Collision course: The classic story of the most extraordinary sea disaster of our times--the collision at sea of the S.S. Andrea Doria and the M.S. Stockholm

In 1956, two luxury liners—the MS Stockholm and the SS Andrea Doria—equipped with every known safety device, collided off Long Island. The Stockholm was able to limp back to New York City, but the beautiful Andrea Doria, pride of the Italian Line, slipped slowly into the depths of the North Atlantic shortly after. Half a century later, the mystery of their convergence continues to fascinate readers and experts alike, right down to the stories of hidden treasures worth millions awaiting discovery deep in the Doria’s decaying hull. In Collision Course, author Alvin Moscow vividly re-creates the horror and magnitude of the catastrophe that struck the passengers and crews of both ships with such compelling realism that the reader relives the terror and confusion. The collision itself still baffles maritime experts and laymen alike by its enormity and utter improbability: that the two enormous ships, sailing in opposite directions on a calm sea, could converge at the same time and the same place. Moscow attended the four-month court hearings that sought to find the causes of the disaster, and reviewed six thousand pages of testimony and exhibits, interviewing all the principals to discover what actually happened that fateful night. Collision Course is an engrossing tale of human fallibility, and a must-read for any maritime history buff. The definitive New York Times –bestselling account: “One of the most intriguing and thought-provoking books about shipwreck since A Night to Remember ” ( The Detroit News ). One of the largest, fastest, and most beautiful ships in the world, the Andrea Doria was on her way to New York from her home port in Genoa. Departing from the United States was the much smaller Stockholm . On the foggy night of July 25, 1956, fifty-three miles southeast of Nantucket in the North Atlantic, the Stockholm sliced through the Doria ’s steel hull. Within minutes, water was pouring into the Italian liner. Eleven hours later, she capsized and sank into the ocean. In this “electrifying book,” Associated Press journalist Alvin Moscow, who covered the court hearings that sought to explain the causes of the tragedy and interviewed all the principals, re-creates with compelling accuracy the actions of the ships’ officers and crews, and the terrifying experiences of the Doria ’s passengers as they struggled to evacuate a craft listing so severely that only half of its lifeboats could be launched ( Newsweek ). Recounting the heroic, rapid response of other ships—which averted a catastrophe of the same scale as that of the Titanic— and the official inquest, Moscow delivers a fact-filled, fascinating drama of this infamous maritime disaster, and explains how a supposedly unsinkable ship ended up at the bottom of the sea. In the New York Times Book Review , Walter Lord, author of A Night to Remember , said of Collision Course : “More than a magnificent analysis of the accident and sinking; it is a warmly compassionate document, full of understanding for the people on each side.” Hailed by Walter Lord, author of A Night to Remember, as a ?splendid book,? this is the definitive account of the worst maritime disaster of modern times: the improbable collision of two luxury passenger liners in the North Atlantic One of the largest, fastest, and most beautiful ships in the world, the Andrea Doria was on her way to New York from her home port in Genoa. Departing from the United States was the much smaller Stockholm. On the foggy night of July 25, 1956, fifty-three miles southeast of Nantucket, the Stockholm sliced through the Doria{u2019}s steel hull. Within minutes, the sea was pouring into the Italian liner. Eleven hours later, she capsized and sank into the ocean. Associated Press journalist Alvin Moscow, who covered the court hearings that sought to explain the causes of the tragedy and interviewed all the principals, re-creates with compelling accuracy the actions of the ships{u2019} officers and crews, and the terrifying experiences of the Doria{u2019}s passengers as they struggled to evacuate a craft listing so severely that only half of its lifeboats could be launched. Recounting the heroic, rapid response of other ships{u2014}which averted a catastrophe of the same scale as that of the Titanic{u2014}and the official inquest, Moscow delivers a fact-filled, fascinating drama of how a supposedly unsinkable ship ended up at the bottom of the sea July 26, 1956, and the world was suddenly spellbound by one of the worst sea disasters of all time. The sea-voyaging life of the Pride of Italy was over. Just off the coast of Nantucket Island, the *Andrea Dorea* lay on the cold, dark bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Radios blared and newspapers shrieked the gaudy headlines. People thrilled to the dramatic story of Hollywood actress Ruth Roman, of Linda Morgan the "miracle girl" who was catapulted from one ship to another. 26 lay dead, and no one knew why it happened. Here, written by an Associated Press reported who devoted 18 months to detective work, is the chronicle of the mysterious *Andrea Doria-Stockholm* collision.