The Truth About The Titanic

by Archibald Gracie

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Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Historical, Adventure

118 pages, Paperback

Published September 14, 2017

About the author

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibal...

Reviews

[Taylor's♡Shelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I put off writing my thoughts on this for a long time. Reason being that I felt kind of sour after reading Gracie's account and I wanted to see if that sourness settled over time. It didn't, but I'll explain.

You can really separate this publication into two parts. The first part of the text is Gracie's account of the first (and last) crossing of the Titanic. The second part is essentially his compiled research of other first-hand accounts, as well as details on both the American and English inquiries following the wreck.

The second part was enjoyable and thoroughly researched, albeit told a bit dryly. Gracie generally kept himself out of this part and gave many people a voice. By people, I mean first-class people, but that's an entirely different issue that I'm not going to get into right now.

The first part, Gracie's personal account, was... troubling. I could even say that it's a bit historically damaging. If I could summarise what I mean in one sentence, it's that Gracie seems to confuse "didn't see it happen" with "didn't happen". Who but an omnipresent narrator could factually state that every staffer on the boat was completely in control of their emotions and not one showed any sort of panic at all? Not only is this completely unbelievable but I'm not sure how one man on a boat as massive as the Titanic could, without a doubt, claim this to be true. He also said that every man on the boat was completely calm and not one did anything to try to secure their lives until all the women and children were safe. Anyone familiar with other shipwrecks that happened during the early 20th-century would agree that this sounds outrageously romanticised. I'm sure the Titanic was an outlier and the men on board were uncharacteristically chivalric compared to other shipwrecks (the percentage of women and children saved support this). But every single man was completely calm? Hyperbolic statements really don't belong in first-hand accounts and generalizations should be stated as such. I'm not even going to touch on the reliability of Gracie that says that his wife telepathically knew that her husband was in danger while she was lying in bed at home. Thank you, but no.

Another example of Gracie's "if I didn't see it, it didn't happen" obsession is his dismissal of other first-hand accounts that contradict his own. The most prominent example being Jack Thayer's. I'm not sure if this is because Jack was only a teenager, but that's meaningless. It's not like Jack had a completely full-frontal, unobstructed view from the water or anything...

But Gracie didn't see it happen. So it didn't happen.

I don't mean for any of this to sound unappreciative of a man who made the effort to record his account of an extremely significant moment in history. That being said, I highly recommend readers who enjoyed Gracie's account to read further works, both primary and secondary, about the event to develop a fuller understanding of what exactly happened that night.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story sliced into two distinctive sections – a first-hand account of the sinking ship, then a rather dry assortment of eyewitness accounts. Perhaps it's typical of the era, but the absence of emotions in this assemblage is rather odd.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a haunting tale of Gracie's survival the night the Titanic sunk. It is quite a read, however it is certainly written in the 'tongue' of the early 20th century. It is interesting to hear the point of view of someone who went through so much the night the Titanic sunk and to see what was happening around him. It does have its flaws though, and while it must be remembered that was the way of the times it is still a bit much to stomach at times. Gracie was a first class passenger therefore he spoke almost exclusively of those in first class. When he spoke of anyone from steerage it was very clear he thought of them almost as another species. He was quite degrading of them, the way they dressed and the way they spoke. Of course we knew many first class passengers on that boat, or on any boat would feel the third class passengers were not worth their time and would feel as though they were much better than anyone in the classes below them, it was still a little infuriating to read that arrogance. Nevertheless, it's a good book to read to get a truthful look at that night.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provided a unique perspective on the Titanic disaster. Written by an actual survivor, it sheds light on moment-by-moment events. Then the author delves into the stories of other survivors. He pieces together testimony from the various hearings and inquiries. He interviews or corresponds with other survivors to gather their experiences and recollections. He meticulously curates all these stories and accounts in an effort to provide the most thorough and accurate narrative of that fateful night. For anyone who is fascinated by this tragedy, this book is a must-read.

[Lana Lynne Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the Harper Perennial Classics ebook edition of Colonel Gracie's THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TITANIC:
This is the most impacting account I have read about the sinking of the Titanic. Colonel Gracie was a wonderful writer prior to the tragedy and his skill is evidenced within these pages. His eyewitness experience shines with his heart and faith. God did spare him from an icy death in the Atlantic. Colonel Gracie did not take it for granted and did all he could to faithfully tell the story of the real people--the individuals --who lived and died. My heart aches for his death eight months later, but he did more in those months than many do in a lifetime.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, a bit dry perhaps in the second half but interesting nonetheless and definitely a must read for those interested in true life accounts of the sinking. There is not a lot of backstory to this, it starts at the time of collision, so you don't get to "know" the author/others very well.

[Chadwick Watters · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a book for anyone casually interested in Titanic. This is an unfinished account from a survivor who records a lot of detail but repeats himself repeatedly. It reads more like notes with some whole excerpts thrown in.

