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The Complete Titanic Chronicles: A Night to Remember and The Night Lives On
The complete and definitive New York Times–bestselling chronicle of the Titanic including survivors’ stories and extensive research separating fact from myth. In just two hours and forty minutes, 1,500 souls were lost at sea when the RMS Titanic succumbed to the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Based on interviews with sixty-three survivors, A Night to Remember tells the story of that fateful night, offering a meticulous and engrossing look at one of the twentieth century’s most infamous disasters. In The Night Lives On, Lord revisits the unsinkable ship, diving into the multitude of theories—both factual and fanciful—about the Titanic’s last hours. Was the ship really christened before setting sail on its maiden voyage? How did its wireless operators fail so badly, and why did the nearby Californian, just ten miles away when the Titanic struck the iceberg, not come to the rescue? Together for the first time, Lord’s classic bestseller A Night to Remember and his subsequent study The Night Lives On offer remarkable insight into the maritime catastrophe that continues to fascinate and horrify a full century later.
437 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 26, 2013
183 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
About the author
Walter Lord
66 books215 followersWalter Lord was an American author, best known for his documentary-style non-fiction account, A Night to Remember, about the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
In 2009, Jenny Lawrence edited and published The Way It Was: Walter Lord on His Life and Books.
In 2009, Jenny Lawrence edited and published The Way It Was: Walter Lord on His Life and Books.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 17, 2020
I was a teenager when I first watched the 1997 Titanic film. I soon watched it many more times. I loved it not only for the romance, but also for the juxtaposition of the splendid wealth of the first class and the crude gaiety of the third class, for its portrayal of fear and courage in the midst of swirling rising waters, and for the stories it told of the minor characters, like stoic Captain Smith and the elderly couple lying in bed together as the water rose around them.
So it was with a sense of anticipation as I read this book, hailed as the best book on the Titanic. It exceeded my expectations. The copy I read was actually a combination of two books, A Night to Remember, published in 1955, and The Night Lives On, published in 1986 after the wreck of the Titanic had been found a year earlier. The first book details the events on the ship on the night of the sinking, while the second investigates some questions and findings from the post-event inquiries. Together, the two books are great companion books.
Waltor Lord was an excellent story-teller. The content of the book comes from information derived from news articles and transcripts of the inquiries, as well as from over 60 interviews that Lord conducted with the survivors. Instead of taking the easy way out and publishing each survivor's interview wholesale, Lord combines information from multiple sources, synthesising them into a chronological account of the night, from the moment lookout Fleet first spotted the iceberg, to the slow realisation that the ship was doomed, to the loading of passengers onto lifeboats, to the sinking of the Titanic, to the rescue of the passengers in the lifeboats by the Carpathia. Every page views the events from multiple perspectives. For example, when the ship hits the iceberg, we get accounts from multiple crew members and passengers on different parts of the ship. Mrs J. Stuart White feels the ship seeming "to roll over 'a thousand marbles'". Lady Cosmo Duff Gordon feels the jolt "as though somebody had drawn a giant finger along the side of the ship". Mrs E.D. Appleton hears an "unpleasant ripping sound ... like somebody tearing a long, long strip of calico". Mr. James B. McGough, on the other hand, finds chunks of ice falling into his cabin. The survivors' experiences inevitably feature more than those of the dead, and as a greater proportion of first class than third class passengers survived, we have a biased view of the picture. But Lord does his best to show even the perspectives of those who died. The multiple viewpoints paint as complete a picture of the events as it is possible to get, and create a story that is alive with sights and sounds. The narrative is made even more compelling by Lord’s sensitivity and true passion, almost a reverence, for the Titanic.
