Booklist Review
Titanic mania is upon us this year, the eighty-fifth anniversary of the earth-shattering sinking of the giant British liner. As most know, on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, the Titanic struck an iceberg in the north Atlantic late on the night of 14 April 1912 and sank early the next morning with disastrous loss of life. Many books have sprung from the brow of this endlessly fascinating story, but the latest one has a difference: it is told not only in the voices of individuals involved but primarily from the perspective of the port of Southampton, where, of course, most of the Titanic crew members lived, and whose deaths had devastating effect on community spirit and livelihood. In large format with abundant illustrations, this absorbing account brings us a step closer to understanding what effect this event--when the "unsinkable" indeed sank--had not only on technology and national pride but also on personal lives. --Brad Hooper
Library Journal Review
This work was written for the Southampton (England) City Council to document the sinking of the Titanic and the effect of the disaster on the town of Southampton, the vessel's home port. An astounding 550 of the 898 crew members listed their address in the town of Southampton, and only 212 survived the sinking. The entire community helped prepare the ship for its maiden voyage. The work features numerous photographs, letters, and personal stories from survivors, many previously unpublished, some reprinted from long out-of-print sources. Throughout, the editors, both local historians, let the survivors tell their own stories and then tie them together with short commentaries. Since the crew were out of jobs as soon as the vessel sank, they were fully dependent on the "relief fund" established by the community for their support. The editors have contributed a great deal to the literature on the Titanic. A good purchase for public and academic libraries.John Kenny, San Francisco P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
