Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32582 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 227 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The tragedy of the Titanic has been captured in fiction, non-fiction, music, poetry, cartoons, official judicial inquiry, survivors' recollections, still photography, television shows, and film; all of the above are covered to some extent in this good and popular book. But few Titanic books match the paintings by Ken Marschall, a specialist on the subject whose work can be found in other books by the ship's discoverer, Robert Ballard, who wrote the introduction here. The photos are notable--including shots of the red-paint-stained iceberg that may have caused the sinking, the pristine ship, the sunken wreck, the people involved in the case--but Marschall's dozens of large-scale paintings really do help to dramatize and explicate moments no camera glimpsed and few eyewitnesses agree upon.

There is much to recommend the text, too. You could make a film just about Second Officer Charles Lightoller, who helped accelerate the lifeboat-launching process, saving lives; stepped off the ship's bridge into the Atlantic; was sucked down into a ventilator taking in water, vainly swimming against its suction; and then got expelled by a blast of air, like a human cannonball in a circus, and landed next to a lifeboat that had been knocked 20 feet clear of the sinking ship's deadly whirlpool by a huge ship's funnel that crashed into the waves nearby. Lightoller was marvellously clever in his courtroom interrogation by a lawyer determined to manoeuvre him into admitting blame for the disaster. There is much more history in-between the dramatic illustrations, facts both grand and trivial--if you're bent on knowing what actually happened to the dogs aboard, the answer is in this book. Definitely one of the better titles dealing with Titanic. --Tim Appelo

Customer Reviews

An excellent read for those starting research!
After owning the book for some time, I would say it is one of the best "Titanic" books around. As a keen enthuiast, I have many books which simply "tell the story" giving no fresh approach to the disaster. The book is an essential tool for historians starting out, so I would recommend that people buy and enjoy this marvellous book. It was the first "Titanic" book I ever bought and I still go back to it every time.

A fabulous volume, a Titanic lover's dream.
Two books I would recommend above all others for anyone wanting to read about this most fascinating of subjects. For an indepth exploration of the disaster, its causes and the world in which it happened, 'Titanic end of a dream'. For pictures and paintings this lovely volume. Amazing paintings and foldouts by Ken Marschall, giving you a 'you are there' sensation. The text by Don Lynch is elegant and informative, with intriguing little known information and controversies in 'boxes' scattered about the text to ponder over. There has been some terrible picture books rushed out to capitalise on the film. Save your money and buy this, this one and 'Titanic triumph and tragedy'. are still the market leaders.

Excellent. Never before have I read such a fantastic book.
I have read and kept 17 books on titanic. I'm mad on the subject, and know every thing. Never have i read such a variety of research in one book. I would recomend this book - without a doubt. The illastrations were beutiful and similar to computer immagary.