On a ship with more than 2000 passengers and hundreds of crew, there were a wide variety of people of various backgrounds and personalities. Lord mentions many characters, and it is difficult to keep them all apart. But he does his best to help us along by telling us small details, so that even the minor characters are alive and memorable. So, for example, Steffanson, a Swedish businessman, is in my memory the man who was drinking lemon tea when the Titanic struck the iceberg. Some of the characters stayed with me in more profound ways. For example, there is Ben Guggenheim who demonstrated courage in his own way by dressing up in evening dress while awaiting his death. There is the famous 8-piece band who played ragtime music to encourage the people and calm the panic. There is Isidor and Ida Straus, the elderly couple who lay on the bed in the movie and the founders of Macy's. Isidor refused a place in a lifeboat due to the noblesse oblige of "Women and children first", and Ida stayed with him, saying, "I've always stayed with my husband; so why should I leave him now?" There are all sorts of characters - brave, cowardly, self-sacrificial, selfish, dignified, petty, frivolous - and Lord describes a multitude of them, painting a picture of a community as diverse as any city.
It helps that the Titanic itself, and its sinking, make a captivating story. It was the largest ship in the world, and the most luxurious. It wasn't just big and fast, but it also had the stateliest fittings. Its first class passengers were amongst the wealthiest in the world, including a cast of businessmen, heirs, the US president's military aide, colonels, even a Master of Hounds. It was labelled unsinkable, and it sank on its maiden voyage.
The tragedy is compounded by how preventable it was. This is touched on in A Night to Remember, and expounded on in The Night Lives On. Safety standards in ships had dropped over the years in favour of commercial interests, so that the bunkheads were not as tall as they could be, and there were enough lifeboats only for half of the people on board, even if all the lifeboats were fully occupied, which they weren't. Captain Smith, admired and trusted by loyal passengers who refused to sail with any other captain, under-estimated the value of boat drills. The Titanic ignored several ice warnings - the wireless operator John George Phillips responded to a warning by the Californian with "Shut up, shut up! I am busy; I am working Cape Race!" In trying to avoid the iceberg, the ship scraped the ice berg along its side, dooming it to disaster, when it could have avoided sinking but hitting the ice berg head-on. Many of the lifeboats were only partially filled as the lifeboats were haphazardly filled, people initially did not realise that the ship would sink, and the third class passengers were kept below deck for an hour. As the ship sank, another ship, the Californian, remained motionless nearby, its crew debating what the white rockets and faltering lights on the Titanic could mean. The ship that did arrive, the Carpathia, came almost 4 hours later, too late to save anyone but those on the lifeboats. The errors lined up like holes on a Swiss cheese, resulting in the tragedy that claimed over a thousand lives.
Out of this, heroes image. Three men stood out for me. There is Second Officer Lightoller, who tirelessly and selflessly filled the lifeboats on the port side, acting with discipline and courage. There is Fifth Officer Lowe, young and impulsive, who was daring enough to shout at Bruce Ismay, the owner of the White Star Line, when his efforts to help only hindered, but was also daring enough to lead the only lifeboat back to pick up survivors from sea. In the farcical US inquiries, when asked by Senator Smith what icebergs are made of, he said “Ice, I suppose, sir.” (You can read more of the ridiculous questions and Lowe’s impatient remarks in the transcript here. And there is Captain Rostron, captain of the Carpathia, whose courage, quick thinking and organised leadership rescued the tired souls on the lifeboat, and whose prayers guided his ship through a treacherous ice field at full speed.
For God stands out throughout the narrative. His presence is subtly hinted at, in the prayers of Captain Rostron, second class passenger Reverend Thomas R. Byles, and the men on Collapsible B. But when a mighty ship is brought down to the depths of an ocean, levelling societal classes and humbling the wealthy, who scrambled together with the poor to survive, it is a loud, clear sign of the power and might of God.
So it was with a sense of anticipation as I read this book, hailed as the best book on the Titanic. It exceeded my expectations. The copy I read was actually a combination of two books, A Night to Remember, published in 1955, and The Night Lives On, published in 1986 after the wreck of the Titanic had been found a year earlier. The first book details the events on the ship on the night of the sinking, while the second investigates some questions and findings from the post-event inquiries. Together, the two books are great companion books.
Waltor Lord was an excellent story-teller. The content of the book comes from information derived from news articles and transcripts of the inquiries, as well as from over 60 interviews that Lord conducted with the survivors. Instead of taking the easy way out and publishing each survivor's interview wholesale, Lord combines information from multiple sources, synthesising them into a chronological account of the night, from the moment lookout Fleet first spotted the iceberg, to the slow realisation that the ship was doomed, to the loading of passengers onto lifeboats, to the sinking of the Titanic, to the rescue of the passengers in the lifeboats by the Carpathia. Every page views the events from multiple perspectives. For example, when the ship hits the iceberg, we get accounts from multiple crew members and passengers on different parts of the ship. Mrs J. Stuart White feels the ship seeming "to roll over 'a thousand marbles'". Lady Cosmo Duff Gordon feels the jolt "as though somebody had drawn a giant finger along the side of the ship". Mrs E.D. Appleton hears an "unpleasant ripping sound ... like somebody tearing a long, long strip of calico". Mr. James B. McGough, on the other hand, finds chunks of ice falling into his cabin. The survivors' experiences inevitably feature more than those of the dead, and as a greater proportion of first class than third class passengers survived, we have a biased view of the picture. But Lord does his best to show even the perspectives of those who died. The multiple viewpoints paint as complete a picture of the events as it is possible to get, and create a story that is alive with sights and sounds. The narrative is made even more compelling by Lord’s sensitivity and true passion, almost a reverence, for the Titanic.
On a ship with more than 2000 passengers and hundreds of crew, there were a wide variety of people of various backgrounds and personalities. Lord mentions many characters, and it is difficult to keep them all apart. But he does his best to help us along by telling us small details, so that even the minor characters are alive and memorable. So, for example, Steffanson, a Swedish businessman, is in my memory the man who was drinking lemon tea when the Titanic struck the iceberg. Some of the characters stayed with me in more profound ways. For example, there is Ben Guggenheim who demonstrated courage in his own way by dressing up in evening dress while awaiting his death. There is the famous 8-piece band who played ragtime music to encourage the people and calm the panic. There is Isidor and Ida Straus, the elderly couple who lay on the bed in the movie and the founders of Macy's. Isidor refused a place in a lifeboat due to the noblesse oblige of "Women and children first", and Ida stayed with him, saying, "I've always stayed with my husband; so why should I leave him now?" There are all sorts of characters - brave, cowardly, self-sacrificial, selfish, dignified, petty, frivolous - and Lord describes a multitude of them, painting a picture of a community as diverse as any city.
It helps that the Titanic itself, and its sinking, make a captivating story. It was the largest ship in the world, and the most luxurious. It wasn't just big and fast, but it also had the stateliest fittings. Its first class passengers were amongst the wealthiest in the world, including a cast of businessmen, heirs, the US president's military aide, colonels, even a Master of Hounds. It was labelled unsinkable, and it sank on its maiden voyage.
The tragedy is compounded by how preventable it was. This is touched on in A Night to Remember, and expounded on in The Night Lives On. Safety standards in ships had dropped over the years in favour of commercial interests, so that the bunkheads were not as tall as they could be, and there were enough lifeboats only for half of the people on board, even if all the lifeboats were fully occupied, which they weren't. Captain Smith, admired and trusted by loyal passengers who refused to sail with any other captain, under-estimated the value of boat drills. The Titanic ignored several ice warnings - the wireless operator John George Phillips responded to a warning by the Californian with "Shut up, shut up! I am busy; I am working Cape Race!" In trying to avoid the iceberg, the ship scraped the ice berg along its side, dooming it to disaster, when it could have avoided sinking but hitting the ice berg head-on. Many of the lifeboats were only partially filled as the lifeboats were haphazardly filled, people initially did not realise that the ship would sink, and the third class passengers were kept below deck for an hour. As the ship sank, another ship, the Californian, remained motionless nearby, its crew debating what the white rockets and faltering lights on the Titanic could mean. The ship that did arrive, the Carpathia, came almost 4 hours later, too late to save anyone but those on the lifeboats. The errors lined up like holes on a Swiss cheese, resulting in the tragedy that claimed over a thousand lives.
Out of this, heroes image. Three men stood out for me. There is Second Officer Lightoller, who tirelessly and selflessly filled the lifeboats on the port side, acting with discipline and courage. There is Fifth Officer Lowe, young and impulsive, who was daring enough to shout at Bruce Ismay, the owner of the White Star Line, when his efforts to help only hindered, but was also daring enough to lead the only lifeboat back to pick up survivors from sea. In the farcical US inquiries, when asked by Senator Smith what icebergs are made of, he said “Ice, I suppose, sir.” (You can read more of the ridiculous questions and Lowe’s impatient remarks in the transcript here. And there is Captain Rostron, captain of the Carpathia, whose courage, quick thinking and organised leadership rescued the tired souls on the lifeboat, and whose prayers guided his ship through a treacherous ice field at full speed.
For God stands out throughout the narrative. His presence is subtly hinted at, in the prayers of Captain Rostron, second class passenger Reverend Thomas R. Byles, and the men on Collapsible B. But when a mighty ship is brought down to the depths of an ocean, levelling societal classes and humbling the wealthy, who scrambled together with the poor to survive, it is a loud, clear sign of the power and might of God.
February 18, 2026
Very interesting two books. The first gives a clear timeline of events leading to the sinking of the ship, the second book was published after the discovery of the wreck and touches on different topics relating to the Titanic. In the second book I was really surprised by the casual attitude from some of the crew on the Titanic but mostly by the crew on the Californian. I also enjoyed reading about the proposals for locating the wreck and bringing it up to the surface. Both books are written in a very accessible way and definitely worth a read for anyone interested in learning more about the Titanic.
June 16, 2023
This is 2 books in one. I finished the first one, “A Night to Remember” about a month ago, in quick fashion. Excellent book! The second one “The Night Lives On” way drier reading. There was a ton of good information and documentation; it was just a slow read. Overall, I have a much better understanding of the tragedy, and wish the Staff was better trained. Testing prior to the first voyage was insufficient; training of the officers and staff on the lifeboat procedure was horrendous. Even with far too few lifeboats, I’m shocked at how underutilized they were.
March 11, 2020
Good, not great
This is two books in one. The first one tells the story of the fateful night with lots of stories and quotes from many survivors. Not all that scintillating but informative. The second one, written decades later, fills in specific details some of which were controversial, doing an excellent job of presenting all the sides and involving much detailed research. Overall, the two go hand in hand and are very worthwhile to read.
This is two books in one. The first one tells the story of the fateful night with lots of stories and quotes from many survivors. Not all that scintillating but informative. The second one, written decades later, fills in specific details some of which were controversial, doing an excellent job of presenting all the sides and involving much detailed research. Overall, the two go hand in hand and are very worthwhile to read.
May 15, 2024
the starting point for Titanic info
Lord’s first book features interviews with survivors, and the latter spends a good amount of time covering the aftermath of the sinking, including the 1912 hearings in both the UK and the US.
The second book was published at least 30 years after the original. While the women in the first book went by their husbands’ names (ie Mrs John Thayer, Mrs John Jacob Astor), in the second book they are given their own names (ie Molly Brown).
Lord’s first book features interviews with survivors, and the latter spends a good amount of time covering the aftermath of the sinking, including the 1912 hearings in both the UK and the US.
The second book was published at least 30 years after the original. While the women in the first book went by their husbands’ names (ie Mrs John Thayer, Mrs John Jacob Astor), in the second book they are given their own names (ie Molly Brown).
December 24, 2025
A compelling page turner
A compelling page turner. I read it in a day and enjoyed every bit of it, including the addendum book - The Night Lives On. Absolutely worth the time. Highly effective narration, with not so much detail as to drag things out. Author also doesn’t judge - just tells the story as he finds it. He does gives his views in the addendum book, which I also really enjoyed.
A compelling page turner. I read it in a day and enjoyed every bit of it, including the addendum book - The Night Lives On. Absolutely worth the time. Highly effective narration, with not so much detail as to drag things out. Author also doesn’t judge - just tells the story as he finds it. He does gives his views in the addendum book, which I also really enjoyed.
August 28, 2019
Absolutely loved this book. Its very sad for very obvious reasons. it was interesting to learn about the human aspect of the passengers and the shocking night that they endured. How unbelievably cold the passengers must have been. It's well written.
April 27, 2020
Any titanic history buff has to read
Very good
Very good
August 21, 2022
Remarkable 2 books on the sinking of the Titanic and the aftermath.
November 27, 2022
I found these books very interesting.
I learned a lot from them.
I recommend these books to anyone who wants to find out more about this tragdy.
I learned a lot from them.
I recommend these books to anyone who wants to find out more about this tragdy.
September 8, 2023
Both of these books are very thorough and rely on first hand interviews with Titanic survivors. I felt Lord gave information from all perspectives of the tragedy.
Read
February 1, 2026Excellent Read
Walter Lord captures each individual in great detail. Each thought where possible and each activity throughout. I rate this as highly recomended
Walter Lord captures each individual in great detail. Each thought where possible and each activity throughout. I rate this as highly recomended
August 19, 2023
Very detailed and very interesting book. I don't think it leaves anything out. Can highly recommend to Titanic fans.
August 13, 2017
Fascinating history. well researched
April 11, 2013
What better book could there be to read during this time of the year when the Titanic tragedy anniversary looms in the near future once more? I read the first book, "A Night to Remember" years ago, and I can tell you, it hasn't lost the magic over time. If anything, with all of the new evidence and scientific discovery about the White Star Line's leading lady, this book is more timely than ever before.
This may be one of the most talked about disasters in the history of the human (and particularly maritime) world, but it never touches your heart quite the way it does when you hear it told step by brutal step with actual accounts of the survivors and stories from the remaining crew that did not meet their fateful end with the ship of dreams. I was amazed the first time I read this, and was equally as amazed this time.
This was the first time I had ever read "The Night Lives On" and it added to the overall experience by filling in all of the lesser known details that were not covered in the first book. Years after this disaster happened, the media still gets their reports wrong when a disaster does strike. It makes one stop and think about what we really believe and how information is passed along to us.
I think the most important part of this story, and what makes it so enduring, is how preventable it actually was. The lack of lifeboats, the unheeded warnings about the fields of ice, and the determination to be the biggest, fastest and most impressive vessel in the world ended the lives of more than 1500 people that night, not an iceberg. Throughout the various ages of history there have been many fine examples of things being overlooked that caused mass destruction, and the Titanic disaster is certainly no exception.
The author of this book did more than just his research. He opened the eyes of all who have read it to a startling revelation: Nothing is impossible, unthinkable or unsinkable. Should you wish to know more about this great seafaring blunder or just find a compelling read to while away the hours, this is a first rate choice.
This review is based on a digital ARC from Open Road Media.
This may be one of the most talked about disasters in the history of the human (and particularly maritime) world, but it never touches your heart quite the way it does when you hear it told step by brutal step with actual accounts of the survivors and stories from the remaining crew that did not meet their fateful end with the ship of dreams. I was amazed the first time I read this, and was equally as amazed this time.
This was the first time I had ever read "The Night Lives On" and it added to the overall experience by filling in all of the lesser known details that were not covered in the first book. Years after this disaster happened, the media still gets their reports wrong when a disaster does strike. It makes one stop and think about what we really believe and how information is passed along to us.
I think the most important part of this story, and what makes it so enduring, is how preventable it actually was. The lack of lifeboats, the unheeded warnings about the fields of ice, and the determination to be the biggest, fastest and most impressive vessel in the world ended the lives of more than 1500 people that night, not an iceberg. Throughout the various ages of history there have been many fine examples of things being overlooked that caused mass destruction, and the Titanic disaster is certainly no exception.
The author of this book did more than just his research. He opened the eyes of all who have read it to a startling revelation: Nothing is impossible, unthinkable or unsinkable. Should you wish to know more about this great seafaring blunder or just find a compelling read to while away the hours, this is a first rate choice.
This review is based on a digital ARC from Open Road Media.
June 11, 2015
I’ve always been fascinated in the Titanic, since I was a very little girl. I enjoyed and learned a lot from this book. While we’ll never know all that went on that night, this book brings many things to light that I wouldn’t have known had I not read it. I’m glad I read both of these books, because while they have some of the same things in each one, they both have different things, too. For anyone that is interested in the Titanic, or ship wrecks in general, I totally recommend this book!
Read
September 9, 2016A good read for Titanic-lovers.. it got a bit draggy at the end, but gave some new accountings from "real" survivors of how the many TV/movie dramas differed from the realities. I liked it.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews