Links

Sultana Facebook fan page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alan-Huffman/67586220217?ref=ts
I know. You're disembarking from a cruise ship in St. Croix and I'm a desperate tout waiting on the dock. This is, after all, a fan site, though I hasten to add that it was created by my friend Archana Sahgal and it was totally her idea. The best book-promotional site I know of is Miranda July's (see link below); my Facebook fan site is, by comparison, a hand-painted "For Sale by Oner" sign, and I say that knowing that Miranda July could actually do a better job with a "For Sale by Oner" sign.

Lost magazine
www.lostmag.com
This is a very cool online magazine devoted to lost people, places and things, and would be worth a visit even if they weren't running an excerpt from Sultana in their April issue. They're doing interesting things.

Laurence Gonzales
www.laurencegonzales.com
No one has better triangulated the wild and complex factors that influence survival of any cataclysmic event than Laurence Gonzales, author of Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why. The book, which is both illuminating and entertaining, was invaluable for my understanding of the science underlying the Sultana story. Gonzales also writes a column on survival for National Geographic Adventure magazine.

Other great maritime disasters (aside from the Titanic)
http://www.distant.ca/UselessFacts/fact.asp?ID=304
Here's another maritime disaster that got lost to history, more or less, because it happened at the end of a war. Entertaining site, goofy design. The site describes itself as containing “Historical Events, Human Achievements, Finance & Business Construction & Engineering, Technology, Geography, Politics, TV & Movies, Celebrities, Sports Trivia, Oddities, Animal Kingdom”.

“Why, no one to love?”
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwmhtml/cwmconcert.html
This links to a sad and beautiful Civil War-era song from the Library of Congress website. It's easy to imagine someone like Romulus Tolbert hearing this song playing in his head as he lay in the dirt of a POW camp, or in the back of a wagon after he'd been shot and captured. That's how I picture it in the movie, anyway. 

The Road to Guantanamo
www.roadtoguantanamomovie.com
This site links to a controversial film about three British Muslims who were incarcerated at Guantanamo without being charged, and eventually released. It’s an interesting, contemporary take on imprisonment by enemies.

Andersonville
www.nps.gov/ande/
One of the rare, cool things the National Park Service has done is use the Andersonville site to commemorate the experiences of all American prisoners of war, which is the focus of this site.

Help for veterans and active duty soldiers – with an anti-war spin
www.ivaw.org
Wartime circumstances -- and the specific types of survival challenges they bring -- have obviously changed, but soldiers today can still find themselves facing threats on the level of those described in Sultana. Even if you aren't a veteran or on active duty, and even if you support the Iraq war or somehow think it's no longer a major issue, this site is useful, and informative.

Everett McCourt photography
www.everettmccourt.com
This site showcases Everett McCourt's stunning, beguiling photographs of people and places from the Mississippi Delta to Afghanistan. I first approached Everett McCourt as an admirer of his work; friendship ensued, and he ended up taking my official author photo (found elsewhere on this site). The only flaw in Everett's site is that it doesn't make allowances for sales; you have to contact him directly or buy his photos from the gallery that represents him.

The Electric Cemetery
www.electriccemetery.com
It would have been tempting to list this site just for the name -- what is an electric cemetery, anyway? It's actually an interesting and unusual site, and includes stories about the Sultana and Cahaba prison, as well as one on vanity plates.

Civil War Indiana
www.civilwarindiana.com
Indiana-centric information about the Civil War, as the name says. Some of it is inside-baseball stuff, but there's plenty to keep even a casual spectator entertained.

HistoryNet
www.historynet.com
HistoryNet publishes magazines and articles about military history. Don't make the mistake of thinking it's just a lot of old, dry, dead stuff. There is some of that, of course, because history does encompasses old, dry, dead stuff. But the same could be said of the corners of my screened porch, and it's still a nice place to sit. Like the story of the Sultana, the site contains information that is illuminating about life in any era. Quick: What happened in 1066?

Miranda July
www.mirandajuly.com
The literal link between the story of the Sultana and Miranda July is that I love them both. You'll be glad you found her, too.   

Sultana: A Case for Sabotage--Gene Salecker's Rebuttal
www.civilwarstlouis.com/boatburners/salecker.htm
This site concerns a post-disaster claim that the sinking of the Sultana was the result of sabotage, and includes a contemporary rebuttal.    

McSweeney's Internet Tendency: An Honest Acceptance Speech
www.mcsweeneys.net
This site has nothing whatsoever to do with Sultana, but as those of you who are already McSweeney's fans know, it's wonderful. I recommend you go there right after you've ordered your copy of the book. 

Sultana Disaster Online Museum & Archives
www.sultanadisaster.com
This site, which is under construction, is part of an effort to create a Sultana online museum and archives.  It includes information about the Sultana survivors’ descendants association.