On a Sea of Glass: The Life & Loss of the RMS Titanic

by Tad Fitch, Tad Fitch, Kent Layton

On the night of 14/15 April 1912, a brandnew, supposedly unsinkable ship, the largest and most luxurious vessel in the world at the time, collided with an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage. Of the 2,208 people on board, only 712 were saved. The rest either drowned or froze to death in the icy-cold waters of the North Atlantic. How could this ‘unsinkable’ vessel sink and why did so few of those aboard survive?The authors bring the tragedy to life, telling the story of the ship’s design, construction and maiden voyage. The stories of individuals who sailed on her, many previously known only as names on yellowing passenger and crew lists, are brought to light using rarely-seen accounts of the sinking. The stories of passengers of all classes and crewmembers alike, are explored. They tell the dramatic stories of lives lost and people saved, of the rescue ship Carpathia, and of the aftermath of the sinking. Never again would a large passenger liner sail without lifeboats for all.Despite the tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic indirectly led to untold numbers of lives being saved due to new regulations that came into force after the tragedy. Profusely illustrated, including many rare and unique views of the ship and those who sailed on her, this is as accurate and engrossing a telling of the life of the White Star Line’s Titanic and her sinking as you will read anywhere. Made special by the use of so many rare survivor accounts from the eye witnesses to that night to remember, the narrative places the reader in the middle of the maiden voyage, and brings the tragic sinking to life as never before.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Historical, Ebooks, Research, Biography

464 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Michael Poirier · Rating 5 out of 5]

People searching for new information on Titanic can be very specific in what element of the story they are interested in. Some are looking for technical and design information; Others want to see new photos of the ship. The history of the three sisters Olympic, Titanic and Britannic continues to fascinate researchers. Lastly, a book focusing on the passengers and crew will draw people to the human side of the story. On a Sea of Glass is a comprehensive book for those interested in every aspect of the lost liner.

The introduction by historian and author George Behe sets the tone of what to expect from Tad Fitch, J. Kent Layton and Bill Wormstedt: an authoritative text, crystal clear photos, and a wealth of new information. A glance at the table of contents shows that every facet of the Titanic's story is explored in close detail.

No book should try to match Walter Lord's narrative, but this book has an intimate quality to it. The reader can imagine themselves mingling with an interesting cast of characters. Whether walking with Joseph Bell, the future chief engineer of Olympic and Titanic, through the Harland and Wolff yards or trying to find your way around Titanic with Charles Lightoller. There's the sad letter David Blair writes aboard the docked Titanic about how he would not be making the maiden voyage. Various lookouts asked officers repeatedly during the voyage for a pair of binoculars. The request was never denied, just the assurance they would get them 'later'. It's easy to sense the frustration coming from George Hogg and George Symons on this subject. It feels like eavesdropping to be in line at the pursers desk when Eleanor Cassebeer carelessly makes an anti-Semitic remark to the Jewish Ben Foreman; sitting in a chilly lounge with Philipp Mock as a steward told passengers they were nearing ice; when William Silvey slips an apple into the pocket of his wife's coat as they are preparing to evacuate.

The appendices examine myths, misinformation and dangling questions on a variety subjects. Take, for instance, the chapter on the candidates for an apparent suicide during the final minutes. All possibilities are shown through a skeptic's eye and with the evidence skillfully presented, it allows the reader to come to their own conclusion. Other sections cover whether or not binoculars would have made a difference, Thomas Andrews final movements, and the factors dealing with Titanic breaking apart, among other questions readers might have. The authors use mostly first person accounts to illustrate their arguments. Charts and diagrams help illustrate their points.

It's clear, by reading the end notes, that the three authors didn't rely on just the usual sources for information. That is a trap many people writing about the ship fall into. Hence why so many Titanic books are interchangeable. On a Sea of Glass is different. Many of the sources the reader sees will not be found in other books. Each page reveals a new fact, story, anecdote. It also shows a collaborative effort between the authors, other researchers, and descendants of Titanic families.
A book this size may have some minor grammatical errors, or a mis-caption or two, but overall most things appear to be checked and double checked.

There have been a number of excellent books that are coming out, or have come out to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Titanic's sinking. This is one book that everyone interested in the ship must have. Fellow researchers will regard this as a definitive source to be consulted on the subject and readers will no doubt consider this book a favorite in their collection.

[Teo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like it took me 84 years to read this! A very information packed book, if not at times too much so, hence the 4-star rating.

