Unsinkable: The Full Story of Rms Titanic - Hardcover

Butler, Daniel Allen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 081171814X ISBN 13: 9780811718141

Publisher: Stackpole Books, 1998

Synopsis

Drawn from primary sources and contemporary accounts, this new narrative, rather than providing a simple revisionist view, allows readers to come to their own conclusions about the "Titanic" and the people intertwined with her fate.

About this title

About the Author

Daniel Allen Butler, the son of a former merchant marine seaman, is the author of Unsinkable: The Full Story of RMS Titanic (0-8117-1814-X), and The Lusitania: The Life, Loss, and Legacy of an Ocean Legend (0-8117-0989-2). He currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida.

Reviews

Because the story is so dramatic, this retelling of the sinking of the Titanic is a page-turner, even though Butler, a Florida-based veteran of the U.S. Army and a Titanic buff, has little to add to what is already well known. He presents interesting information on the first four days of the voyage but otherwise recounts the mishaps that contributed to the tragedy: the failure of the ship's officers to heed the iceberg warnings; the tacit refusal of a nearby ship to come to the Titanic's aid; and the fact that the few lifeboats that fled the ship were only half full, leaving behind 1500 passengers to perish. Although Butler notes that a greater proportion of first-class male passengers were saved than third-class women, he theorizes foolishly that this was due more to a conditioned lack of initiative on the part of steerage passengers than to class discrimination. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The world hardly needs another book on the Titanic. Yet, the public appetite for the subject seems insatiable, and Butler has added a compact and generally sound survey of the tragedy and the cultural context surrounding it. There are no shockingly new revelations here, and the cast of heroes, victims, and heels is familiar. Still, Butler's detailed description of the building of the ship is often engrossing, and his examination of the fate of those who jumped from the ship but died (many unnecessarily) in the freezing water is especially poignant. For readers who cannot get enough of the subject, and for those few who are unschooled, this is a trip worth taking; librarians who have up to this point opted out of buying a Titanic book but now realize they should have at least one on the premises should take a look here. Jay Freeman

A Titanic buff for the last 30 years, Butler has assembled a well-researched and balanced account of the disaster and aftermath, drawing on first-person accounts and solid secondary sources. Although not heavily illustrated like John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas's classic Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy (LJ 8/87) or Titanic Voices (LJ 9/1/97), Butler's text uses vivid survivor narratives and anecdotes to capture both the feel of Edwardian society and life aboard a North Atlantic liner. He presents all sides of controversial issues without making clear which side he prefers. Finally, his treatment of the discovery of the shipwreck and subsequent salvage attempts is both timely and informative. A solid work that should serve public and academic libraries well. [Readers may want this book to find out just how many liberties were taken in the popular new Titanic film.?Ed.]?John Kenny, San Francisco P.L.
-?John Kenny, San Francisco P.L.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 081171814X
• ISBN 13: 9780811718141
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Profusely Illustrated
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304