The Titanic: Disaster of the Century

De: Wyn Craig Wade

Narrado por: Robertson Dean

In this centennial edition of the definitive book on the Titanic, new findings and interviews shed light on the world’s most famous marine disaster for its 100th anniversary.

On that fatal night in 1912, the world’s largest moving object disappeared beneath the waters of the North Atlantic in less than three hours. Why was the ship sailing through waters well known to be a "mass of floating ice"? Why were there too few lifeboats? Why were a third of the survivors crew members? Based on the sensational evidence of the U.S. Senate hearings, eyewitness accounts, and the results of the 1985 Woods Hole expedition that photographed the ship, this electrifying account vividly re-creates the vessel’s last desperate hours afloat and fully addresses the questions that have continued to haunt the tragedy of the Titanic.

©2012 Wyn Craig Wade (P)2012 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A thorough, argumentative work." (John Updike, The New Yorker)

Very informative book

This book is more than the standard info about the Titanic. It centers on the investigation after the wreck and is very thorough and very interesting. I really enjoyed the listen although it could have been a little shorter without damaging the experience.

Not what I expected

I got this book based on an interest in finding out more about the wreck itself and maybe a forensic breakdown down or more detailed breakdown of the events That transpired It seemed to me that there was a lot more emphasis on the politics of the day then there were any kind of technical or scientific analysis of Titanic.. I had to stop it and start it several times because it gets kind of dry in spots... All in all Very informative Just not what I thought I was getting myself into

Fascinating Nuggets Imbedded Within Tedium

I wanted Titanic info, and this book has lots of stuff that I had never known. OTOH, the interesting info - of which there is much - is surrounded by long, uninteresting (to me) sections about the politicians conducting the subsequent investigations, and about the intrigues that surrounded them. To be sure, the politicians and companies and newspapers and survivors DID have their positions, which needed sorting out, and that is done nicely here.
But I wanted more about the ship and the sinking. To wit: I just watched a convincing TV doc describing a factor that I now am convinced did cause Titanic to sink more quickly than it otherwise would have - a factor which received extremely little mention in this book. (I am talking about the enormous heat from smoldering coal inside coal bunker No. 6, whose weakened wall allowed the sea to burst through where it otherwise would not have. Look it up.)
A worthy book, but not one I will run to tell others about.

Outstanding

As a consumer of all-thing-Titanic, I can say this was a thorough and entertaining listen. I learned so much from this and found myself looking forward to long car rides so that I could hear more.

Everything you did not know about Titanic.

Loved this accounts depth, details, and incredible descriptions of the most famous lost ship ever.

Very dry in places.

This book gets very long, dry and boating in places. It's like trying to read a collage thesis paper that has added personal accounts just to make the authors writing bearable.

Not what I thought and glad it wasn’t

This book is much more than a blow by blow of what happened during the Titanic’s maiden voyage. It tells the story of US Senate investigation so you get tons of information about what happened, but the author digs deeper into how the Titanic tragedy shattered the innocent naivety of the early 1900s that technology could save mankind from the perils and hardships of life. It is rich in history of that time period with Taft as the president of the United States and the friendship turned rivalry between Taft and Roosevelt. The last few chapters are so eloquently written and thought provoking that I haven’t completely processed it yet. There are times that the writer gets into the uncomfortable truths of humanity and how much we as a society still haven’t learned. I have a feeling that this will be an audiobook that I replay often and each time gain more information and insight on the Titanic.

Unexpectedly fresh and informative - compelling.

What did you love best about The Titanic: Disaster of the Century?

The detail and research of the subject was well assembled and made listenable by the authors. Considering the actual investigation 100+ years ago was all done by hand without technology to record the hearings, this was really great listening.

What other book might you compare The Titanic: Disaster of the Century to and why?

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Have you listened to any of Robertson Dean’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

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Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened over a period of a week on a recent cruise.

Amazing and fascinating.

The sinking of the Titanic changed or touched society on so many levels: psychological, political, economic, and regarding race and gender relations. The loss of Wyn Craig Wade at such a young age is as important if not equal in actual magnitude.

Reprint of End of An Era, wish I'd known that

The description of this title mentions that it is a "centennial edition of the definitive book on the Titanic" but doesn't mention that book's original title. Nor does the rest of the description make it clear that this is Wade's End of An Era repackaged. Had I known that, I wouldn't have bought it. I've read the book before and this edition adds nothing noteworthy to it.

As for the book itself, it's not a bad book on the Titanic but not great. Wade's fascination with the Senate hearings is, in my opinion, misplaced. The hearing was useful in that it collected multiple eyewitness accounts in one place but they really didn't accomplish anything of actual value except a lot of publicity for Senator Smith. The disaster by itself was sufficient to change the way shipping lines approached the issue of the Atlantic crossing, the number of lifeboats, and the necessity of having 24-hour wireless. Besides, the United States had already addressed those issues - it was Great Britain that was behind the times.

The narrator does an adequate job but tended to put on a very bad English accent when reading dialog attributed to British passengers or crew, which was distracting.

Again, not a bad book, not a great one. For any student of the Titanic, it's worth a read but for the average person, you're far better off with A Night to Remember.