Chapter 4 particularly felt like it could've been condensed down quite a bit, as it largely consisted of near identical recounts of "*insert passenger name here* felt a little bit of the collision, and then dressed in some clothing and went up to the deck to check."
According to my kindle that chapter was a little less than 2 hours long, which certainly felt very tedious and a bit of a time waster. It's understandable to put as much info as possible even if it's repetitive, but I personally would've preferred it to be more condensed since it didn't really offer anything new.

The chapters that held my attention the most were actually the creation of Titanic and Chapter 6, which was what happened as Titanic took the final plunge to until the survivors finally got rescued. I also really loved the pictures and illustrations included.

I haven't even got around to reading the appendices yet, so I still have quite a bit more to read. Definitely be aware that this might take a long time to get through, but it's worth it if you're interested in Titanic.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

"On a Sea of Glass" is one of the most comprehensive factual and complete books dealing with the conception, voyage, and the sinking of Titanic. There is a great deal of information on her passengers and crew, their impressions of Titanic and the effect and its aftermath upon the survivors. The immense work that went into the completion of this book is astounding, and accolades should be showered upon the trio of authors: Tad Fitch, J. Kent Layton, and Bill Wormstedt for sorting through and compiling the information contained within this book. I place this book within the category of one of the best books ever written upon the Titanic.
A book that should grace the shelves of every Titanic historian, or anyone just wanting to get the real and complete story.

***** Highly Recommend *****

[Johan Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mitt sommarprojekt är klart, 1372 sidor om Titanic. Skål!

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been incredibly passionate about the Titanic for over 20 years now. I have read every book I could possibly find on the subject, but On A Sea Of Glass is without a doubt the best of them. It's detailed and well-researched. It's told in chronological order and often reads more like a novel than your typical non-fiction book. I have difficulty naming any book as my favorite. But if any were to take that spot, it would be this one. If you have any interest in the subject, whether you are new to the topic or have been involved with it for years, you need to read this book. It should be on the top of your list. Be prepared to set time aside for it, it's a heavy read and if you want to fully grasp everything discussed, you won't want to rush through it.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands-down the best book on Titanic I have ever read. If there is a topic connected with the ship that Fitch missed, I couldn't find it. The typeface is a little small, and the pictures --- which are plentiful, and some of which at least I had never seen before --- could be larger without offending anybody, but the end result is still a book that will provide afficiandos hours of pleasure. Fitch appears to have surrounded himself with fellow freaks about pre-war liners, which has led to several books about them. So far those I have read have been uniformly wonderful.

[DancingMarshmallow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall: 3 stars. Exhaustive but also exhausting

This is an extremely thorough Titanic book, but I'm not sure it's necessarily "good." Don't get me wrong: there's a wealth of encyclopedic knowledge about the ship and the sinking accumulated here, and you will probably learn a lot of things (I certainly did). However, this book has several flaws that hold it back from a higher star rating from me:

1. Its prose is wandering, labored, and stilted. Maybe it's because this book had three authors and could have used more serious editing; I'm not sure. Regardless, there's a plodding, elementary quality to the writing that sort of just relays facts at you without much grace or even solid transitions.

2. It assumes that you know a lot of background knowledge on the ship and incident, more than just the basics most people know. For example, there's a several-page long analysis of true facts about the ship's design versus rumors and conspiracy theories about it, and even as a Titanic nerd, I was left confused as to what the heck the premise for this deep dive was. If you want an introduction to the shipwreck and some of the survivor's stories but don't come preloaded with that info in your brain, this is not the Titanic book for you.

3. It's a little confusing. Since this book includes so many photographs and illustrations, I would have appreciate some kind of deck diagram or map: not everyone is going to know what you mean when you reference the Boat Deck or Lounge, and knowing where these rooms where in position to one another would have helped - especially since the authors give you an almost minute-by-minute recounting of where various people were during the sinking.

Still, despite being a bit unwieldy, the book does have a lot of interesting Titanic facts and photographs that I hadn't seen before. I thought I was a Titanic nerd, but by this book's standards, I'm definitely just an amateur. The book is clearly a passion project, but I think a little more serious editing and efforts and wider readability would have improved the final product.

[Kristofer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t generally write reviews, but this book is criminally under read. The authors put an unbelievable amount of research into stitching together the beginnings of the Titanic, its building, and a well constructed timeline of the disaster. There are a lot of names to keep up with, but they do a great job of including crew and passengers from all three stratified classes. At times I felt like I was there among the chaos as the ship started to list and sink by the bow. There were many tense moments and occasionally they’d tell you about a person or family and add that that was the last time they were seen alive... a sobering reminder that this was indeed an epic tragedy.

