I ran across this book in a ... Drug Store in Keahou, HI. It's a wonderful book to read to a toddler that will one day be a big sister. She loves to open the flaps to see what's behind it and I like it because it's Asian American and there aren't too many of those picture books (pictures of dim sum).

This account of the sinking of the Daniel J. Morrell, a Bethlehem Steel ore boat, in Lake Huron in 1966 is another awesome tale of the power of the "freshwater seas." The huge vessel fell into the through of the seas on its ill-fated November voyage and cracked in two.

The heart of the book are the edited oral reminescences of Dennis Hale, the sole survivor of the disaster. Hale recalls the loneliness of his early life, the camaraderie he found among his fellow seamen, and the unexpected tragedy of the boat's catastrophic failure and sinking.

Hale and three fellow survivors crawled from the icy water into an unpowered lifeboat, exposed to the freezing elements of mid-November Lake Huron. Due to the failure of the shipping line and the Coast Guard to mount an immediate search for the missing ore boat and its crew, Hale had to watch his comrades die in the lifeboat. Hale does not know why he alone survived, and recalls an "out of the body" experience which he had, alone, on the lifeboat. This testimony only adds to the mystery.

Hale's account does not make up a full-sized book, and the editors were forced to fill it out with public-domain stuff from the sinking - specifically, the Coast Guard final report on the disaster.

Although much of this book is made up of dull, bureaucratic addenda, Hale's own story is an essential element of any good Great Lakes collection. Although this book has flaws, it is highly recommended.