May I plug a book I didn’t write, for a change? Stuyguy’s friend Ed O’Donnell has written a terrific new book about the General Slocum fire—New York’s deadliest blaze till 9/11—which I have just read. And it is terrific—even picky little me couldn’t find a thing to complain about.
O’Donnell will be speaking in NY next week, and I plan to see him at the NYPL on Weds. the 11th. Stuyguy, you wanna reprint his schedule here in case anyone else wants to see him? And please tell him how much I enjoyed the book! His author’s photo is dashing, too. Hubba hubba!
. . . Just bumping this, for Stuyguy . . . My friend Michael and I plan to be at the NYPL (which building? 42nd & 5th or 40th & 5th?) on the 11th at 6:30.
First time I heard about the General Slocum disaster (years ago) was, believe it or not, from a Priest’s sermon (he would repeat roughly the same sermon about this for years around the anniversery of the event).
Other than that, I 've seen only small write-ups (a few paragraphs) in other books [latest example - there’s a half page or so, with a picture of the burning ruins of the boat, in the book ‘So Others Might Live’, about the history of the FDNY]).
Other than that, I’ve seen very little.
It is amazing that over 1000 people died in the disaster, and it eventually led to the mass migration of German immigrants from their old lower East Side enclave to the new Yorkville area…
My late grandmother once told me that she remembered seeing the bodies from the disaster being brought ashore at a pier in the South Bronx, near where the family lived at the time. She would have been 4 years old then.
Umm, Stuguy, you still out there? I have been searching and searching for that other thread, but the hamsters seem to have eaten it. Exactly where and when is O’Donnell’s talk on Weds.?
Yeah, that other thread seems oddly unsearchable. What’s with that. Anyway, I copied this from the email Ed sent me. I intend to go to a bunch of these, so if you spot a 6’ tall, slenderish shave-headed guy with black glasses at the event it’s probably me.
Oh and eve, sorry to break your heart, but Ed is an uber-hubby. Actually make that uber-daddy. Like the good Catholic son o’ Ireland he is, he’s got his wife poppin’ out little ones like a Pez dispenser. And of course they’re all named Kathleen and Patrick and such.
Here’s Ed’s schedule:
Dear Friends,
My new book, Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum (Random House\Broadway Books) goes on sale June 10. Below you will find a summary of my NYC book tour events. For more information on the book, including 50 photos, an excerpt, and published reviews, see www.General-Slocum.com.
I hope you can make one of these events.
Also: keep an eye out for an article I’ve written about the Slocum
story for the Sunday New York Times (City Section) for June 15:
BOOK TOUR DETAILS
Tuesday June 10, 2003 @ 11:30 am
Interview WNYC Radio (AM 820)
The Brian Lehrer Show
Tuesday June 10, 2003 @ 6:30 pm
Slide Talk and Book Signing
** reception to follow slide talk **
New-York Historical Society (212) 873-3400
2 West 77th Street at Central Park West
Wednesday June 11, 2003 @ 6:30 pm
Slide Talk and Book Signing - FREE
New York Public Library Mid-Manhattan branch (212) 340-0833
455 Fifth Avenue (at 40th Street and Fifth Avenue)
Note: it’s just south of the Main Research Library (the one with the lions) http://www.nypl.org/branch/central_units/mm/midman.html
Thursday June 12, 2003 @ 12 noon
Slide Talk and Book Signing
New York City Police Museum
100 Old Slip in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District 212-480-3100 or http://www.nycpolicemuseum.org/
Fiday June 13, 2003 @ 7:00 pm
Slide Talk and Book Signing
South Street Seaport Museum 212 748 8600
207 Front Street New York, NY http://www.southstseaport.org/
Saturday June 14, 2003 @ 11:00am-1:00pm
Annual Slocum Memorial Service
Open to the Public
Post-ceremony book signing at the church
Trinity Lutheran Church, Middle Village Queens
63-70 Dry Harbor Road – at the corner of Penelope Ave.
718 335-7300
Saturday June 14, 2003 @ 3:00 pm
Slide Talk and Book Signing
Museum of the City of New York (212) 534-1672
1220 Fifth Avenue @ 103rd St. New York, NY www.mcny.org
Sunday June 15, 2003 @ 11:00 am
Annual Tompkins Square Park Slocum memorial ceremony
at the Slocum memorial fountain (in northern end of the park)
Open to the public.
Sunday June 15, 2003 @ 1:00 pm
Walking Tour of Little Germany neighborhood
led by author Edward T. O’Donnell
Sponsored by Big Onion Walking Tours and N-YHS
Full info at www.bigonion.com
Tuesday June 17, 2003 @ 6:30 pm
Slide Talk and Book Signing – FREE
NOTE: this event requires a reservation - see below for phone #
American Irish Historical Society
991 Fifth Avenue New York, NY
(212) 288 2263 x31
Wednesday June 18, 2003 @ 6:00 pm
Slide Talk and Book Signing – FREE
Brooklyn Public Library, main branch at Grand Army Plaza
Grand Army Plaza at NE corner of Prospect Park (Eastern Pkwy &
Flatbush Ave)
718-780-7700 or www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org
Wednesday June 25 @ 6:30 pm
Slide Talk and Book Signing
Lower East Side Tenement Museum
97 Orchard Street, New York, NY
(212) 431 0233 http://www.tenement.org/
Wednesday July 23, 2003 @ 7:30 pm
Reading and Book Signing
Barnes & Noble - Upper West Side
2289 Broadway, New York, NY (212) 362 8835
Many thanks!
EOD
Edward T. O’Donnell
Dept of History
Holy Cross College
Worcester, MA 01610
I’ll be there on Wednesday night. Eve, should we establish a Doper meeting place before or after? Midtown itself a pretty generic library so maybe we could meet about ten minutes before or after next to one of the lions across the street. A tiny Dopefest. I’ve yet to meet another Doper and it would be nice.
Sounds good! I’m a white gal with short straight black hair in a headband. Any other midtown Dopers can come, that would be cool. There was a big article in the City section of the NY Times this Sunday (8th); it didn’t mention the lecture but it did talk about the book. Should be fascinating.
Any Worcester County Dopers in Massachusetts might be interested to know that Ed O’Donnell will be in-studio at WTAG to discuss his book on Monday, 6/16, at 4:00 on ‘The Jordan Levy Show.’
I noticed that too when I saw Spider-Man. Ever since that movie came out, I’ve been finding ways to bring this up in conversation - that a movie which pulled its trailers and posters out of sensitivity to a big NY disaster would put such a blatant reference to NY’s other big disaster right in there . . . not just a coincidence; they bothered to make him a General so that it would work: “General Slocum!” . . . and the character died in a fire!
Since the day that movie came out, I’ve been mentioning this to every person I’ve met. Even people who I knew had seen the movie and who I knew were aware of the General Slocum tragedy didn’t catch it. I’ve been searching everywhere for someone else who caught this. Now I’ve found you. A celebration is in order.
Surely it was intentional. But don’t forget, General Slocum was a real guy – not a bad Civil War general IIRC – so it’s not exactly like naming your ski-do the Titanic.
