Description: Wrecked links the story of America's most infamous shipwreck to the story of an even larger disaster--the wreck of the American industrial economy. When the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, more was lost than the ship and the twenty-nine lives on board. The disaster was a human tragedy as well as an indictment of the American industrial policies that eventually cost the nation thousands of jobs and marooned hundreds of communities.
Brief description:
Thomas M. Nelson is the Outagamie County executive (Appleton-Fox Valley, Wisconsin) and a former Wisconsin Assembly majority leader (2008-2010). His first book, One Day Stronger: How One Union Local Saved a Mill and Changed an Industry--and What It Means for American Manufacturing, is based on his work as an elected official to save a paper mill that had been shut down by a big bank and sold to a scrap dealer. The improbable tale earned him a starred Kirkus Review.
Nelson has served in elective office for twenty years and is a seasoned campaigner having run for U.S. House of Representatives (2016) and U.S. Senate (2022). His unique political experience yields important insights into his writing. Along with thoroughly researched subjects and effective use of vibrant, engrossing prose, his books are accessible to a wide audience.
Review Quotes:
This is the most thorough and complete work covering the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. If you want to know everything about this tragedy, then you need to read this book. --Toby Marcovich, attorney for the families of crew members lost with the Edmund Fitzgerald