I read a fair amount of historical books about shipwrecks and this has to be one of the most haunting recounting of a sinking I’ve ever read. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this sub-genre of history and more so if the sinking of the Titanic is an interest.

[Tacitus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get that Titanic enthusiasts love the details, and this book certainly delivers. However, it is at the same time a startling example of a history book that focuses on fact gathering with little to no explanation, analysis, or historical context.

It seems that half of the book (almost equal to the narrative itself) is footnotes that get into the pros and cons of various sources. Normally, this is my jam, and the Kindle version is excellent for clicking back and forth effortlessly. The appendices also devote a lot of space to Titanic minutiae, such as whether an officer shot himself or passengers that night, or what happened to individual passengers like Thomas Andrews or Captain Smith (which in turn raises questions about why focus on these particular matters or people). That said, I think newcomers to this subject will leave with many questions unanswered, perhaps because the authors aren’t trained to answer them.

It’s striking what the authors chose to focus on, and what they left out. I read the main narrative attentively, and for as long as the section on the ship’s construction is, I can’t say that I recall a helpful explanation of how the ship was designed or thought to be unsinkable. Later, we get no explanation of why the bulkheads failed or how they were surpassed. We get no description of the damage, or what was thought to have occurred by Smith, Andrews, or any other officers and engineers.

Instead, the book recreates the experience of the tragedy through first-hand narratives of survivors, who by and large seem to be first-class passengers. Very little, if any, space is given to the second- or third-class passenger experience of the trip or that night. Officer and crew testimonials are used as well. Why these sources were selected or weighted in certain ways is not clear. Maybe it was due to the media coverage of the time, or who could write their own accounts, but this is not addressed in the main narrative. There are also so many footnotes that important decisions like this are easy to overlook.

At the very least, an explanation as to why ships were designed with immigration laws in mind would be helpful. I have seen in other sources the survival rates by class; none of that is included in this narrative. Not only that, but even passengers’ corpses were treated differently during the recovery. Or, as I have read elsewhere, passengers were buried in Nova Scotia because White Star asked their family members to pay for the bodies to be transported back to Great Britain and elsewhere: shockingly callous. For as detailed as the book purports to be, I had to wonder why details like these were left out.

For a book of this length, I would have expected to see more on the decisions of Captain Smith. Who is to blame for the disaster, really? The authors give cursory details on the two inquiries, but absolutely no meaningful analysis of whether the inquiries drew the right conclusions, or ignored uncomfortable truths. Standard protocols of the time for such situations would have been helpful. A very simple compare-and-contrast between Captains Rostron, Lord, and Smith would suggest that Smith should have posted extra lookouts as Rostron did, or stopped completely until daylight, as Lord did. I kept reading hoping to finally get this from the authors, but it never came, even after the descriptions of the event. And I love historical nautical nitty gritty like this.

The authors also seem to focus on some details but not others. Countless passenger descriptions could have been easily summarized. Meanwhile, a crucial decision was made that Titanic, which was due into New York at 5 a.m. Wednesday, should be pushed forward to get into port Tuesday night. It would be helpful to know the context around this (cruise line rivalries, the Blue Riband, and so forth). No exploration of this critical and fateful decision is provided, even though Ismay survived. So often, the tragedy is held up to show how the era was obsessed with conquering elements, but the obsession with mastering time, even at the risk to human life, is a fresh takeaway for me (which I reached on my own, without the authors’ help).

Another topic that bears scrutiny is the working conditions and assumptions of Marconi operators in these ships. I don’t recall an explanation that the Marconi men were primarily focused on passenger telegrams. While there were two operators on Titanic, there was only one on other nearby ships, and they were apparently often overworked. Indeed, the operator on Titanic was in touch with his counterpart on Californian, but abruptly cut him off because he was “working Cape Race.” Thus, a variety of factors led to a crucial communication breakdown between the two ships at just the wrong time. Worse, the officers on Titanic received several warnings of ice from other ships, but plowed forward anyway.

For as much as I was craving the authors’ thoughts on these matters, I was struck by their inclusion of a chapter on the sinking in popular culture. In their review of films, they neglected to include the German film, even to say it was used as Nazi propaganda. They could have included just to say it is an example of how inaccuracies are cast to the wayside to make a point, which is indeed probably true for all of the historical fiction about the sinking. Whether passengers like Jack and Rose in James Cameron’s film could have had a romance on the ship would seem to have been a chief and central inaccuracy, one that the authors (with all of their research) could have shed some light upon.

