Titanic

A Survivor's Story

By: Colonel Archibald Gracie

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

It was one of the most traumatic events in maritime history, and Archibald Gracie was probably among the last to leave the sinking Titanic on that cold April night in 1912. In this unique account, he describes his personal experiences and remarkable escape from death in the icy waters of the Atlantic, painting a vivid picture of what it was like on board the Titanic in its final hours.

Tracking down other survivors for their stories and attending court hearings to obtain the official record, Colonel Gracie filled in the details of his account, struggling to complete it in spite of illness. Largely due to the effects of his ordeal and exposure in the frigid Atlantic, he finally succumbed on December 4, 1912. His book was published in 1913 to universal acclaim and remains one of the most vivid first-hand accounts of the disaster.

(P)1998 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"A definitive account." (Los Angeles Times)

It's a heartbreaker

This story is told by a person who was there. So many things went wrong. It's hard to imagine.

A Bit of History

Reading the differing opinions about certain happenings on the doomed ocean liner is eye opening. There was so much happening all at once during the sinking that a full knowledge about any one instance would be impossible. Also, there were forms of prejudice, both of nationality and concerning ones job, at play at certain times as well. Concerning the ship breaking apart, people didn't want to believe it broke apart partly because it could mean the work had been shoddy and in part because they expected more commotion from the ship than they heard. Although we know so much better today that she did break apart, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that the majority of the day found that hard to believe. Concerning "President Ismay's" conduct, as most beginner historians (and it seems the majority of the Titanic's day, excluding the author of this book) I spent a lot of time believing that he was largely to blame for the accident and was utterly wrong to enter a lifeboat. Nonetheless, the facts point toward him just trying to do his best given each situation and only going in so the boat would be more filled. I think those assertions are more visible when you take into account the manner of Mr. Ismay's brokenness proceeding the American and British tribunals. I have come to feel more for the man. This book has been truly eye-opening. I hope to read other accounts, especially those from different classes of people.

Amazing Detail from a Survivor

This book goes into alot of detail about who was on which lifeboats, and the hearings, and actual quotes at those hearings, into the sinking of the Titanic.
That part, quite lengthy, does drag on a bit, but as this was written by a survivor in the same year as the sinking, it is a very credible and interesting account.

A detailed first-hand account of the disaster

A wealth of history, this is a comprehensive compilation of the author's first-hand experience during the sinking, combined with numerous other accounts from various survivors. It's clear the author undertook a monumental task in trying to gather and organize all of the eyewitness accounts, so that a clear understanding of the tragedy could be reached. A must-have reference for those who are fascinated by the Titanic and looking for details about the experiences of the passengers during the sinking. One thing I appreciated was how the author compiled the accounts so that you weren't reading multiple individual stories about each aspect, but rather a 360 degree comprehensive narrative of each aspect built from the accounts being collated together. It provided a nice framework and less repetition than you find in similar books of this type. He also attempted to fill in information that was missing or unclear in one account with information from another account, so you had a true picture of the whole. This was really helpful.

I didn't particularly care for the narrator. I found his mannerisms off-putting.

I sure hope the book tasted good!

Would you try another book from Colonel Archibald Gracie and/or Frederick Davidson?

maybe

What didn’t you like about Frederick Davidson’s performance?

He keeps salivating and we seem to hear the pages turn. His voice sometimes is too uneven - we can't hear the end of sentences.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The true stories

Any additional comments?

Despite being a fan of the story of the Titanic, I didn't finish the book. I couldn't; the narration being so bad (inadequate).

Irritating naruto

I had to discontinue listening after the 1st chapter the narrator has the most irritating ,and off putting cadence to his voice 🤬 like a bad British Thurston Howell