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The Sinking of the Titanic
The Titanic was on fire before it hit the iceberg!
Shortly after the Titanic sank on the morning of April 15, 1912, author Logan Marshall compiled a history of the tragic event. His narrative reads like a novel, yet every word is true. Bruce Caplan took the original work and edited and abridged the book to include new information and today is a much sought-after public speaker and consided a premier Titanic expert.
Myth: the ship was safest when it left port.
Reality: the ship was on fire from the time it left Southampton. Not a tiny blaze, but a roaring inferno that probably contributed to the disaster.
Myth: All the men patiently stood by and let the women and children enter the few lifeboats.
Reality: Men were shot on deck as they attempted to board the lifeboats and save their own lives.
Shortly after the Titanic sank on the morning of April 15, 1912, author Logan Marshall compiled a history of the tragic event. His narrative reads like a novel, yet every word is true. Bruce Caplan took the original work and edited and abridged the book to include new information and today is a much sought-after public speaker and consided a premier Titanic expert.
Myth: the ship was safest when it left port.
Reality: the ship was on fire from the time it left Southampton. Not a tiny blaze, but a roaring inferno that probably contributed to the disaster.
Myth: All the men patiently stood by and let the women and children enter the few lifeboats.
Reality: Men were shot on deck as they attempted to board the lifeboats and save their own lives.
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First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
February 1, 2017
This is an excellent book. It was originally written in 1912 and includes several eye witness accounts of the sinking from the survivors and stories from people onboard the rescue ship, Carpathia. It also humanizes the story a lot more than other books have. For some reason many books like to "romanticize" this tragedy and this book shows this tragedy was just that, an Absolutely horrific tragedy that destroyed and changed lives forever. It's a must read.
June 1, 2012
If you like books on the Titanic this is one to read. I came across this book on one of Amazon's free books deals and grabed it. I read it in a few days and was totaly consume by it.
It is a book about what it was like during the sinking and how people helped the survivors. It also told about how the laws were changed to prevent this from happening again.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the the Titanic.
It is a book about what it was like during the sinking and how people helped the survivors. It also told about how the laws were changed to prevent this from happening again.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of the the Titanic.
April 21, 2021
Very interesting first hand accounts by survivors. I have read many books about the Titanic but this was my first one focused on voices from the survivors. It was informative enough for me to seek additional survivor accounts in more detail; Thayer and Brown for example. Wish there was more first hand detail about the fire on board the Titanic. Seems like the fire weakened the steel right in the area of the iceberg collision.
January 16, 2022
Titanic was on fire when it left England.
Learned a lot from this that I didn't learn from other sources. Safety should come before luxury. We still make the same mistakes.
Learned a lot from this that I didn't learn from other sources. Safety should come before luxury. We still make the same mistakes.
December 27, 2025
This is an easy to read account with small, bite-sized sections of accounts and topics about the ship, its tragedy and the survivors.
I read of the bulkheads failing due to malfunctioning doors...
... as well as a fire in the coal from since leaving port which may have weakened the hull leading to critical damage.
One funny thing to me was the confusion caused by this awkward grammar. Maybe a missing hyphen? Either "derelict-destroyer Seneca" or "derelict-destroying Seneca" would have been clearer.
I read of the bulkheads failing due to malfunctioning doors...
K. Whiteman, of Palmyra, N.J., the Titanic's barber, was lowering boats on deck after the collision, and declared the officers on the bridge, one of them First Officer Murdock, promptly worked the electrical apparatus for closing the water-tight compartments. He believed the machinery was in some way so damaged by the crash that the front compartments failed to close tightly, although the rear ones were secure.
Whiteman's manner of escape was unique. He was blown off the deck by the second of the two explosions of the boilers, and was in the water more than two hours before he was picked up by a raft.
"The explosions," Whiteman said; "were caused by the rushing in of the icy water on the boilers. A bundle of deck chairs, roped together, was blown off the deck with me, and I struck my back, injuring my spine, but it served as a temporary raft.
"The crew and passengers had faith in the bulkhead system to save the ship and we were lowering a collapsible boat, all confident the ship would get through, when she took a terrific dip forward and the water swept over the deck and into the engine rooms.
"The bow went clean down, and I caught the pile of chairs as I was washed up against the rim. Then came the explosions which blew me fifteen feet.
"After the water had filled the forward compartments, the ones at the stern could not save her, although they did delay the ship's going down. If it wasn't for the compartments hardly anyone could have got away."
... as well as a fire in the coal from since leaving port which may have weakened the hull leading to critical damage.
