From Publishers Weekly
The author of 2001’s Deep Descent recounts the sinking of the Canadian ocean liner Empress of Ireland and documents its subsequent romantic history as a lure for scuba divers in this well-researched but narrowly focused book. Early on the morning of May 29, 1914, the Empress was caught in a thick fog in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and was hit by a Norwegian collier that tore open the hull around its boiler room. The ship went down in about 14 minutes, killing two-thirds of its 1,475 travelers. Many of them were lost in the darkness below deck; some tried to squeeze out of portholes only to get stuck; others died of hypothermia in the freezing water. Like the Titanic, the Empress was a luxury liner, with first class cabins decorated with cherry wood and mahogany. And the combination of its dramatic sinking, its rich construction and its location just a few hundred feet below the surface made it a tantalizing destination for "extreme divers" willing to brave the strong currents and frigid temperatures of the area. McMurray himself made his first dive to the wreck in 1971, and his book focuses primarily on the equipment, techniques and dangers of diving to the ship’s remains. His history of the 1914 crash takes little more than 30 pages—probably a good choice since his prose tends to get duller the further away he moves from blow-by-blow explanations of underwater expeditions. The book is impressively researched, however, and, for those who love the lure of the deep water and the mysteries of shipwrecks, this specialized history will be a pleasure. 75 photos and illus.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description

Two years after Titanic came another ship disaster of equal magnitude

"The most comprehensive and impressive account of the investigation of a shipwreck I've ever read. Kevin McMurray has revealed the secrets of the Empress of Ireland in a spellbinding read."
--Clive Cussler, bestselling author of Night Probe!

On May 29, 1914, after a collision in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Empress of Ireland sank in minutes, taking 1,012 passengers and crew to their deaths. The disaster shocked the world but then was forgotten with the torpedoing of the Lusitania and the engulfing cataclysm of World War I. Now, in Dark Descent, acclaimed author and diver Kevin McMurray revives the story of this forgotten maritime catastrophe.

Dark Descent takes readers down into the frigid depths to explore the controversies of the ship's fatal night and the many attempts to salvage her contents, from the first hardhat diver sent down to recover loved ones to today's "adrenaline junkies" who risk­­--and often lose­­--their lives in pursuit of the perfect descent.

