Titanic Remembered: The Unsinkable Ship and Halifax

by Alan Ruffman

The sinking of the ocean-liner Titanic in April of 1912 captured the attention of the world; as the nearest large port to the site of the disaster, Halifax became the focus of the world's grief. Today, visitors from around the world come to see the many unique artefacts in the Titanic collection of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, a permanent exhibit that recounts the story of Titanic and the city's role in the disaster. This book focuses on the aftermath of the disaster, examining how people came to terms with the impact of the sinking and recounting the touching stories of some of the victims and survivors.

Genres: History

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating little book, the "official guide and souvenir book of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic" in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which tells about Nova Scotia's role in the sinking of the Titanic. Since Halifax is the place from which recovery ships were sent and where the bodies were buried, a good portion is about how the recovery of bodies was accomplished. It was a lot more complex than I'd ever considered. There are also some interesting stories about individuals, both among the perished and survivors (not necessarily the usual suspects), and a few unique tidbits about the collecting of souvenirs by those involved in the recovery efforts, as well as a few illicit photos. Nobody was supposed to take photos of bodies or the unloading of them, but people are sneaky devils.

At only 70 pages, it's surprising how gripping I found this little guide book. My interest in the maritime museum has definitely been piqued.

[Georgette Schreier French · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting information about the disaster and the part the citizens of Halifax played. Was a great book to remember and supplement the details given during a tour of the cemetery when I visited the east coast of Canada.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

1999 - First read soon after book was published and Alan Ruffman sent us a copy.
Alan Ruffman did a wonderful job with this book. He includes information that I hadn't read in other Titanic books, providing different angles or stories that hadn't been provided before. The strength of this book, in my opinion are the photographs which are crisp, as if they had been taken recently with a digital camera. Even the photo that our family provided of Molly Brown and her nieces look better than the original. We still hope to visit Halifax's Titanic sites someday soon.

2024 - Second read...how could it be 25 years later already?! After donating scrapbooks and photos of the Tobin/Brown families to the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver, CO, I reread this wonderful book. While helping Alan Ruffman with the details of Margaret and her nieces' 1920 trip, from the information gathered in Helen Tobin Kosure's second scrapbook, a few questions were answered. Although there remains some mysteries. This book is still an excellent read twenty-five years after it was published. Tomorrow, April 14, is the 112th anniversary of Titanic's sinking.