_ His books about going to Europe are almost as entertaining as going to Europe itself. When I open to page one, I have a sense of excitement and adventure as if I’m setting out on a journey. By the… Continue Reading →

_ Why spend seven days sailing to Europe? You can get there in less than one on a jet. It may be cramped. You may get jet lag. But at least you’ll be there. Then you can concern yourself with… Continue Reading →

_ Setting sail is very old. In the time of the ancient Greeks they feared Poseidon more than any of the other gods. He was on the level of the Sister Fates. Somehow the sea, I think, is a particularly… Continue Reading →

_ I’ve seen this sort of statistical analysis before. But somehow I don’t think it would mean much if you were one of the Costa Concordia passeners who survived to tell tales. What especially bothers me is that a representative… Continue Reading →

_ Before last week I’d thought that the cruising world really had made things safer. I hadn’t heard of a serious accident since I’d been paying attention to things. That’s been about twenty years now. In addition I did research… Continue Reading →

_ The thriller novel King Abdullah’s Tomb is about the second mysterious explosion aboard the Lusitania, too. But the “terrorist” is an Arab of the sect that didn’t follow Lawrence of Arabia and was pro-German and pro-Turk in the Great… Continue Reading →

_ Ballard was the diver I was talking about who investigated the Lusitania wreck. But it’s only a theory, not a fact. People like to postulate all sorts of reasons. For instance, did you know that several Germans were locked… Continue Reading →

_ I can make it 1915 in my imagination. When I wrote Those Who Dream By Day I was on the decks of the Lusitania on May 7, 1915 when it sank in 18 minutes. My heroine survived by swimming… Continue Reading →

_ Small lifeboats are better than no lifeboats. Why do they have life preservers? When the Lusitania sank in the Irish Sea and many passengers didn’t know how to put on their life jackets, they would have been glad to… Continue Reading →

_ I’m not an engineer, but what about lifeboats that inflate and are small and portable? Passengers could keep them in their cabins and launch them on the spot wherever seems best. They would have to be made seaworthy and… Continue Reading →