The Titanic Disaster Hearings: The Official Transcripts of the 1912 Senate Investigation

by Tom Kuntz

Book Overview

Merely a day after Titanic survivors arrived in port in New York City, a United States Senate committee began an investigation into the wreck of the great "unsinkable" ship. For the first time in book... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156865748X
• ISBN13: 9781568657486
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 571 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Unsinkable and Unthinkable! The Senate Investigates Titanic!

This is the Titanic book you are looking for. Far from being one of the many novelizations or non-fiction novel type history reports, this is testimony straight from the survivor's mouths about what happened the night disaster struck. We are all familiar with C-Span senate hearings of the past few decades, but this is one of the interesting ones condensed into an exciting and informative volume. Questioning began mere days after the accident as the Carpathia pulled into New York with the few souls who made it. Even the slightly repetative nature of the senator's questions from person to person revealed a new fact or two about the sinking of the unsinkable ship.For those whose knowledge of the Titanic comes mostly from James Cameron, this volume is a wealth of first hand information that didn't get covered in the blockbuster film. Most shocking was that the ship, the Californian, was within sight of the Titanic and saw her distress rockets but didn't come to her aid, even though they could have gotten there before the ship sank. This volume also covers other interesting aspects of the case like the yellow journalism practiced as papers vied for exclusive rights to stories, Bruce Ismay trying to get everyone on a ship back to England before they could be questioned in America and The Wall Street Journal giving false reports that Titanic was fine so that certain stocks didn't plummet. Many of the controversial aspects of the case are addressed to a satisfactory degree, but you can see some pat answers and bet hedging in some of the testimony. Fascinating Stuff!

Great reading for the Titanic enthusiast that has questions.

I've slowly gathered more and more information about the Titanic disaster and this book gives voices to those old photos we've all seen. It truly is an unfolding of human drama and you can feel the frustration and tension in the questions and answers. I found myself reading the answers in a British accent! Not only do these transcripts add a personal dimension to the characters, but they also give first-hand accounts and facts, facts, facts. I love that!

A must-read for all Titanic Buffs!!

This book is over 500 pages, but I raced through it in a day. The factual data is the best!! So many questions were answered for me. Readers will discover how the steerage passengers were treated. Furthermore, the survivors come to life with their first hand accounts of the disaster.. The data on Bruce Ismay, as the head of the White Star Line is fascinating!! Readers will feel like they've been shuttled back to 1912!!

The real thing, a bible for the books and movies

This book is imposible to put down! The real stories by the survivors themselves. As I read other books on the Titanic I often find myself wondering back to this book for references. I am planning to read the book again in case I missed anything the first time. I am not much for reading but I was still trying to find time to read it even if it was for a minute. The editors introduction to each interview is very informative and helpful! I wish they had had video cameras in 1912 just so I could witness the true thing but this book is definetly good enough. At times it is a very emotional, and at other times it is exciting when Senator Smith barks down an interviewee. This is where the legendary stories originated from. I would have given it 6 stars but... A must read for any Titanic buff!!!

You Feel As If You Were There.....

This is a VERY interesting book. I have just started reading it, and I can't put it down! I am only 11, and you would think a 11 yr old would fall to sleep with boredom reading it. Reading it, you feel as if you were there, and you just want to burst out in tears of sadness. Worth every cent, I recommend it to anyone who can read, from ages 12 to 1000! Go on, get it!