The salvager : the life of Captain Tom Reid on the Great Lakes
(Book)

The Great Lakes' treacherous shoals, unpredictable storms, and subzero temperatures have always posed special hazards to mariners--particularly between 1880 and 1950 before the advent of modern navigational technologies--and offered ample opportunity for an enterprising sailor to build a salvage business. Designing much of his equipment and honing a keen eye for the risks and rewards of various catastrophes, Captain Tom Reid rose from humble beginnings to turn salvaging into a science, eventually operating one of the region's largest salvaging companies. Using actual records from the Reid Wrecking and Towing Company as well as Reid's personal logs and letters, Mary Frances Doner deftly tells the stories not only of maritime disasters and the wrecking adventures that followed but also of those waiting on shore for their loved ones to return.