Program Details

"The Finest Hours":  The True Story of the Coast Guard's Greatest Rescue

Instructor
Michael Tougias
WPL02212D

Course Description

In 1952, a blizzard hit the ocean off Cape Cod with such force that two oil tankers split in half on the same day just thirty miles apart. Author Michael Tougias, who co-wrote the international bestseller “The Finest Hours”, will discuss the decision-making during the rescue and the leadership lessons learned. While Tougias retells the story, dramatic slides of the actual rescue of the 84 sailors trapped on the sinking ship (70 of the 84 men survived) will help bring the action to life. The Disney Corporation made a movie of “The Finest Hours” starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, and Tougias will also discuss the making of the film, why parts of the film differ from the actual rescue, and how a book becomes a movie.


About the Instructor

  • Michael Tougias is a New York Times bestselling author of 29 books including, “The Finest Hours," which was brought to the big screen by Disney starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck. His nonfiction books primarily focus on lesser-known historical events. He lectures across the country. His latest book, “So Close to Home," chronicles the first U-boat to enter the Gulf of Mexico and the survival at sea story of an American family who was on a ship torpedoed by this German submarine. He is the author a new bestseller on JFK and The Cuban Missile Crisis titled “Above & Beyond."  Tougias has appeared on The Weather Channel, The Travel Channel, ABC's "20/20," "Fox & Friends," National NPR and many other national TV and Radio shows.