On the night of 14/15 April 1912, a brandnew, supposedly unsinkable
ship, the largest and most luxurious vessel in the world at the time,
collided with an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage. Of the 2,208
people on board, only 712 were saved. The rest either drowned or froze
to death in the icy-cold waters of the North Atlantic. How could this
'unsinkable' vessel sink and why did so few of those aboard survive? The
authors bring the tragedy to life, telling the story of the ship's
design, construction and maiden voyage. The stories of individuals who
sailed on her, many previously known only as names on yellowing
passenger and crew lists, are brought to light using rarely-seen
accounts of the sinking. The stories of passengers of all classes and
crewmembers alike, are explored. They tell the dramatic stories of lives
lost and people saved, of the rescue ship Carpathia, and of the
aftermath of the sinking. Never again would a large passenger liner sail
without lifeboats for all. Despite the tragedy, the sinking of the
Titanic indirectly led to untold numbers of lives being saved due to new
regulations that came into force after the tragedy. Profusely
illustrated, including many rare and unique views of the ship and those
who sailed on her, this is as accurate and engrossing a telling of the
life of the White Star Line's Titanic and her sinking as you will read
anywhere. Made special by the use of so many rare survivor accounts from
the eye witnesses to that night to remember, the narrative places the
reader in the middle of the maiden voyage, and brings the tragic sinking
to life as never before.
