In 1953, in going over his mother's papers, author Claude Rust came across a program of a memorial service for victims of the Slocum. His grandmother had been one of them, and it set him to wondering: How could over a thousand people perish on a burning ship in the East River, so close to New York City, while hundreds looked on? Finally he set out to hunt for the answer, interviewing survivors, poring over papers, periodicals, books, pictures, maps, charts, and reconstructing the deck plans of the Slocum. The result is his book "The Burning of the General Slocum", which was published in 1981, and is considered the definitive book on the subject.

Rust, was born October 4, 1916, the youngest of nine children. He held many jobs before turning writer: Western Union messenger, grocery clerk, dancer, modeling for artists and photographers, radio announcer, and sound engineer at the United Nations. In his spare time he loved to read and travel.
He often gave talks on Hell Gate and the General Slocum, bringing with him albums of pictures, maps and facts he had collected over the three decades of research. He also built a wooden model to scale of the General Slocum, which is now being displayed at the Maritime Industry Museum, in New York. He was a member of the New York Historical Society and the General Slocum Memorial Association.

Claude E. Rust passed away, February 12, 2002, at the age of 85. He is survived by his son, Bruce and daughter, Diane. His family continues to help keep the Slocum disaster alive, by helping families of this disaster find some answers to their past, and being advisors to documentaries and articles on this tragic event.