A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

  A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. St. Martin's Griffin, 2005. Originally published in 1955 by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston and reprinted in 1983. Nonfiction. 

This is the 50th anniversary edition of the classic HMS Titanic book. Walter Lord interviewed as many  survivors as he could, studied maps, pored over diagrams, and wove the facts into this highly readable book.  The new introduction by Nathaniel Philbrick, a sea worthy author himself, puts the book into a historical perspective and adds much to understanding of the ship's significance for modern readers.  Before the wreck was discovered by Robert Ballard in 1985, and before the fictionalized movie in 1997, there was the great ship. Thought to be unsinkable, she was the pride of Belfast ship builders. Passengers on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City in April, 1912  included the most wealthy and well known celebrities of the times as well as other second and third class passengers. Of course, we know now, that an iceberg was waiting and many, many lives were lost. The Carpathia ended up rescuing some passengers. Halifax seamen ended up recovering bodies. With all of the survivors now dead, never again will there be an opportunity to talk with survivors. Walter Lord's crisp, factual, carefully crafted account of the sailing and its aftermath has lost none of its original power. Definitely, this nonfiction book is better than any movie could ever be. Just read it.