Titanic: Women and Children First

by Judith B. Geller, Judith B. Geller

Of the more than 200 books written about the Titanic, this is the first to commemorate the women and children on board. Presented here are personal interviews with survivors and their relatives, and biographies of the women and children as well as the male passengers and crew with whom they had contact. The passengers' own voices are recorded in diaries, letters, and newspaper stories. Each passenger section (first class, second class, and third class) is introduced with a brief overview on the conventions of society at the turn of the twentieth century, when survival in life, as on this doomed ship, depended too often on social class.

Also assembled here are fascinating color photographs of recently recovered artifacts, linked to their owners wherever possible, as well as period postcards, advertisements, and pictures. This book contains the most up-to-date passenger list yet published; a chart of the women and children who perished or were saved presented by class; and a comprehensive index which make this not just a moving chronicle of a uniquely painful event but also an invaluable resource. 100 color illustrations

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Historical, 20th Century

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short 195 pages pictured book is made up of many short stories from passengers of the doomed ship Titanic. I felt the first third of the book was much more interesting than the last two third. I think it’s because the first section included stories from the first class passengers & their lives are just more fascinating. The lives of the third & even second class passengers were just not as interesting to read about. I appreciate the author having Appendixes in the back of the book which included charts of survival rates by class & a list of Titanic passenger list organized by class. Overall, not the best Titanic topic book I read, but not too bad.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful pictures and many interesting facts and stories about the women who survived and perished on the Titanic. The book is in segments with equal amount of writing spent on first, second and third class passengers. Third class info was my favorite.

[jess b · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I was looking for from this book were some solid historical facts on the lives and lifestyles of women aboard the Titanic, and this book definitely offered that (as well as lots of information about what the survivors went on to do with the rest of their lives, which I was not looking for in particular but was still interesting). Unfortunately I found the writing style to be completely unbearable, very purple and overblown, and absolutely rife with speculation that added nothing to the stories (though at least the author makes it clear that it's speculation). For that reason, I can't really recommend it unless it's for very particular research purposes.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book while my oldest (now 10) was on his Titanic kick. We ended up accumulating a whole lot of Titanic books to feed his obsession with the Titanic. It wasn’t a book that would have interested him at the time (he was then 5), but I found it fascinating. Many of the books about the Titanic give the facts about the disaster but don’t enlighten you about the effects the sinking had on those aboard the Titanic. This book gives you the insight into what happened to some of those aboard the Titanic, and not just from first class, which would have been easier to track, but from second and third class also.
The book touches you. I felt glad for the survivors that were able to go on and have a happy life, saddened for those that never could quite pick up the pieces after the disaster, and heartbroken for the passengers that lost their hopes, dreams, and lives on that fateful night. The book successfully gives the personal stories that nearly a century later can help us see how the sinking wasn’t just a disaster but truly a tragedy.

[Cathlina Bergman]

I set this book aside after the first tale, that of Alice Cleaver. The author Judith B. Geller erroneously connects the maid Cleaver with a woman of a similar name who was convicted of murdering her own child. Since I've read a lot about TITANIC but never heard that story, I did a quick online search and quickly found Geller's error. Therefore, I don't trust the rest of the accounts to be accurate.

In addition, Geller's overblown writing style would take more patience than I have with a book right now, and I didn't appreciate pictures of TITANIC artifacts with captions like, "This type of ring would have made a good gift to a 1st class lady on the ship." or "This type of chair might have been used by (insert famous person)."

Moving on to something better researched and authoritative!

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very moving account of some of the passengers' stories, before, during and after the Titanic disaster. I really liked the added photographs of the passengers and of some of the artifacts fond on the site of the Titanic.
A bit speculative at times, but still very interesting and touching.

[Thomas Mengeling · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book on the passengers on Titanic. Sad toward the end that some of the 3rd class families were lost. Great pictures of the passengers and thier belongings, has a great list of all class passengers in the back. It is sad back than how the third class was treated when the ship was beginning to sink, the stewards still had the gates closed and guarded. Not allowing most of the third class to get to the boats, by the time the third class did reach the boat deck, all lifeboats were gone.

[Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Geller's writing style was not my cup of tea, I am impressed with the amount of personal information she dug up on so many people. I came away from this book even more horrified by the whole Titanic disaster than I have with many of the other books I have read. Although you often hear/read the number of deaths and even see a breakdown by class, you don't really get a sense of how this affected peoples lives. Geller was able to give backgrounds and post disaster information on a great number of the Titanic passengers showing how this left lives changed, and often destroyed. Not only did people lose loved ones, including often the only breadwinner of the family, many of the second and third class passengers lost most of their worldly possessions.

[Leta B · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice addition to any Titanic library. I enjoy it as a good read or as a reference book. The stories of the many people featured in this book are fascinating well beyond the "2 hours and 40 minutes" glimpse you get with other Titanic books. I highly recommend this book for anyone serious about Titanic study.

[Antje · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jedes einzelne Schicksal der Passagiere hat mich gerührt. Es ist spannend und schrecklich zugleich. Eine tolle Zusammenstellung historischer und persönlicher Fakten. Diese Tragödie von 1912 darf nicht vergessen werden...

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read. very interesting book following the lives of women and children survivors after the titanic sank.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book at The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, when went to see the Titanic exhibit. The book is divided by First Class, Second Class, and Third Class.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dug this book out of my collection. Gives a list of what happened to a lot of the women and children on the Titanic.

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the tone was not scholarly, I enjoyed this book enormously.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book. got a little repetitive towards end. Very good slant play

[Brenda]

Another book just sitting in the bookcase just waiting to be read.