading this book as quite enjoyable. For those who wonder how anyone could ever forget September 11, 2001, you must read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book of little known Tragedy
Review: I drive past the place of the Slocum tragedy almost everyday, and yet I had no idea that this event ever happened. A well written book about a little known tragic event. I recommend this book and hope people will keep the story of this event alive.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Read!
Review: I had never heard of the General Slocum disaster before reading Ship Ablaze. Edward T. O'Donnell has produced a riveting account of a horrible maritime tragedy. His book breathes life into the people involved, and the reader catches a glimpse of the overwhelming sadness they must have experienced. The book is structured perfectly and very well paced. I highly recommend Ship Ablaze.
Rating:
Summary: Corporate Greed Gone Mad
Review: Mr. O'Donnell's telling of the General Slocum disaster went beyond what I had expected to read. Some writers concentrate mainly on the main points of a disaster. Mr O'Donnell went further and showed the background of the families and neighborhoods caught up in this terrible tragedy. He also went in to explain what went on during the times. For example, he told us that in 1904, not very many people learned how to swim which of course, would explain why many didn't do the obvious and just jump overboard. While reading the book of the deaths and suffering, I kept hoping that I would find myself reading that some sort of justice prevailed for the unfortunate families. Unfortunately, there was none. Even the distribution of relief money came into criticism (just as it did after 9/11). It seems that once the notriety died down, the authorities didn't really care about prosecuting the guilty. I would have to say that the biggest miracle to have happened was the little boy who trudged home alive after his parents had given him up for dead. I can also say something about New Yorkers who were willing to forget what happened (especially during WWI) just because the victims were Germans. I just wish the book had gone further; telling its readers what happened to the main characters. We were told when Rev. Haas and Capt. Van Schaik died. But no mention was made of the inspector who inspected but didn't inspect the General Slocum nor the main person who caused the disaster; Frank Barnaby, the owner of the ship. One thing I find hard to understand is how the inspector, the owner and the captain could go about their lives knowing that they were responsible for over 1,000 deaths as if nothing had happened. In some cases, I guess greed outweighs morals.
Rating:
Summary: The Titanic of New York City
Review: When the Titanic sank it became one of the most recorded disasters of any type in written History, 1,495 people lost their lives on that maiden voyage far out in the North Atlantic. The fire upon, and eventual sinking of The General Slocum is comparatively unknown, yet the most conservative estimates record nearly 1,100 deaths. The latter was a steam powered, paddle-wheeled ship over 600 feet of length that never ventured beyond site of land. The author spends a portion of the book explaining New York City of 1904, from the newly joined boroughs, to the mayor who was a relative of the famous and widely berated general of the same name who served this nation during The Civil War. He shares the lifestyles of the German immigrants, their place in the city, and why so few people were capable of swimming, which contributed greatly to the day's tragedy. The fire and deaths that resulted were a combination of greed and circumstances that however deadly were part of routine maintenance for wooden ships of that day. The same materials that were used to preserve the wooden construction also guaranteed that with the slightest encouragement the entire vessel would burn like petroleum soaked timber. But the negligence that allowed cork filled life preservers to deteriorate to dust, that let fire hoses dry until they burst when water was put through them, and the intentional wiring of lifeboats to their davits so they were not movable, made the deaths on the General Slocum preventable as opposed to just accidental. The author has documented a terrible tragedy nearly 100 years after it took place. By doing so he has assured that the memory of those who died and a major event in this nation's History will not be lost.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read Book -- for Everyone
Review: Edward O'Donnell's book tells a story that every American should know more about, and tells it extremely well. O'Donnell brings to life not only the tragedy (the worst one in New York City history before 9/11) but many of the people involved, from George McClellan, the mayor of the city, to Adele Liebenow, the youngest survivor who was a six-month old baby when her family took her on the excursion. O'Donnell's deft touch paints a picture of the world of 1904 New York, the details of the tragedy and the aftermath, and even an exploration of why the tragedy seems to have disappeared from the American consciousness.
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