DISASTER ON THE MISSISSIPPI: THE SULTANA EXPLOSION, APRIL 27, 1865 , by Gene Eric Salecker (Naval Institute Press, 346 pages, $32.95).
Long interested in the explosion and fire aboard the steamer Sultana, which took the lives of hundreds of Union soldiers heading home at the end of the Civil War, Salecker used personal correspondence; newspaper accounts; and numerous personal reminiscences from both survivors and their rescuers to compile a minute-by-minute account of the tragedy and its aftermath. In addition, the author offers new details concerning the handling of the boat by her captain and master, J. Cass Mason; corrects some of the misconceptions that have surrounded the story of the Sultana; and offers new information on the effects of the explosion on the different parts of the steamer.