From the Inside Flap
"Many people in extreme sports do not recognize their limitations, and when they do, they're about to die."--Gary Gentile, wreck diver The passenger liner Empress of Ireland departed Quebec City on May 28, 1914, bound for Liverpool, England, with 1,477 passengers and crew. That night the Empress encountered dense fog in the frigid Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at 1:55 a.m., May 29, the liner was struck and split open by the collier Storstad. In less than 15 minutes the great ship plunged to the bottom with more than 1,000 victims--one of the largest losses of life ever in a North American maritime accident. Shocking though the tragedy was, however, it was swept from public consciousness by the gathering cloud of World War I and the torpedoing of the Lusitania a year later. But the story of the Empress did not end there. Soon after the ship settled into the muddy bottom, deep-water salvage divers were sent down in an attempt to recover the hundreds of bodies still trapped aboard. Operating in the dark and frigid depths in an unstable, obstacle-strewn wreck, these pioneer "hard hat" divers were one misstep from disaster, and one lost his life that summer. When Edward Cossaboom was finally recovered by fellow divers, nothing remained of him but "a jellyfish with a copper mantle and dangling canvas tentacles." For almost half a century after Cossaboom's death, the Empress lay untouched by human hands and largely forgotten. But thanks to Jacques Cousteau and others, scuba diving became a popular sport after World War II. Beginning in the 1960s, the Empress lured divers, including Cousteau himself, to brave the icy St. Lawrence for the chance to see and touch a piece of history. Generations after her sinking, the Empress was in remarkable condition--a great but deadly wreck to dive. Despite continuing advancements in diving equipment and techniques, including exotic mixed-gas breathing systems, more lives have been lost on the Empress in the past forty years--most recently in the summer of 2002. Considered a "pinnacle dive" by adventure seekers and a historic wreck by the likes of Robert Ballard (the discoverer of the Titanic), who filmed a documentary on the Empress in 1999, the beckoning call of the Empress is simply too powerful to resist. Those who have seen her once almost always go back. In Dark Descent, Kevin McMurray gives us two great stories--the loss of a mighty ship with a human toll as terrible as the Titanic, and the birth and development of "deep-penetration" wreck diving, one of the most hazardous pursuits in the world. He re-creates not only some of the more successful dives on the Empress but also, in chilling detail, the fatal expeditions. McMurray, a veteran deepwater diver, has dived on the wreck multiple times, drawn to it for reasons the reader of this book will come to understand. McMurray guides us along claustrophobic corridors, the inky darkness beyond our attenuated lights haunted by human remains and historic treasures. One miscalculation, one unseen hazard, one equipment malfunction or moment of panic could be fatal. He plunges us 150 feet deep to the once-proud Empress of Ireland and into a strange, romantic obsession, and at times we want to dash to the surface, lungs bursting, praying for one more breath of clean, fresh air. Kevin F. McMurray is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Outside, Sunday Times (London), and Men's Journal. He is an experienced scuba diver who has visited the wreck of the Empress of Ireland on multiple occasions. McMurray is the author of Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria. "Kevin McMurray has revealed the secrets of the Empress of Ireland in a spellbinding read that perfectly describes the nightmarish conditions of diving on the wreck that remains a tomb of its victims."--Clive Cussler, author of Night Probe! and Trojan Odyssey "Kevin has a remarkable knack of adding life and realism. A great job."--R. W. Hamilton, Chairman of the Board, Divers Alert Network Dark Descent tells two dramatic stories--the loss of a mighty ocean liner ninety years ago with a human toll as terrible as that of the Titanic, and the birth and development of extreme, deepwater wreck diving, one of the most hazardous pursuits in the world. Kevin McMurray takes us deep into the bowels of the Empress of Ireland, first to relive her tragic death and then to join the divers who have probed the wreck's secrets. At more than a hundred feet deep in frigid water, diving the Empress is like trying to find your way through an unfamiliar sixty-story building lying on its side at a forty-five degree angle, in pitch blackness with only a flashlight. It's an adventure from which some divers don't return. What reviewers said about Kevin McMurray's Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria: This is a book you will have a hard time putting down. Page after page leads you through adventure, mystery, suspense, and acts of heroism."--The Philadelphia Enquirer "Exciting and powerful."--Library Journal "McMurray knows his stuff. . . . Compelling. . . . Full of high drama in low places."--Kirkus Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Many people in extreme sports do not recognize their limitations, and when they do, they're about to die."--Gary Gentile, wreck diver

The passenger liner Empress of Ireland departed Quebec City on May 28, 1914, bound for Liverpool, England, with 1,477 passengers and crew. That night the Empress encountered dense fog in the frigid Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at 1:55 a.m., May 29, the liner was struck and split open by the collier Storstad. In less than 15 minutes the great ship plunged to the bottom with more than 1,000 victims--one of the largest losses of life ever in a North American maritime accident. Shocking though the tragedy was, however, it was swept from public consciousness by the gathering cloud of World War I and the torpedoing of the Lusitania a year later.

But the story of the Empress did not end there. Soon after the ship settled into the muddy bottom, deep-water salvage divers were sent down in an attempt to recover the hundreds of bodies still trapped aboard. Operating in the dark and frigid depths in an unstable, obstacle-strewn wreck, these pioneer "hard hat" divers were one misstep from disaster, and one lost his life that summer. When Edward Cossaboom was finally recovered by fellow divers, nothing remained of him but "a jellyfish with a copper mantle and dangling canvas tentacles."

For almost half a century after Cossaboom's death, the Empress lay untouched by human hands and largely forgotten. But thanks to Jacques Cousteau and others, scuba diving became a popular sport after World War II. Beginning in the 1960s, the Empress lured divers, including Cousteau himself, to brave the icy St. Lawrence for the chance to see and touch a piece of history. Generations after her sinking, the Empress was in remarkable condition--a great but deadly wreck to dive.

Despite continuing advancements in diving equipment and techniques, including exotic mixed-gas breathing systems, more lives have been lost on the Empress in the past forty years--most recently in the summer of 2002. Considered a "pinnacle dive" by adventure seekers and a historic wreck by the likes of Robert Ballard (the discoverer of the Titanic), who filmed a documentary on the Empress in 1999, the beckoning call of the Empress is simply too powerful to resist. Those who have seen her once almost always go back.

