Edmund Fitzgerald’s Dream: The Milwaukee Connection to the Great Lakes’ Most Legendary Shipwreck

The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior 50 years ago, on Nov. 10, 1975. The following is an excerpt from John U. Bacon ’s book The Gales of November ($35), published last month by W.W. Norton’s Liveright imprint.

For three decades following World War II, the Great Lakes hummed with all the power and prestige Silicon Valley enjoys today. The car was king, and the city that made those cars was the capital of that kingdom, the peak of the pyramid, and by some measures the wealthiest city in the world. If Detroit was the beating heart of the world’s most robust economy, Great Lakes shipping served as the circulatory system.

When it comes to hauling goods, trains are roughly twice as efficient as trucks, but ships are almost three times more efficient than trains and six times more ef