On 14 April 1912, less than a week into a transatlantic trip from Southampton to New York, the largest luxury cruise liner in the world struck an iceberg off the coast of Labrador, causing the hull to buckle.
The massive 50,000 ton ship hailed as ‘unsinkable’ was soon slipping into the cold Atlantic Ocean, the crew and passengers scrambling to launch lifeboats before being sucked into the deep. Of the 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making the sinking one of the deadliest for a single ship up to that time.
The sinking has captured the public imagination ever since, in part because of the scale of the tragedy, but also because the ship represented in microcosm Edwardian society, with the super-rich sharing the vessel with poor migrants seeking a new life in North America. Other factors, such as why there were only enough lifeboats to hold half the passengers, also caused controversy and led to changes in maritime safety. In later years many survivors told their stories to the press, and Titanic celebrates these accounts.
A final chapter examines the shipwreck today, which has been visited underwater by explorers, scientists and film-makers, and many artifacts recovered as the old liner steadily disintegrates. Titanic offers a compact, insightful photographic history of the sinking and its aftermath in 180 authentic photographs.
MY REVIEW
I love everything to do with the Titanic, it has fascinated me since I found out about it, and it helps that I was born 70 years to the day it launched! That has intrigued me even more as there are always documentaries or book releases that come out around the time of my birthday.
I always love to get my hands on any new releases on the topic and as soon as I saw the cover for this one and read the blurb, I knew it would be a book I would really enjoy – and I am sure it will become one that is treasured by many other too as it is packed with photographs
I loved the layout and the commentary that was added to the photos too. It was a very easy and enjoyable book to read and the tragedy that unfolded was covered really well, along with the aftermath but I loved that the focus really was on the ship herself
It is 5 stars from me for this one, very highly recommended – a fabulous book for Titanic fans, social history enthusiasts and anyone who has an interest in ships and this era too as whilst the book is predominantly on the ship, you also get am insight on the differences between classes and social history too
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