In Dark Descent, Kevin McMurray gives us two great stories--the loss of a mighty ship with a human toll as terrible as the Titanic, and the birth and development of "deep-penetration" wreck diving, one of the most hazardous pursuits in the world. He re-creates not only some of the more successful dives on the Empress but also, in chilling detail, the fatal expeditions. McMurray, a veteran deepwater diver, has dived on the wreck multiple times, drawn to it for reasons the reader of this book will come to understand.

McMurray guides us along claustrophobic corridors, the inky darkness beyond our attenuated lights haunted by human remains and historic treasures. One miscalculation, one unseen hazard, one equipment malfunction or moment of panic could be fatal. He plunges us 150 feet deep to the once-proud Empress of Ireland and into a strange, romantic obsession, and at times we want to dash to the surface, lungs bursting, praying for one more breath of clean, fresh air.

Kevin F. McMurray is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Outside, Sunday Times (London), and Men's Journal. He is an experienced scuba diver who has visited the wreck of the Empress of Ireland on multiple occasions. McMurray is the author of Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria.

"Kevin McMurray has revealed the secrets of the Empress of Ireland in a spellbinding read that perfectly describes the nightmarish conditions of diving on the wreck that remains a tomb of its victims."--Clive Cussler, author of Night Probe! and Trojan Odyssey

"Kevin has a remarkable knack of adding life and realism. A great job."--R. W. Hamilton, Chairman of the Board, Divers Alert Network

Dark Descent tells two dramatic stories--the loss of a mighty ocean liner ninety years ago with a human toll as terrible as that of the Titanic, and the birth and development of extreme, deepwater wreck diving, one of the most hazardous pursuits in the world. Kevin McMurray takes us deep into the bowels of the Empress of Ireland, first to relive her tragic death and then to join the divers who have probed the wreck's secrets. At more than a hundred feet deep in frigid water, diving the Empress is like trying to find your way through an unfamiliar sixty-story building lying on its side at a forty-five degree angle, in pitch blackness with only a flashlight. It's an adventure from which some divers don't return.

What reviewers said about Kevin McMurray's Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria:

This is a book you will have a hard time putting down. Page after page leads you through adventure, mystery, suspense, and acts of heroism."--The Philadelphia Enquirer

"Exciting and powerful."--Library Journal

"McMurray knows his stuff. . . . Compelling. . . . Full of high drama in low places."--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Kevin F. McMurray is an award-winning journalist and is the author of Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria. He lives in Brewster, New York.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dark Descent tells two dramatic stories -- the loss of a mighty ocean liner ninety years ago with a human toll as terrible as that of the Titanic, and the birth and development of extreme, deepwater wreck diving, one of the most hazardous pursuits in the world. Kevin McMurray takes us deep into the bowels of the Empress of Ireland, first to relive her tragic death and then to join the divers who have probed the wreck's secrets. At more than a hundred feet deep in frigid water, diving the Empress is like trying to find your way through an unfamiliar sixty-story building lying on its side at a forty-five degree angle, in pitch blackness with only a flashlight. It's an adventure from which some divers don't return. The passenger liner Empress of Ireland departed Queber City on May 28, 1914. bound for Liverpool, England, with 1,477 passengers and crew. That night the Empress encountered dense fog in the frigid Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at 1:55 A.M., May 29, the liner was struck and split open by the collier Storstad. In less than 15 minutes the great ship plunged to the bottom with more than 1,000 victims -- one of the largest losses of life ever in a North American maritime accident. Shocking though the tragedy was, however, it was swept from public consciousness by the gathering cloud of World War I and the torpedoing of the Lusitania a year later.

But the story of the Empress did not end there. Soon after the ship settled into the muddy bottom, deepwater salvage divers were sent down in an attempt to recover the hundreds of bodies still trapped aboard. Operating in the dark and frigid depths in an unstable, obstacle-strewn wreck, these pioneer "hard hat" divers were one misstep from disaster, and one lost his life that summer. Then, for almost half a century, the Empress lay undisturbed and largely forgotten. But in the 1960s, devotees of the new sport of seuba diving, including Jacques Cousteau himself. began to brave the icy St. Lawrence for the chance to see and touch a piece of history. Generations after her sinking, the Empress was in remarkable condition -- a great but deadly wreck to dive.