Also get ready for some racism. It was written in 1912 for a 1912 audience and their world for better or worse was what it was.

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very engaging in parts with a few areas not so much but still enjoyable. Bias as hell but a wonderful insight into his perspective.

[Bob Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

An On-The-Scene Report Of A Legendary Disaster

I tend to read history and have read several volumes about the Titanic Disaster. But this one is different. Imagine a report about 911 written at the foot of the World Trade Center as the buildings fell, or about Pearl Harbor written from the deck of the Arizona as the bombs exploded.
That is what Archibald Gracie did - he lived through the sinking of RMC Titanic, through courage, gallantry and blind luck, then started interviewing fellow survivors practically while still in the lifeboat.
Reading this book more than a century later, there are things like class, heritage and sex distinctions in the writing that no longer apply. But, his story puts a reader on the slanting deck of the great liner, then in the water with him, as she disappeared beneath the frigid sea.
If the Titanic saga touches you, this is a good read, even 110 years after he wrote it.

[Keith Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good accounting of the end

I’ve read a number of books on the Titanic and they start with the building, then the outfitting, and the launch. They try to cover the whole process like trying to stretch out the story. You can’t just say; yeah we built the damn thing, went way over budget on the total cost, with the length of time and the outrageous outfitting expenses. Then we thought we’d make a big splash by setting a new transatlantic crossing record. Flat sea’s we really gave her hell, all against the Captain’s warnings, and the warnings of numerous ships. Well they made a Big Splash
But the the interesting thing about this book is that they only covered from the impact with the iceberg through the rescue by the Carpaithia and the hearings in New York.
Yet the details are very absorbing and shed a
possibly new dynamic on how events actually occurred. Great Read 🧞‍♀️

[Angela Hauck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart Wretching, but AMAZING

A must-read for anyone interested in the true survivors experience of the Titanic sinking. Colonel Gracie wrote with truth, caring, and to me spoke of such heroic men. Real men who knew the women and children were the future and gave their lives to protect them. I've cried, I've felt pain, I've experienced true chivalry reading his words and the words of other survivors. This truly shows what people were made of then. And how sad it is today, that people are so self-absorbed. I wonder if a catastrophe like that happened again (and I pray it never does) how it would play out. I'm assuming nothing like the men and women experienced on the Titanic.

[Ashleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who has been fascinated by the story of the Titanic my whole life, this was incredibly detailed about one man's experience in the lifeboats and the inquiry afterwards which was an interesting take I haven't seen much of. I found Bruce Ismay's testimony really interesting.

This book does however get bogged down in the details but is not super descriptive. Easy to read but very fact based and reads somewhat more like a court transcription than an actual story.

[Tom Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Excellent Book About The Titanic

Col. Gracie penned an excellent account of the Titanic disaster. It is an interesting story written by someone who was there. He carefully researched what happen showing the courage that was exhibited as well as the cowardice. Overall it is an fantastic historical read that I highly recommend to those who love history.

[Mark Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting perspective. I read this in preparation for an event in which I was portraying Archibald Gracie. Sadly, Col. Gracie died from his illness contracted as a result of his experience on the Titanic. He went into the water and was rescued by a lifeboat, but as a diabetic, suffered greatly and passed away 8 months later.

[Myrtis White · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Story of Total Tragedy and Supreme Courage

There is no happy ending to the story of the sinking of the Titanic. It is a true experience that will never be forgotten; the courage of Archibald Gracie will forever be admired by all who read this book.

[Dale Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed account

This was a very detailed account of the sinking of the Titantic .
Every boat was reviewed with passengers names and incidents

[Deedee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Hoopla Audio download to my kindle.
I love anything Titanic, but this was almost "boring".

[Dorothy R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlighten details of that night

I enjoyed the book. Several things I though I had read in other books disclaimed what I had read. This was a very researched book.

[Cheryl L Matson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best ones about this part of history.

[Gabriel Davis]

07/13/19

[Gabriel Davis]

07/13/19

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the most repetitive and boring book I’ve ever read in my life.
He’s lucky he’s getting 2 stars. Had it not been for the fact that he was the first survivor to give a printed account of the sinking, this book would easily be 1 star.

Would never read it again.

