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Ghost Ship: The Mysterious True Story of the Mary Celeste and Her Missing Crew |
Author: Brian Hicks
Published: 2004-06-01 |
List price: $25.95
Our price: $12.20
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As of: January 06th, 2009 07:05:38 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 A Sea-faring family tragedy
Like Hicks, I was introduced to the story of the Mary Celeste in the alien-occultic atmosphere at the height of the Bermuda Triangle era. So, I read his book, as he wrote it, to find out what really happened and discover that, based on his forensic research and reality-based deduction, that the truth was indeed probably stranger than fiction.
Not to spoil the story, the Mary Celeste was found floating adrift, empty, and undamaged by seas in 1872, a month after leaving New York headed for Spain with a load of cargo, a small crew of New England (and German and Russian) sailors, and Captain Brigg's wife and 2 year-old-daughter. No trace of the crew and family was ever found.
Its what happened next that is truly mysterious. Found by a cargo ship 10 days after the last log entry, the Mary Celeste was brought in to Gibraltar as salvage, where the British legal and diplomatic system immediately began to question motives and actions, speculating on fraud, murder, and mystery in the disappearance of the crew. From this beginning and on through the next century, everything from alien abduction to waterspouts were posited as the reason for the abandoned ship.
Lost in speculations, but restored by Hicks with loving attention to primary sources, is the family tragedy of the Briggs family, a sea-faring family devestated by the sea.
 Riveting account with well thought out conclusions !
Well written and enjoyable read that is intellectual and factual. Mr Hicks does a wonderful job with backstory and biographical information without going overboard (no pun intended). His conclusions are riveting and well thought out and are also very plausible. I would recommend this book to anyone who has even a remote interest in the subject matter.
Kindle Edition Notes
A few notes for the Kindle edition of this book: No real problems with the text, but all footnote annotations within the body of the book are lost, i.e. footnotes still exist at the book's end but there are no links to them. Reading footnotes out of context is meaningless, and source references are not useful in this way. Most pictures come through fine with good resolution, save for a map and a chart which are too finely drawn for the Kindle screen. Not a big deal, I know the geography anyway. I suppose the latter problem cannot be helped but the footnote issue should be fixable with more careful or advanced scanning of the text. Kindle ed. price was right, and a pleasure to read this book quickly turning pages with the convenient buttons, etc. 4-5 stars for the book, 3 for the format translation.
Case closed, as far as I'm concerned
A neat little book and an interesting read. The explanation put forward by Brian Hicks makes perfect sense and accounts for all the oddities. Mystery solved, as far as I'm concerned.
A Ghost of a Chance
In 1872 a merchant vessel on it's way to Europe came across a deserted cargo ship sailing by itself across the high seas. A deserted ship is rare but not improbable; however something about this ship was different. It's didn't appear to be damaged or abandoned. The captain's log still sat at his desk, sailor's pipes and overcoats still waited in their respective cabins. There was no blood on the deck and no signs of a struggle. It was as if the crew had simply disappeared.
So begins the story and legend of the Mary Celeste, one of the more prominent ghost ships in nautical history. It's seemingly stands alone because public fascination would seldom let go of the mystery, the controversial trial that followed it's discovery, or the ships final fate. Years after the Mary Celeste ceased to be, the story would somehow find a way to pop back up again, Aruthur Conan Doyle made a name for him self writing about the ship, Bela Lugosi would star in a movie based upon the Mary Celeste, and other countless writers would be influenced as well...mesmerized by the haunting possibilities of what really happen during that fateful trip.
Author Brian Hicks gathers what reliable information still exists about the famous ship and tells it's tale, from the time it was first made upon the shores of Novia Scotia to her final moments in the Caribbean. What lays in between is the story of the sea fearing Briggs family, two controversial trials, and of course the famous mystery. Hicks explores the stories and tall tales surrounding the Mary Celeste and even offers his own credible theory. Hick's style is a bit dry and full of detail. The first half of the book is mostly about the New England ship trade, but the tale of the Mary Celeste is still powerful and haunting. Once Hicks takes us there, there's no turning back
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