Titanic on Trial

by Nic Compton

On 15 April 2012, it will be 100 years since the Titanic sank. Since that fateful night, stories about the sinking have becomelegendary - how the band played tothe end, how lifeboats were lowered half-empty - but amongst the films, novels and academic arguments, only those who were there canseparate truth from fiction. After the sinking, inquiries into the loss of 1,517 lives (out of2,223 aboard) were held in both the UK and US. The proceedings produced1,000 pages of transcripts. Some of the testimonies were inevitably less than impartial, but as a whole thetranscripts represent the most thorough and complete account of thesinking, told in the voices of those who were there. For the first time these transcripts have been specially edited and arranged chronologically, so that they tell the story ofthe Titanic's sinking as a narrative, rather than a list ofquestions and answers in a courtroom. Thewitnesses are transformed into characters in a much biggerstory, and the events are described from different perspectives of people inevery part of the ship, from a stoker in the boiler room escaping hissection before the watertight doors sealed behind him, to first classpassengers trying to buy their way onto lifeboats. Capturing the disbelief, the chaos and the terror of the disaster, thisunique book brings to life the tragedy through the voices of those whosurvived it.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, American History, 20th Century, Literary Fiction, Autobiography, Historical

291 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Nic Compton is a writer/photographer specialising in sailing - but with a keen interest in environmental issues. After an idyllic childhood on boats in the Mediterranean, he returned to the UK at age 14 to complete his formal education, including in a degree in English with American & Commonwealth Arts at Exeter University. After a decade or so working as a journeyman shipwright, he studied Journalism at City University, eventually fetching up at the offices of Classic Boat in land-locked Croydon. He was deputy editor and then editor of the magazine from 1994 to 2000. That was when he gave up the security of the monthly pay packet for the vagaries of freelance life. Since then he has travelled the world as a writer/photographer, contributing to a variety of magazines, and has written 15 books mostly about boats. He recently completed an MA in Global Political Economy at Sussex University, and co-wrote two books about economics. He currently lives by the River Dart in Devon, UK, from where he sails a Romilly 22 called Ramona. More information at www.niccompton.co.uk.

Reviews

[Fiona MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly heartbreaking, but meticulously researched and detailed account of Titanic's demise, from the building of the ship to the official enquiries that took place in the months after. There is also an informative section at the back of the biographies of all the survivors who contributed and shared their thoughts. Many of them were broken shells after Titanic sank, some never recovered, and others went on to die tragically on other ships later on in life.
What was also brilliant about this book, is that it cleared up any misconceptions that might've been in the reader's mind whilst reading. For example, Bruce Ismay only got into a lifeboat at the very last minute when he saw that there were no other passengers he could help, and even then he was very unsure about doing so - a slightly different portrayal of the man who over the years has been painted as such a coward for 'abandoning' the ship. In fact when he was picked up by the Carpathia he was in an almost hysterical state repeating his regret at being alive when some women had perished. I don't think the guilt ever left him even when it was decided during the official enquiry that he was perfectly within his right to have done what he did. Many women actually refused to get into the lifeboats without their spouses, therefore the boats were available for anyone else who wanted to be saved. I was also deeply aghast to find out that the ship's lookout station didn't have their own binoculars which were present on almost every other ocean liner - so when the iceberg was spotted it was actually with a naked eye and nothing more - what chance did they possibly have?
The book reads like a long diary, and it's utterly fascinating. I cried many times whilst reading, especially the accounts of the survivors in the lifeboats sitting in the dark hearing the cries of the drowning passengers and being unable to get to them.
Nic Compton really must be commended for his dedication to Titanic, as well as giving the passengers their own voice which will continue to haunt us through the years.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unusual book, in that it consists purely of transcripts from the 1912 British and American inquiries into the sinking of the Titanic. The author makes clear that the transcripts have been lightly editorialised in terms of selections and some paraphrasing, but otherwise no context or analysis is added. The excerpts are allowed to speak entirely for themselves, which results in one of the most compelling books I've read about the Titanic. If you've read other books or seen a couple of the films out there, you won't learn a lot new - but hearing the crew, passengers, and others tell their own story makes for a different experience. It's also interesting to hear the many conflicting accounts of different events, a reminder that everything known about the sinking (prior to the discovery of the wreck, at least) stems purely from eyewitness accounts. It is sobering throughout to think of the 2,240 people alone in the ocean that night, only 706 of whom survived to tell the world what had happened.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of the Titanic, told solely through the testimonies given at the official inquests into her sinking. Excellent concept, very well executed.

[Katrina Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating to hear the accounts of the titanic from those who survived it in their actual words. As a story though, if you are to read this in one or a few sittings it will get repetitive, better to dip in and out of it.

[L.M. Mountford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Factual and very informative!

For research material or just for those who are interested in the disaster this is brilliant!

[Lindy Brusaschi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read of first hand accounts. It seems the sinking of the Titanic was a result of many things, and cannot just be explained on one.

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a very well-done accounting of the famous sinking. It's pretty much entirely sections from transcripts of the official reports in the US and UK when they interviewed surviving crew and passangers, as well as other related individuals (people from the Carpathian, Californian, an owner of the Titanic's shipping line, etc). You get a general sense of what happened, and also a reason why the details are so blurry - the survivers themselves were all over the map. That makes sense - people's retrospections are always fumbled in the "fog of war" as they say - especially when it's such a sudden and traumatic experience. I mean, one person even doubts there was an iceberg, asserting it was a boiler room explosion instead. Some things to compare/contrast to the movie: there was little to no suction when the ship went down. One survivor who said he was where Jack and Rose were in the movie said his head didn't even get wet. Some survivors lasted a while in the water. I get the sense the life jackets were double-edged swords. Sure, they'd keep you afloat,but it made it harder to swim and I assume stay warm. The people who survived the longest in the water seem to be crew who went in without a jacket on who swam for a while. Some of the most interesting parts were what went on in the rowboats, as that's something you never see in the movie, but people survived various ways, and picked up a few along the way as well.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m truly shocked this book is rated so well. It is interesting, in a way, but not captivating like other books I’ve read on the topic. Rather than incorporating the testimonies into a narrative, the author simply transcribed the testimonies of survivors into a chronological telling of events. The books truly missed the mark for me in the absence of any insights, background, and context.

[Keith Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book on the Titanic disaster. I loved the way it would go from person to person, each telling their stories. It was fascinating to read those testimonies, knowing now everything we do about what happened. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Titanic. It doesn't answer eve

[Tim Corke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chilling account of the night Titanic sunk taken from the statements of the survivors. Whilst many of us will have learnt out Titanic education from James Cameron's epic film, Compton's original idea captures the emotions direct from those involved.

The story behind Titanic is just as impressive with a huge number of heroic deeds and cowardly acts published to inform the reader the real actions on that fateful night.

The balance of those saved amongst the various classes of people tells one story but these first hand personal accounts give an impression of calmness, disbelief and fear that spread across them all.

This original book is an education in itself and strives to address the balance from the opinion and perspectives made very public in the film.