Marshall's factual narrative clearly summed up much of the Titanic's puzzling saga. Two important points were highlighted in his work. First, the Titanic was on fire from the time it left Southampton until it hit the iceberg. Second, men were actually executed on the decks because they attempted to enter the life-boats. These long ignored 'de-tails' of the Titanic's voyage may bring about crucial shifts in what had previously been for many an idealized picture of an old tragedy.
According to Marshall, the fire in the coal bin was a major one. Theodore Kaplan, a former ship worker, concluded that the fire in the hull undoubtedly contributed to the loss of the ship.
"The tons of hot coals blazing for days would have burned through the top hull and weakened the ship's structural integrity," Kaplan asserted.
In fact, Kaplan goes a step further in his theory.
"The Titanic would probably have survived the crash with the iceberg had it not been for the fire," he stated.
It puzzles me, then, that so little has been mentioned of this blaze. Marshall's text impels us to recall it. Once again we are forced to ask, could the sinking of the great ship have been avoided? Should Captain Smith have allowed it to leave shore in the first place with such a serious fire in its hull?
One funny thing to me was the confusion caused by this awkward grammar. Maybe a missing hyphen? Either "derelict-destroyer Seneca" or "derelict-destroying Seneca" would have been clearer.
As she passed the revenue cutter Mohawk and the derelict destroyer Seneca anchored off Tompkinsville, the wireless on the Government vessels was seen to flash, but there was no answering spark from the Carpathia. Entering the North River she laid her course close to the New Jersey side in order to have room to swing into her pier.
December 10, 2019
This account of the sinking of the Titanic puts the "s" in sensationalism. There are several "eyewitness" accounts of the last moments of Captain Smith, all of which differ. There is no factual basis for many of the accounts of the bravery and heroism of Titanic's upperclass male passengers. It is highly unlikely that one crewman survived after treading about in open water for more than six hours when the expected survival time in freezing waters is 15-45 minutes. And sadly, the account of a heroic Newfoundland dog named "Rigel"supposedly saving passengers is absolute make believe.
August 6, 2017
In 1997, Caplan used the original 1912 account by Logan Marshall to revisit the sinking of the Titanic. The book gave me a better understanding of what may have caused this tragic event. Since it is an abridged version of the original account, the social expectations in the early 1900’s are reflected in the account of this ill-fated voyage. I cannot help but wonder what the story would be if it happened in today’s world, over 100 years later.
July 25, 2021
Good book
The book was very informative and easy to read. As a child, I knew one of the survivors. Ole Abelseth was his name, a Norwegian immigrant from South Dakota.
The book was very informative and easy to read. As a child, I knew one of the survivors. Ole Abelseth was his name, a Norwegian immigrant from South Dakota.
February 1, 2022
It was a very informative book. I learned a lot about the history of the Titanic and its passengers and crew. Very sad but interesting read.
April 12, 2022
4.5 stars
June 6, 2024
Spellbinding
August 6, 2024
Highly recommend for any titanic history obsessed person.
October 25, 2025
bro really just said imma republish a 1912 book and called it good
November 19, 2023
As someone who is slightly obsessed with the Titanic, I obviously liked this book. I would say it was closer to a 3.5 than a 4, but it makes more sense knowing this was published originally in 1912.
August 27, 2013
I was able to visit a Titanic exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum earlier this month, and that has piqued my interest in the Titanic. You know that 2013 is the 100th anniversary of its sinking, right?
I was drawn to “The Sinking of the Titanic” first because it was free for Kindle, but also because it purported to contain first-hand accounts from passengers. First-hand is always a good thing, so I dug in.
As promised, the book was made up of various eye-witness accounts from Titanic survivors. Here are some things I found interesting.
On Monday, after the Titanic sank on a Sunday night, a wireless message was received: All Titanic’s passengers safe. At least, that’s what it was reported to have said. Only several days later was the wording corrected: Are all Titanic’s passengers safe?
Many of the first lifeboats were launched only partially full, because it took a while for passengers to realize that the Titanic was really going to sink. At that point, a “women and children first” rule was announced. Many men tried sneaking onto boats anyway, and several were shot down. As each boat was launched, several men jumped overboard from the ship and tried to climb aboard lifeboats. At least one “woman” on a lifeboat was later revealed to be a man who had dressed himself in a woman’s skirt and wig in order to find a spot on a boat.
Some women refused to go on lifeboats, preferring to stay with their husbands. Isidor Straus, co-owner of Macy’s, died with his wife, who said, “We are old; we can best die together.”
