A Book Written in Serialized Format -- "The Captains of Thor -- What Really Caused the Loss of the SS El Faro" --Claims Amazon Kindle Top Spot in Ship History Categories
Author and Maritime Writer Robert Frump says the decision to serialize his investigative inquiry resulted in an upswell of support from readers that helped him finish a work three years in the making.
NEW YORK, Oct. 04, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A book written by Robert Frump in serial format about the loss of the SS El Faro topped the Amazon Kindle best selling list for ship history on October 4 after the author combined the 12 chapters into a single format and published it electronically.
"The idea here always was and still is to get the message out about maritime safety and the many times all too perilous conditions in which mariners sail," Mr. Frump said. "The Kindle version allowed me to reach an audience that preferred that format to my free online version."
The book tells the story of the SS El Faro's fatal voyage into Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015 -- and how an old ship nearly twice the age when most are scrapped continued to sail far past her normal "shelf-life."
The official investigations fault the captain of the vessel for sailing too close to the storm, and Mr. Frump's book does not dispute that. However, he emphasizes that the Coast Guard and American Bureau of Shipping policies that made the ship less stable in the water -- and a history of poor safety policy within the industry.
"The captain and the 32 others who lost their lives ought to have had the advantage of a solidly designed and maintained ship," Mr. Frump said.
The book -- told in narrative form -- is listed at $2.99 on Kiindle. The series is free online at https://frumped.org and Amazon also is running free promotions for the book.
"This was to a point where I either abandoned the project or just jumped out on the high wire and began writing it publicly," Mr. Frump said. "Once you START a serialization, you can't really stop it."
Mr. Frump, a former maritime writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, has written two other maritime books, "Until the Sea Shall Free Them" about the wreck of the SS Marine Electric, and "Two Tankers Down" about the sinkings of the SS Fort Mercer and SS Pendleton.
He was awarded the Polk Award, along with Tim Dwyer, for his series on the Marine Electric published in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
SOURCE Robert R. Frump
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