[Aj Chizhik · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Truth About the Titanic is an in depth and yet haunting tale of survival on the tragic night of April 15th 1912 when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sunk into the bitter Atlantic Ocean, taking with it more than 1,500 poor souls. The author re-tells the events of that fateful night from his own perspective as well as countless other survivors that he interviewed.
Of all the Titanic books I've read over the years, this particular book gathers the most intensely detailed descriptions of that night from the actual survivors. Each perspective is overlapping as the author exhaustively plotted who was in each and every lifeboat. From a modern perspective, knowing what we do now 100+ years later about the ship and what happened that tragic night, reading this book gives insight to how vastly different one's idea of what happened can be. The author even talks about this at several points in the book since the ship was so big, it was impossible to know what was going on elsewhere from one's own perspective. For instance, Gracie truly believed that ship went down intact despite people like Jack Thayer, that he interviewed swearing otherwise.
Keep in mind that the book can be disjointed at times but I do not blame the author. It is quite obvious by the in-depth nature of detail that Gracie strived for while writing this book. Unfortunately he passed away before he could formally edit the book or write a conclusion.
My only complaint of this book, is not its length or it's mild disjointed nature but rather that Gracie only focused on the First Class Passengers and crew. The second and third class passengers at many points were only offered the barest of sentences let alone paragraphs. Yet stories on the First Class Passengers filled the majority of this book. I wish Gracie had had more inclination and time to research Second and Third Class Passengers as we hardly ever hear or read about them.
Over all, this is a great book to read if you are interested in the Titanic and looking for something of substance.

[Elisa Bottesin · Rating 3 out of 5]

In piena frenesia cinematografica per mano di James Cameron, affittai in biblioteca un'edizione precedente di questo libro.
Non mi fu però possibile toccarlo granchè, il libro era vecchio. La considerai un'operazione ad alto rischio e rinviai.
Fino ad ora.
Facendo bene.
Fa storia questo libro? Neanche un po'. E' assai poco attendibile, vale anche per l'inchiesta ufficiale, riportata in modo ridondante.
Fu più accurato James Cameron col film prima (nonostante la pessima mossa d'inventarsi il suicidio del primo ufficiale Murdoch, offendendo i familiari inevitabilmente).
Ancor più attendibili poi sono i suoi documentari sul medesimo tema per la vena televisiva del National Geographic.

Allora perché il libro del colonnello? Perché è la finestra umana di un'epoca. Epoca molto pesante: militarista, classista, razzista, ipocrita.
Lontana?
Ahinoi tutti, no.

La sola testimonianza ancora al presente, disponibile in italiano.
Edizione che auspico venga meglio curata, sembra frettolosa.
Troppi refusi e per il costo, merita anche una migliore copertina.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been fascinated by the Titanic, and Colonel Gracie's book is great to read as it's from a survivor's point of view. Sometimes he does come across as quite pompous - assuring the reader that he can guarantee the ship remained whole as he would have known if she'd broken in two - however he seemed to have the same opinion as most others in the belief that the ship went down in one piece.
Anyway, the research he did in the months following the sinking and before his death in Dec 1912 was phenomenal. He lists each lifeboat, passengers, crewmembers, stowaways, incidents that occurred and exerpts from the British and American enquiries into the sinking of the Titanic. In my opinion this is a book anyone interested in oceanic travel should read, whether they are interested in the Titanic itself or not.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Factual Telling of the Tragedy of the Titanic

Excellently written book concerning the sinking of the Titanic. Written from the perspective of one who was on the ship to the end and could tell the story using known facts, correspondence with other survivors and excerpts from both the American bad British investigations of the disaster. An amazing review of what happened the night the Titanic sunk told with compassion and caring for all involved in the incident. Colonel Gracie's intention was to get the truth to the public without vilifying anyone. I would opine that he accomplished his objective admirably. This book was very well written and very much needed to be written. I highly recommend it.

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is partilly a collection of first hand accounts, and partially Gracie's own account. The later is a bit stiff, but has good information and is harrowing all the same. Much of the rest is about how each lifeboat was lowered and who was on board, itself a peerless resource. For controversial episodes (J. Bruce Ismay's escape, Margaret Brown's take over, Lord Gordon's "bribery") he includes contrary points of view. Well, most of the time; I am sure he thinks Ismay should have went down with Titanic. I do like the emphasis on survival. I feel most contemporary Titanic lore and books are more about who died and as opposed to who survived.

[Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1913 this is an eyewitness account by one of the survivors of the Titanic about his experiences and more.

Gracie was on the Titanic holding on to a railing as it sank into the sea. He was able to get away and survived. Gracie's story is riveting in his 'first hand' experience but even more because he takes the documents and statements made in the Senate hearings and the British Inquiry to 'comfirm' his own thoughts on that tragic night.

Every lifeboat is accounted for here and what happened before and after the survivors got on board.
This is the closest to 'being there' that is possible.

[Jessie Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a first hand account of the sinking of one of the most luxurious liners at the time. Col. Gracie died shortly after his escape from death with the titanic, but not before finishing this book. The story is captivating, and brings one back to the horrors of the wreckage and the human interactions that took place. Accounts from other survivors took more than half of the book, which were organized by source and not chronologically, which made the storytelling repetitive and a little dragging to read. But overall, it is a priceless piece of history.

[Laura Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gracie worked quickly to try and get at the truth. He gathered much information that is still used today. He died only 8 months after the Titanic sank. He'd helped many into the lifeboats, then jumped ship after it began sinking and made it an overturned boat, where he spent the early hours waiting for rescue. I would call him a hero. But the book is dry and there are many more exciting books to read about the Titanic.