One lifeboat was determined to hold one more than its limit. A 25-year-old lady volunteered to go back on board the Titanic, saying to the woman next to her, “Your need is greater than mine. You have children who need you, and I have none.”
Several reported hearing the Titanic’s band playing “Nearer My God to Thee” as the ship was sinking. But a more accurate account of the final song heard was “Autumn,” a waltz.
Okay, I have way too many highlights: many survivors remarked on how awful it was to hear the moans and cries of all those around them in the water. They also commented on the total darkness (no moon that night), and I hadn’t thought of that. One boat had someone with a small light, and all the other lifeboats looked to that until the Carpathia approached to pick the survivors up around 5 a.m. Monday. They also mentioned the cold, and the still water. “I have never seen such a clear sky. The stars were very bright and we could see the Titanic plainly, like a great hotel on the water. Floor after floor of the lights went out as we watched. It was horrible, horrible. I can’t bear to think about it.” Six in the boats died that night. (the final tally from the Titanic included 1635 who died and 705 survivors)
US laws required lifeboats for all passengers, but English laws did not, and England is where the Titanic launched from.
Really interesting account of the Titanic tragedy.
I was drawn to “The Sinking of the Titanic” first because it was free for Kindle, but also because it purported to contain first-hand accounts from passengers. First-hand is always a good thing, so I dug in.
As promised, the book was made up of various eye-witness accounts from Titanic survivors. Here are some things I found interesting.
On Monday, after the Titanic sank on a Sunday night, a wireless message was received: All Titanic’s passengers safe. At least, that’s what it was reported to have said. Only several days later was the wording corrected: Are all Titanic’s passengers safe?
Many of the first lifeboats were launched only partially full, because it took a while for passengers to realize that the Titanic was really going to sink. At that point, a “women and children first” rule was announced. Many men tried sneaking onto boats anyway, and several were shot down. As each boat was launched, several men jumped overboard from the ship and tried to climb aboard lifeboats. At least one “woman” on a lifeboat was later revealed to be a man who had dressed himself in a woman’s skirt and wig in order to find a spot on a boat.
Some women refused to go on lifeboats, preferring to stay with their husbands. Isidor Straus, co-owner of Macy’s, died with his wife, who said, “We are old; we can best die together.”
One lifeboat was determined to hold one more than its limit. A 25-year-old lady volunteered to go back on board the Titanic, saying to the woman next to her, “Your need is greater than mine. You have children who need you, and I have none.”
Several reported hearing the Titanic’s band playing “Nearer My God to Thee” as the ship was sinking. But a more accurate account of the final song heard was “Autumn,” a waltz.
Okay, I have way too many highlights: many survivors remarked on how awful it was to hear the moans and cries of all those around them in the water. They also commented on the total darkness (no moon that night), and I hadn’t thought of that. One boat had someone with a small light, and all the other lifeboats looked to that until the Carpathia approached to pick the survivors up around 5 a.m. Monday. They also mentioned the cold, and the still water. “I have never seen such a clear sky. The stars were very bright and we could see the Titanic plainly, like a great hotel on the water. Floor after floor of the lights went out as we watched. It was horrible, horrible. I can’t bear to think about it.” Six in the boats died that night. (the final tally from the Titanic included 1635 who died and 705 survivors)
US laws required lifeboats for all passengers, but English laws did not, and England is where the Titanic launched from.
Really interesting account of the Titanic tragedy.
February 9, 2013
A really good book with some factual accounts of actual conversations of survivors and crew members. Though i found at times the narration very prosy and the heroism of the first class passengers and crew in general were overblown and "bigged" up to the state of heroism, yes there was probably a lot of acts of heroism but for the main it did concentrate on the upper classes point of view. Though there were some shocking references of eye witness accounts of E . J Smith and other crew members shooting people on the decks as their fear led them to try to get into the lifeboats. One man actually had his jaw shot off.
This part of the book did raise questions as to E . J Smith's morality and humanity during the crisis as every passenger and crew member must have felt terror whether man, woman or child.
Overall a wonderful and worthwhile read though, as stated it did seem to appease the higher class society that morality and heroics were the order of the day within their class and maybe this is to do with the original Logan Marshall version being published shortly after the sinking when society needed to hear about the heroism of that night to square public conscience.
This part of the book did raise questions as to E . J Smith's morality and humanity during the crisis as every passenger and crew member must have felt terror whether man, woman or child.
Overall a wonderful and worthwhile read though, as stated it did seem to appease the higher class society that morality and heroics were the order of the day within their class and maybe this is to do with the original Logan Marshall version being published shortly after the sinking when society needed to hear about the heroism of that night to square public conscience.
