The Lucky and the Lost: The Lives of Titanic's Children

by John Boileau, Patricia Theriault (primary_contributor)

Genres: Nonfiction, History

267 pages, Paperback

Published April 9, 2024

Reviews

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had potential but was really a jumbled confusing mess. The children both born and unborn is a fascinating topic but it has been jumbled up here. It's too difficult to follow who's who. List after list with brief descriptions of families, then the sinking which went lifeboat by lifeboat and was the best part of the book. The rest read like a long epilogue with short paragraphs of what happened to each child. As another reviewer said it would've been better if they had followed family by family. I felt no connection to any of these children because I couldn't get to know them in this jumble of paragraphs. While it's readable and a topic worth exploring it would've been better if it had been more organized and coherent.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Edelweiss and Nimbus Publishing Limited for the digital ARC of this book. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I’ve been following Titanic stories ever since I was a very impressionable child and Robert Ballard discovered the ill-fated ship on the ocean floor. I’ve watched the movies (loved the TV miniseries starring Catherine Zeta Jones that came out about the same time as THE Titanic movie), read books, watched documentaries, etc. I was intrigued about this book, which chronicles the experiences of ALL the children that sailed on the Titanic.

It had to have been exhausting research. While I appreciated the meticulousness of the book, in part because of it, the early sections dragged a bit. There were endless quotes from so many people and recitation of facts about the Titanic that I wasn’t enjoying the book and thought about DNF-ing it. But I soldiered on and found much more enjoyment reading about what became of all these children, what they did with their lives (for those that survived) AFTER the sinking was a mere memory for the public.

This is definitely a book that needed to be written, and it was good but not great, missing in execution a little bit. I’d still recommend it to those interested in the Titanic story.

[Jacqueline Mudge-Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's many books and documentaries on the Titanic. Along with many YouTube videos and internet articles about her as well. However, is there a book that is solely on the children that were on board of her disaster? I believe not, just this one.

So this book, well researched to be a good academic reference if you were to use it as such. Although also gives a good timeline from the start of its construction in Belfast. (Things were different in early 20th century) to when the last child survivor, Millvina Dean passed away.

(And you know it's up to date by the mention of the Titan submersible)

Highly recommend reading for all those who have an interest in what is soon to be the 113th anniversary of the sinking.

[Randi Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good and a different insight into the Titanic story as it was all about the children. I found it interesting to read, however I found the layout a bit different as it was repetitious at certain parts or confusing on the kids. I think I would have laid it out as one family/child per chapter as opposed to the way they did but either way it’s a great read for history and knowledge.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story that needs to be told, but what a heartrending story!

The history here is very interesting, and while the book seems repetitive in places, there is not a lot of "new" information. But this is the first book that I have seen to focus exclusively on the children who were aboard the Titanic.

For the Titanic enthusiasts, this is a book right up your alley.

[Lynne Scopazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Learning the lives and the names of the children that were lost and who survived the Titanic was heart-warming and heart-wrenching.