Despite continuing advances in diving equipment and techniques, more lives have been lost on the Empress in the past forty years -- most recently in the summer of 2002. Considered a "pinnacle dive" by adventure seekers and a historic wreek by the likes of Robert Ballard (the discoverer of the Titanic), who filmed a documentary on the Empress in 1999, the beckoning call of the Empress is simply too powerful to resist. In Dark Descent, Kevin McMurray gives us two great stories -- the loss of a mighty ship with a human toll as terrible as the Titanic, and the birth and development of "deep-penetration" wreck diving, one of the most hazardous pursuits in the world. He re-creates not only some of the more successful dives on the Empress but also, in chilling detail, the fatal expeditions. McMurray, a veteran deepwater diver, has dived on the wreck multiple times. He guides us along claustrophobic corridors, the inky darkness haunted by human remains and historic treasures. One miscalculation, one unseen hazard, one equipment malfunction or moment of panic could be fatal. And he plunges us 150 feet deep to the once-proud Empress of Ireland and into a strange, romatic obsession.

SYNOPSIS

"Many people in extreme sports do not recognize their limitations, and when they do, they're about to die."—Gary Gentile, wreck diver

The passenger liner Empress of Ireland departed Quebec City on May 28, 1914, bound for Liverpool, England, with 1,477 passengers and crew. That night the Empress encountered dense fog in the frigid Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at 1:55 a.m., May 29, the liner was struck and split open by the collier Storstad. In less than 15 minutes the great ship plunged to the bottom with more than 1,000 victims—one of the largest losses of life ever in a North American maritime accident. Shocking though the tragedy was, however, it was swept from public consciousness by the gathering cloud of World War I and the torpedoing of the Lusitania a year later.

But the story of the Empress did not end there. Soon after the ship settled into the muddy bottom, deep-water salvage divers were sent down in an attempt to recover the hundreds of bodies still trapped aboard. Operating in the dark and frigid depths in an unstable, obstacle-strewn wreck, these pioneer "hard hat" divers were one misstep from disaster, and one lost his life that summer. When Edward Cossaboom was finally recovered by fellow divers, nothing remained of him but "a jellyfish with a copper mantle and dangling canvas tentacles."

For almost half a century after Cossaboom's death, the Empress lay untouched by human hands and largely forgotten. But thanks to Jacques Cousteau and others, scuba diving became a popular sport after World War II. Beginning in the 1960s, the Empress lured divers, including Cousteau himself, to brave the icy St. Lawrence for the chance to see and touch a piece of history. Generations after her sinking, the Empress was in remarkable condition—a great but deadly wreck to dive.

Despite continuing advancements in diving equipment and techniques, including exotic mixed-gas breathing systems, more lives have been lost on the Empress in the past forty years—most recently in the summer of 2002. Considered a "pinnacle dive" by adventure seekers and a historic wreck by the likes of Robert Ballard (the discoverer of the Titanic), who filmed a documentary on the Empress in 1999, the beckoning call of the Empress is simply too powerful to resist. Those who have seen her once almost always go back.

In Dark Descent, Kevin McMurray gives us two great stories—the loss of a mighty ship with a human toll as terrible as the Titanic, and the birth and development of "deep-penetration" wreck diving, one of the most hazardous pursuits in the world. He re-creates not only some of the more successful dives on the Empress but also, in chilling detail, the fatal expeditions. McMurray, a veteran deepwater diver, has dived on the wreck multiple times, drawn to it for reasons the reader of this book will come to understand.

McMurray guides us along claustrophobic corridors, the inky darkness beyond our attenuated lights haunted by human remains and historic treasures. One miscalculation, one unseen hazard, one equipment malfunction or moment of panic could be fatal. He plunges us 150 feet deep to the once-proud Empress of Ireland and into a strange, romantic obsession, and at times we want to dash to the surface, lungs bursting, praying for one more breath of clean, fresh air.

Kevin F. McMurray is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Outside, Sunday Times (London), and Men's Journal. He is an experienced scuba diver who has visited the wreck of the Empress of Ireland on several occasions. McMurray is the author of Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria.

"Kevin McMurray has revealed the secrets of the Empress of Ireland in a spellbinding read the perfectly describes the nightmarish conditions of diving on the wreck that remains a tomb of its victims."—Clive Cussler, author of Night Probe! and Trojan Odyssey

"Kevin has a remarkable knack of adding life and realism. A great job."—R. W. Hamilton, Chairman of the Board, Divers Alert Network