September 2, 2011
This is the real McCoy when it comes to all the Titanic books. Bruce Caplan took Logan Marshall's 1912 edition, researched it and packed with revelations not available to the original author brought a whole new perspective to the saga of the ill-fated ship. Caplan explored the background on how the ship left Southhampton and a fire was burning strong in the coal bins and the ship should never have left port. The heat did terrible things to the ship's hull and there is no point in saying anything more, except, of all the Titanic books available, choose this one to count on for all of the intrique and adventure of that voyage and count your lucky stars that you are on a ship on the ocean that doesn't have Smith as your Captain.
October 4, 2012
This title was an original work by Logan Marshall which has been edited, updated and abridged by Caplan to include new information about this 100 year old disaster. Interviews with survivors gave astounding and heartbreaking accounts of the ordeals suffered by them and of those around them.
March 5, 2013
Being one of those people that has a huge fascination with the beauty and tragedy that is Titanic, I really enjoyed this book. It's more of a "survivors accounts" than anything else, but I just loved reading the true story from so many different perspectives, and finding out how different people reacted in different ways from the utter disgusting to simply amazing acts that some people carried out during the ship's fateful collision and downfall. The only reason this didn't get 5 stars for me was because of the fact that it seemed to jump about a lot in terms of, you'll be reading about the ship sinking at 25% in, then at 70% in, you'll be reading about the ship sinking again, with a whole bunch of different stuff in between. But overall I really enjoyed this book :)
October 19, 2012
This book, as Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember", recalls the night of the Titanic disaster in greater detail. From the moment the ship ran aground to the rescue missions carried through the Carpathian, the book describes the response to the crisis. Plenty of personal accounts and news clips of passengers and eyewitnesses as rescue missions were playing out through the night. Includes historic photos and diagrams within special inserts. This was a free download to my Kindle Fire, otherwise would've been available at a small value. Perfect for history enthusiasts and a compliment to similar documents.
June 10, 2015
Originally published in 1912, this book contains the accounts of some of the survivors of the Titanic tragedy. Due to the time period of the writing, some of the wording is a little difficult to understand, and the attitudes of the author and survivors are relatively sexist. The overall organization of the book is also confusing. However, I learned many things that I had not previously known about the maritime disaster. Reading about the survivors' thoughts and experiences throughout the traumatic sinking gave the event a realness that is hard to achieve for something that happened so long ago. This is a good read for anyone with an interest in the real stories of the Titanic.
May 3, 2017
I've been interested in the Titanic for the best part of about 20 years and devour all books that I can get my hands on with it.
Full of information that I'm sure that many people weren't aware of about this great ship without being patronising or condescending and with eye witness accounts of what happened on that fateful night in April.
If you have even the slightest interest in the Titanic, you will enjoy this book.
Full of information that I'm sure that many people weren't aware of about this great ship without being patronising or condescending and with eye witness accounts of what happened on that fateful night in April.
If you have even the slightest interest in the Titanic, you will enjoy this book.
March 16, 2013
I decided to read this book after visiting a display of some of the artifacts from the Titanic. While I had read that this account was somewhat of a "romanticized" version of what happened as the Titanic encountered disaster and then as the Carpathia approached the New York harbor, I found this account to read like a newspaper article. I felt the shock and awe of the writer as he wrote his account of his version of the stories that came from survivors of the ill-fated voyage. Great read!
June 7, 2012
Annoying format, a lot of repetition. I have studied the Titanic since I was twelve, so it is a subject I enjoy reading about. As I mentioned though, the format was enough to confuse me. One subject would be presented and then another, the return to the previous subject. I got so frustrated I gave up.
April 16, 2016
great book filled with personal narratives as well as very interesting facts about the events before the Titanic as well as how the survivors were received on board the rescue ship, the Carpathia and on arrival in New York. Highly recommended to everyone!
February 7, 2015
the sinking of the titanic
I thought the author developed the book very well throwing in interesting details and captivating the reader. This was a highly in depth look and view of the titanic
I thought the author developed the book very well throwing in interesting details and captivating the reader. This was a highly in depth look and view of the titanic
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August 13, 2009XOS-910.91
April 10, 2012
some new information i didn't know, but the format was annoying and there were several glaring errors.
May 4, 2012
anyone have any recommendations for more books about titanic survivors?
June 6, 2012
Factual Accounting of this story. It was very interesting and presented information that was unknown from watching movies and documentaries. A very interesting and easy to read book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews