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"Unsinkable": The Full Story of the RMS Titanic

"Unsinkable": The Full Story of the RMS Titanic

List Price: $16.00
Your Price: $11.20
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Decent Retelling
Review: "Unsinkable" (The Full Story of the RMS Titanic) by David Allen Butler is enjoyable enough, particularly for those who have never read any other accounts. There are much worse versions out there (Pellegrino) but, unfortunately for this volume, there are much better. Walter Lord's two books set the standard and Wynn Craig Wade nicely follows it. There will be nothing new in this volume, other than the author's political conservatism seeping into the account. Much like the recent spate of books concerning the disaster at the Antartic with the expedition of Robert F. Scott, this book tries to preserve the image of the heroic British empire and see these man-made failures as triumphs of the character of the upper class British (and by inference, American) male. The beating of this particular drum can get a little repetitious. The Titanic, though, is always a fascinating and tragic story and the author keeps the narrative moving along nicely.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best of the Titanic books
Review: Although I haven't quite finished this book, I believe it's one of the best I've ever read on the subject. The description of the actual sinking is truly unique in a spell-binding way and some things mentioned in other books (passengers' reactions and subsequent behavior, etc.) are more fully explored in this one. Has to rank up there with ''A Night to Remember.''

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A missed opportunity
Review: At this point the market is saturated with Titanic books. This might not be so bad, if each book contributed something new, but that is not the case. This book, "Unsinkable," like most others published in the last 5 years, and rehashes the same old stories. Nor is there any good excuse for this, since there is a vast wealth of information about the Titanic and her passengers which has never been widely published before.

About the only new thing here is that Butler includes a psychological assessment that Captain Smith was in a state of "mental shock" by the sinking which explains Smith's so-called indecision. But this is difficult to take seriously because of the many factual inaccuracies used to lead to that conclusion. Butler writes: Smith "never made his way down to the Boat Deck to observe how the loading and launching of the lifeboats was proceeding..." which is quite false. According to survivors' accounts, Smith was present at the loading and launching of boats 6, 8, and C. At Boat 8 Smith personally helped lower the falls (see Gracie's "Truth," in the section about 8). It was Smith who ordered a survey of the damage to the ship, who ordered them to take the boats, who ordered the wireless room to call for help (personally giving them the Titanic's coordinates), who gave the order to fire rockets, who gave the order to try to morse the Californian, and finally relieved the crew of their duty. While it is true that Smith spent most of his time on the bridge, I do not think this was due to a mental problem. The bridge, as the ship's command post, was simply where the captain was expected to be. There he could be easily found, and receive new developments, and direct what should be done, which in fact was the case that night. In fact, in all the other stories I have read of shipwrecks of that time period, their captains did pretty much the same as Smith. While pretty much staying at the ship's command center, they had their chief officers to personally oversee the launching of the lifeboats. So I think that was just the way things were done then, and that Captain Smith does not deserve to have his mental health questioned for weak reasons such as those Butler gives.

But to anyone who reads this, please take my advice. Don't waste your money on this book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A good addition to the library
Review: Mr. Butler's work has been compared (unfavorably) with Walter Lord's classic "A Night to Remember." "Unsinkable" has been slammed as a regurgitation of previously published books about the Titanic disaster--unfairly, I feel. Many of the books on the market about Titanic contain a great deal of the same information--unsurprisingly! The ship *sank* on the first leg of its maiden voyage! There's a limited amount of information on the ship, its crew, and the events of April 15, 1912.

What makes a Titanic book stand out are the small nuggets of information evey autho managesto put into thei text. Each author brings something new to the subject, but it *does* require one to *read* the books, not skim through them.

Mr. Butler has very strong opinions about the Titanic disaster, and there are times when the author's "voice" comes through *very* clearly. After reading "Unsinkable," one will have no doubts at to his views on the events of April 15. He presents his arguments thoroughly and clearly, amd most emphatically. (He is also featured in the IMAX movie, Titanica. There is one portion of his interview that moved me to tears, reminding me that the story of the Titanic is about *people* and always has been.) I consider it a good addition to my library of Titanic books.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: TITANIC
Review: See the movie, but read this book. The movie fails to satisfy in the way "Unsinkable" will, as Butler provides us with a richly complete story of a tragedy that still grips the imagination. Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember" set the standard for non-fiction Titanic accounts; Butler refreshes the tale and provides us with even more details, and more information about the role of the Californian.

Since 9-11 it has been fashionable to say that "the world is changed forever." The sinking of the Titanic also signified the end of an era, not just Edwardian times but the end of the rigidly stratified class structure with its built-in inequities. Also, the hubris of technology suffered a blow; we were never so innocent again as to place our belief in "unsinkable" ships, or the infallibility of any work of man.

The human story, and the failure of the "state-of-the-art" ship building, are both skillfully depicted in "Unsinkable". Kudoes to the author. This book deserves a wide audience.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: if you liked "A Night to Remember," you'll love this
Review: See the movie, but read this book. The movie fails to satisfy in the way "Unsinkable" will, as Butler provides us with a richly complete story of a tragedy that still grips the imagination. Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember" set the standard for non-fiction Titanic accounts; Butler refreshes the tale and provides us with even more details, and more information about the role of the Californian.

Since 9-11 it has been fashionable to say that "the world is changed forever." The sinking of the Titanic also signified the end of an era, not just Edwardian times but the end of the rigidly stratified class structure with its built-in inequities. Also, the hubris of technology suffered a blow; we were never so innocent again as to place our belief in "unsinkable" ships, or the infallibility of any work of man.

The human story, and the failure of the "state-of-the-art" ship building, are both skillfully depicted in "Unsinkable". Kudoes to the author. This book deserves a wide audience.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An entertaining book
Review: This was the first book I have read about the RMS Titanic, and I found myself thoroughly engaged in the reading. The story presented covers a broad history, beginning from before the titanic was built, through the sinking, and up to the rediscovery of the titanic in recent years. The author presents a relatively thorough account of the experiences of the passengers of all classes, the crew, and the people on both sides of the Atlantic that learned of the tragedy of the liner soon after of the event. The reading brings all these people to life and leaves the reader feeling as though they were a part of the experience.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Read it...
Review: With the huge success of James Cameron's film, bookstores all over the world were swarmed with books about the World's most famous disaster at sea. The bad part was that most of the books were just reprints from old ones (even Lightoller's Titanic and other Ships came back), and some good books wound up in the Bargain bin.

I'm not complaining, since I got this incredible book in Staten Island for a very reasonable price, and it was a great buy. It was one of the few books that I've ever read to tell about the Titanic from Belfast to the iceberg, and all the legal, moral and ethical implications involving the disaster.

I read, some time ago, Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember" Lord's book is much more readable, for its pace is more novel-like. However, "Unsinkable" goes deeper in the subject, giving insights on all involved, including the "Californian", known as "the ship that didn't come"

Of course, there are many quotes from "A Night..."in this book, and its reading is also recommended. If you are interested in the story of this incredible ship, Read this book. You won't be disappointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Strictly Facts
Review: Your Title:
Unsinkable: The Full Story of the RMS Titanic
Here is how your review will appear on the title page:

pjhuntoon@hotmail.com, May 31, 2004,
Strictly Facts
Let me start out this review by saying that this book was amazing. I have always been itrigued by the story of the Titanic but it was hard to get a story that didn't try to lay blame on one person or another. This book is exactly what I wanted; it is the story of the Titanic based strictly on facts and passenger accounts of what happened on board. Daniel Allen Butler did his research when he wrote this book about the worst tragedy to ever hit the ocean, it is a very detailed account of what happened from the building of the Titanic to the inquiries in to who was to blame for the incident. No other tragedy in the history of man could have been so easily averted. There was a series of events that caused this momentus loss of life, and had any one of these events been altered it could have saved the 1502 passengers lives that were lost. One thousand five hundred and two lives gone in one night with only 705 passengers saved a tragedy indeed.
The good thing about this book is that it is based on the facts. It isn't romanticized in the least bit. You can read the book and you feel you know what happened that tragic night. However it does leave you questions, which will perhaps never be answered. Yet this is a good thing, a good book is going to do that to you, it's going to make you want to learn more about the subject. Ever since reading this book I have wanted to learn more and more about the Titanic and the people on board her. This book had me hooked from the beginning and I'm still hooked now.
] The only bad thing about this book is that it is loaded with so many facts that you aren't able to take them all in at once. This to me isn't a bad thing however because I will reread it in the next week and it will be like a new book with new facts that I didn't remember from the last time I read it. So if you have any interest in the Titanic or if you are simply interested by a great tragedy go pick up this book it will have you hooked in the first five minutes.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Strictly Facts
Review: Your Title:
Unsinkable: The Full Story of the RMS Titanic
Here is how your review will appear on the title page:

pjhuntoon@hotmail.com, May 31, 2004,
Strictly Facts
Let me start out this review by saying that this book was amazing. I have always been itrigued by the story of the Titanic but it was hard to get a story that didn't try to lay blame on one person or another. This book is exactly what I wanted; it is the story of the Titanic based strictly on facts and passenger accounts of what happened on board. Daniel Allen Butler did his research when he wrote this book about the worst tragedy to ever hit the ocean, it is a very detailed account of what happened from the building of the Titanic to the inquiries in to who was to blame for the incident. No other tragedy in the history of man could have been so easily averted. There was a series of events that caused this momentus loss of life, and had any one of these events been altered it could have saved the 1502 passengers lives that were lost. One thousand five hundred and two lives gone in one night with only 705 passengers saved a tragedy indeed.
The good thing about this book is that it is based on the facts. It isn't romanticized in the least bit. You can read the book and you feel you know what happened that tragic night. However it does leave you questions, which will perhaps never be answered. Yet this is a good thing, a good book is going to do that to you, it's going to make you want to learn more about the subject. Ever since reading this book I have wanted to learn more and more about the Titanic and the people on board her. This book had me hooked from the beginning and I'm still hooked now.
] The only bad thing about this book is that it is loaded with so many facts that you aren't able to take them all in at once. This to me isn't a bad thing however because I will reread it in the next week and it will be like a new book with new facts that I didn't remember from the last time I read it. So if you have any interest in the Titanic or if you are simply interested by a great tragedy go pick up this book it will have you hooked in the first five minutes.


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