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Flashes in the Night: The Sinking of the Estonia
Flashes in the Night captures the tragic story of the sinking of M/S Estonia in dark, cold Baltic waters on September 28, 1994. Caught in a storm during an overnight trip between Tallinn, Estonia, and Stockholm, Sweden, the ship sank in a matter of minutes. Debate continues over whether the cause was structural or sabotage, but the fact remains 852 souls were lost at sea in Europe's worst civilian disaster. Nearly one-third of those who escaped the ship died of hypothermia. A twenty-nine-year-old Swedish entrepreneur and a pretty nineteen-year-old Swedish girl are a major focus of this dramatic account. On that night when Kent Harstedt met Sara Hedrenius on the top rail of the sinking ship, they made a date for dinner in Stockholm-if they survived. Through that endless darkness, huddled in near-freezing water in their raft, they told each other jokes to stay awake and alive. Their date made world headlines. This is their story, and the story of the young British adventurer Paul Barney, along with riveting accounts of others who were a part of this harrowing life-or-death survival epic.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
326 pages, Hardcover
First published September 28, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 24, 2012
3 1/2 stars
Heartbreaking, frustrating, and fascinating.
Would it be so difficult to design a life vest that didn't come off when you fell into the water? I felt so bad for the people who did their part but then lost their vest to the force of the wind and the waves. An extra strap?
On page 86 he talks about Mikael Oun placing an alarm clock in his pocket for no apparent reason. I just read, "The Unthinable: Who survives when disaster strikes and why" (an excellent book)and she discusses this principle as one of the phases of the survival arc: where your brain just shuts down because of the stress of the situation and does not funtion like it should.
Jack Nelson talks about it on page 91: "In most crises, panic is the enemy of survival. It robs people of judgment and causes them to either freeze or do nothing when they should be acting. Sometimes it forces them to do something foolish, something that dooms them."
This was interesting: It is the ones who cry and show a lot of emotions who die among us." page 130. Mr. Positive dies but yet all of the survivors said that hope did help them.
130: Sara amd Kent were joking each other. "Survival experts say that in such a crisis, keeping up spirits is as important as keeping body heat. The stronger the determination and the optimism, the stronger will be the survival instinct. When the mind is without hope and gives up, it notifies the body to begin shutting down. The stronger someone's spirits are, the greater protection against panic and the ultimate defeat of slding gently into death. Hope helps build and iron-clad shield against destruction.
Page 171 talks about those who talked about their experiences immediately did better than those that kept it in. I believe in this so much.
291: The sea demands respect
I kept wondering if the captain was respecting the sea, going that fast, with all four engines running. I suppose you just get used to it, and it's your job...
What if instead of a siren there were instructions: (in all languages that are on the boat) put on your life vest, get a buddy, get into a lifeboat. So many of the people couldn't even remember the siren. It seems so very uneffective.
Heartbreaking, frustrating, and fascinating.
Would it be so difficult to design a life vest that didn't come off when you fell into the water? I felt so bad for the people who did their part but then lost their vest to the force of the wind and the waves. An extra strap?
On page 86 he talks about Mikael Oun placing an alarm clock in his pocket for no apparent reason. I just read, "The Unthinable: Who survives when disaster strikes and why" (an excellent book)and she discusses this principle as one of the phases of the survival arc: where your brain just shuts down because of the stress of the situation and does not funtion like it should.
Jack Nelson talks about it on page 91: "In most crises, panic is the enemy of survival. It robs people of judgment and causes them to either freeze or do nothing when they should be acting. Sometimes it forces them to do something foolish, something that dooms them."
This was interesting: It is the ones who cry and show a lot of emotions who die among us." page 130. Mr. Positive dies but yet all of the survivors said that hope did help them.
130: Sara amd Kent were joking each other. "Survival experts say that in such a crisis, keeping up spirits is as important as keeping body heat. The stronger the determination and the optimism, the stronger will be the survival instinct. When the mind is without hope and gives up, it notifies the body to begin shutting down. The stronger someone's spirits are, the greater protection against panic and the ultimate defeat of slding gently into death. Hope helps build and iron-clad shield against destruction.
Page 171 talks about those who talked about their experiences immediately did better than those that kept it in. I believe in this so much.
291: The sea demands respect
I kept wondering if the captain was respecting the sea, going that fast, with all four engines running. I suppose you just get used to it, and it's your job...
What if instead of a siren there were instructions: (in all languages that are on the boat) put on your life vest, get a buddy, get into a lifeboat. So many of the people couldn't even remember the siren. It seems so very uneffective.
July 18, 2014
I read this because the author was one of my college professors, and I am interested in shipwrecks in general.
This mostly focuses on survivor accounts, and it does get hard to keep people straight. Because it covers many people, it backtracks on the timeline a lot. He tries to avoid blaming anybody or making anybody look bad. It's very tragic, but it does make you think about how to prepare for such situations. I found the accounts fascinating.
There are tons of typos, spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors (sorry, Professor).
This mostly focuses on survivor accounts, and it does get hard to keep people straight. Because it covers many people, it backtracks on the timeline a lot. He tries to avoid blaming anybody or making anybody look bad. It's very tragic, but it does make you think about how to prepare for such situations. I found the accounts fascinating.
There are tons of typos, spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors (sorry, Professor).
April 16, 2013
I really enjoyed reading this and learning about the sinking of the Estonia. When I say "enjoyed" I don't mean that it was a happy book. It was heartbreaking and horrifying but I loved the survival stories.
The writing wasn't great. The title fits that part perfectly as it has different flashes of perspective here and there but I really found the whole thing very interesting.
I don't think I will be going on a cruise anytime soon.
The writing wasn't great. The title fits that part perfectly as it has different flashes of perspective here and there but I really found the whole thing very interesting.
I don't think I will be going on a cruise anytime soon.
November 7, 2020
I don't know why this book is one of the only ones ever to be written about the Estonia ferry disaster in English. There should be so many more! So I'm willing to forgive the numerous typos and repetitions in this book because it is doing all the heavy lifting on its own. After a few chapters, I realized the book was more of an oral history than anything else, and from that perspective, it's quite good. I haven't found such thorough accounts of survivors' stories in English anywhere else.
So if you want a shorter but more in-depth analysis of the technical reasons for the sinking interspersed with a few personal accounts, I recommend reading William Langewiesche's excellent article that was published in The Atlantic in 2004 (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...). But if you want to hear the stories of survivors, survivor's loved ones, victims' loved ones, rescuers, and the media, this book has a ton of them!
So if you want a shorter but more in-depth analysis of the technical reasons for the sinking interspersed with a few personal accounts, I recommend reading William Langewiesche's excellent article that was published in The Atlantic in 2004 (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...). But if you want to hear the stories of survivors, survivor's loved ones, victims' loved ones, rescuers, and the media, this book has a ton of them!
April 26, 2022
While the story of this shipwreck is a compelling one, I’m afraid this nonfiction book is written in only a mildly compelling manner.
Instead I’d recommend reading this article:
https://longform.org/posts/a-sea-story
Which is how I learned of the sinking originally. I was hoping the book would be a more detailed but equally affecting account, but unfortunately I found the description oddly lacking.
Instead I’d recommend reading this article:
https://longform.org/posts/a-sea-story
Which is how I learned of the sinking originally. I was hoping the book would be a more detailed but equally affecting account, but unfortunately I found the description oddly lacking.
April 30, 2015
I've been fascinated by the tragedy of the MS Estonia ever since I saw it profiled on an episode of the Netflix show Zero Hour. When I watched that show, I was horrified by the tragedy and yet intrigued by the survivors and their stories. Nelson's book addresses the account in much more detail.
Though it is extensive and fascinating, it is sadly lacking in a few aspects:
First, the book is in desperate need of a [better] copy editor. In a journalistic book like this, one or two typos is forgivable, but twenty or so major typos is unacceptable.
Second, the order in which the information is conveyed needs to be revamped. Nelson consults with a dozen or more survivors and tells their story in great detail, but he tells each story one by one, then starts anew each time. Certainly they could have been stitched into a chronological narrative, which would make the overall story more compelling. As it is, the book feels much like Groundhog Day, but in this case the reader is forced into reliving the same tragedy repeatedly, just through different perspectives.
Though these were some factors that diminished my enjoyment of the reading experience somewhat, I acknowledge that they are minor given what Nelson has accomplished. These people need their stories told so that the devastation of the event is never forgotten. I'm grateful that the author accepted the task.
Though it is extensive and fascinating, it is sadly lacking in a few aspects:
First, the book is in desperate need of a [better] copy editor. In a journalistic book like this, one or two typos is forgivable, but twenty or so major typos is unacceptable.
Second, the order in which the information is conveyed needs to be revamped. Nelson consults with a dozen or more survivors and tells their story in great detail, but he tells each story one by one, then starts anew each time. Certainly they could have been stitched into a chronological narrative, which would make the overall story more compelling. As it is, the book feels much like Groundhog Day, but in this case the reader is forced into reliving the same tragedy repeatedly, just through different perspectives.
Though these were some factors that diminished my enjoyment of the reading experience somewhat, I acknowledge that they are minor given what Nelson has accomplished. These people need their stories told so that the devastation of the event is never forgotten. I'm grateful that the author accepted the task.
June 12, 2019
Interesting. I had never heard of this maritime disaster (well, if I did pay attention to it in the news back in 1994, I quickly forgot about it). Considering how many people lost their lives, it's interesting that it's dropped out of the public consciousness. The story is told in a compelling way; I sometimes thought it could have been organized a little bit differently, but it worked mostly well. My heart broke for all those people who lost their lives, and for their families.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/flashes-night-...
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/flashes-night-...
February 11, 2012
Interesting accounts from the survivors of the ship the Estonia which sunk in the Baltic Sea. I wondered, if I was on the ship would I be strong enough to survive...would I have been able to stay calm & be able to withstand the freezing weather & the ice cold Baltic Sea? I wish the author had of included in the book the single photo taken which he mentions. The ship mentioned toward the end of the book in Stockholm which has a museum built around it is the Vasa not Wasa. Oops, Jack Nelson didn't check his spelling on that one. Super interesting museum. http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/
March 31, 2012
I thought there was a lot to learn from this book about who survives in disasters. I will be more ready to respond to my environment when I sense something is not right. This was a tragic true story not unlike the Titanic disaster. I had a difficult time staying with the characters during their frozen night because I felt so bad for them and just wanted their ordeal to be over.
January 28, 2012
Makes me scared to ever get on a ship again.
March 17, 2012
This was an interesting book. The author did a fairly decent job of retelling the same 30 minutes + again and again from different points of view.
April 30, 2012
Very interesting true story of a modern ship sinking. Explores the difference of those who survived and those who didn't.
January 15, 2013
I thought it was kind of difficult to keep track of all of the people he chose to tell stories about. It was interesting but to me not very well written.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews