On a Sea of Glass: The Life and Loss of the RMS Titanic

by Tad Fitch; J. Kent Layton; Bill Wormstedt

Genres: History, Audiobook

1 pages, Audio CD

Published July 9, 2024

Reviews

[C.J. Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well done. A 21st century update on the shelf with the classic "A Night to Remember", imo.

[Prof Lit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book for readers who love research. If you want familiar, retold stories about the Titanic, this isn't your book. Those are out there, a plenty. This team of scholars and researchers started over at the beginning, reviewing and reassessing huge amounts of source material on the ship from conception to catastrophic ending. The explanatory notes at the ending alone comprise nine hours of the 30-hour+ Audible. In an age of mis- and disinformation, I appreciate the attention to adherence to standards of scholarship and research that have been jettisoned by others but upheld here.

I recently was made aware of brain rot videos, and the example used was one about the Titanic. The juxtaposition between the former, filled with glossed over details, inaccurate information, and well, dumb, attention-grabbing visuals and the book I am reviewing here - folks, I can't shake the eye-opening alarm I feel at how the former currently "stands in" for the nuanced and careful scholarship of the latter. I do admit that I'm biased - I work in academia, after all.

[Ben Bourrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read that begins as a novel seeking to establish a final conclusion on the RMS Titanic, and ends itself as an essay, setting the record straight through the various appendixes on several mythicized aspects of the Titanic story. In every aspect, the authors make use of every source to establish every last possible detail, while citing how accurate the accounts and research actually are/may be. If you’re looking for the most comprehensive account of the Titanic story, be it in narrative of the first half the novel, or in debunking the myths that is bound to spawn with such a historic, sensationalized disaster, search no further than On a Sea of Glass.

[Rachel Parham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a must read for Titanic fanatics (like me) who want to know every detail!