Voices from the Carpathia: Rescuing RMS Titanic

by George Behe

When Titanic began sending out distress calls, one of the first to reply was the Cunard liner Carpathia. As it turned out, Carpathia was the only vessel to reach the scene in time to save the lives of any of Titanic’s passengers, and, after she arrived in New York, reporters crowded the pier and vied with each other to obtain interviews with the survivors of the disaster. In their zeal to interview survivors, though, the reporters brushed past other people who could have provided their own eyewitness accounts – namely, Carpathia’s own passengers, largely left to their own devices as to how and when they discussed their participation in events. A few wrote letters to relatives, others wrote accounts intended for publication. The author’s collection of these rare written accounts and interviews sheds new light on the tragic way the lives of so many were impacted by the loss of the largest passenger liner in the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Own, Research

328 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2015

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[Julie Bihn]

Two pet dogs came aboard safely, both small long-haired curs. I have an insane desire to kick them.
--Mrs. Charles M. Hutchison

A unique book that purports to share most of the firsthand accounts from passengers and crew of the Carpathia. The subject matter itself is unique in that most Titanic nonfiction offers little detail about what happened once the survivors were rescued. (And indeed, even many of the narratives in this book detail facts about the ship's sinking, even though none of the writers of the narratives witnessed it, I imagine because that's the thing that is the most extraordinary.)

The book is full of gems, and it was a treat to read so many contemporary accounts and see the array of styles that different people of the era used in their writing.

An unexpected bonus was the third section, where people associated with ships that weren't the Carpathia share their experiences pertaining to the Titanic. There were accounts from the recovery ships the Mackay-Bennett and the Minia that I'd never read before, to say nothing about the accounts from ships I had no idea had any involvement with the Titanic's tragic story.

As interesting as many of the accounts are, at times I thought they got a bit repetitive. On more than one occasion, I wondered if I had accidentally skipped back and was re-reading a previous section, only to find out that no, I was reading the second of two similar (but not identical) narratives by the same person.

That said, the repetition is more of a feature of the work than a fault. The author could have edited to make the work more readable and less comprehensive, but I appreciate being given almost all* of the information available. It's more of a research book than an easy read.

*There are a few parts where the author describes the content of a letter/narrative instead of quoting it. I'm guessing there are technical or legal reasons for that, but I would have loved to read the original words.

The accounts are presented with little context, and the author offers little or no judgment on which accounts reflect the known facts or which appear to be misunderstandings on the part of the observer, possible exaggerations by the press, etc. I very much appreciate the impartiality! But between the lack of guidance and the comprehensive nature of the book, I'd recommend it for more experienced Titanic enthusiasts and researchers. If you have a good foundation of the facts and are looking for first-person stories from the Carpathia, this is an excellent resource.

[alicia brinkofski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for any bookshelf.

Wonder ful read. so many unknown account. Couldn't put it down. A must for any lover of the R.M.A Titanic.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unable to finish. May return to at some point; I enjoyed the personal accounts and many were moving and truly a testament to humanity and God's hand in the world. However, many of them felt excessively dry and clinical, which largely is the reason I struggled and eventually gave up trying to finish at this time. Whether that stemmed from the style of writing at the time, or whether it was due to some of them being accounts from the ships, reporters, etc, it was hard to say. Overall I would still recommend it as a good read for those who want more information on this piece of history.

[Donna Alward · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book of letters, interviews, and first-hand accounts. However, the information was repetitive, and as I was using it for research, I didn't find it as useful as I hoped. However, for anyone interested in the Carpathia as the rescue ship for the Titanic, it's worth a read.

[HOLLEY SMITH · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sad account!

It has a lot of information I haven't heard before! It was very interesting but sad to read so much loss and heart aches

[Konrad Hjalmar Wroblewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic historical document for a Titanic fanatic 😍

[Vizma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kept giving up on reading - skimmed the second half of the book.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

So long. I skimmed the last 100 pages. A lot of repetition and found parts to be boring. I thought this would be better.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts were very interesting, others barely worth skimming. Much repetition and hearsay in places - on the whole, not as worthwhile a read as I'd hoped.