More than that, though, is the meaning of the whole event. It has been used as a metaphor and is still used in phrases like “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” We just had another tragedy with people who paid to see the wreck first hand lost their lives. Why is it still important, and why does it still fascinate?

And this is where the book ultimately fails. There are deeper truths that historians can bring out, not just by collecting data and weighing sources, but also by connecting these individual threads and weaving them into a higher narrative.

I was reminded in this regard of David Glantz. He specializes in translating reams of archival Soviet sources from WWII. Often, that is all that his books contain, with little narrative glue or military analysis overlaying the basic research. He, like the authors of this book, has a “just-the-facts” approach. This is all well and good, and it does contribute to the historiography, but only superficially.

This approach can only go so far, and the fact that it is the newest or includes an exhaustive number of passenger narratives is not enough. It’s the historian’s job to collate the facts and first-hand accounts and give them meaning. Ultimately, why the tragedy happened, and what decisions assumptions lay in the background that led to that night, are sorely missing from this account.

[Daniel Greear · Rating 4 out of 5]

On A Sea of Glass is considered to be one of the most comprehensive histories of the Titanic disaster. It’s written by three authors, has an extensive text (in small font, mind you), and is full of more information on the Titanic than you could possible ever remember.

The book certainly lives up to its reputation. I enjoyed this, and read it far faster than I thought I would, but would argue that it falls just shy of perfect. I still prefer Walter Lord’s 1950s history, “A Night To Remember”, as many other people do.

What I liked:
-The effort that went into creating this book. Three authors, countless hours, thousands of primary sources, tons of photographs and other items.

-The appendices at the end of the book, which dove into what happened to principal people and also debunked several conspiracy theories regarding the sinking of the ship.

-The book is readable and approachable by almost anyone.

What I didn’t like:
-The text was too small, the book was in paperback form, and it was incredible hard to read,not just due to the font, but that the binding was also too tight.

-Repetitiveness. The book was muddled at times with ten different accounts of the same thing. This got exhausting.

-I wanted more facts and figures and interesting tidbits, less dry narrative.

In conclusion, I’d like to consider myself pretty knowledgeable of the Titanic. I know the story and characters pretty well, but I’m no expert on ocean liners or anything like that. I learned quite a few new things and gained several new perspectives while reading this. It’s always nice to come away with those two things on a subject you are familiar with.

A few things:

-The first survivor of the Titanic died a few months after the sinking, the last died in 2009, nearly 100 years apart. Both were infants at the time of the sinking.

-Lifeboats. Yes there weren’t enough lifeboats, but the Titanic was still up to British regulation at the time of the sinking. In addition to the ship which was thought to be unsinkable (due to watertight doors) the emergency plan was that the lifeboats available would be used to ferry people to a rescue ship. Hubris, not lake of care for people, is what came into play.

-The Titanic officers and crew did a remarkable job. Some survived, many didn’t. Almost all worked tirelessly to ensure that as many people survived as possible. They were heroes, from Captain EJ Smith on down the line.

-Thomas Andrews was by all means the endearing and kind man portrayed in James Cameron’s 1997 film. He did everything he could to help others and did not survive the sinking.

-J. Bruce Ismay was done wrong by the media at the time and Cameron’s 1997 film. He was one of the last to leave the boat, and helped save many lives. He also suffered mightily from survivors guilt for the rest of his life.

-Since the Titanic sunk, most of the photos we have of the interior are of her sister ship, Olympic. Luckily, a young man named Francis Browne took quite a few photos of Titanic before he disembarked off the ship in Ireland.

-I’ve found with many readings on ocean disasters, people often have haunting premonitions before. This was no different, many suffered from nightmares and bad thoughts before the sinking.

-Initially, there was a significant lack of urgency and confusion with people. They truly believed the ship wouldn’t sink, and many felt much safer on the “well lit, warm ship” than on a “cold, dark, and small life boat”. As a result, many women and children did not rush to the lifeboats at first, and many were not even half full.

-For the crew, your pay stopped when the boat sank. One man, Fireman Fred Barrett, survived and immediately went back to work.

-Just how cold the water was that night. 27 F, which is unbearable for more than a few minutes. It is apparent that quite a lot of people survived the initial sinking, only to drown or die from exposure. In fact, only three people were saved from the water that night after the boat went down and one lifeboat came back.

-The light in the distance, which was seen by many, is haunting. This was apparently the Californian, which was just 5-10 miles away.

In summary to everything, I am fascinated by the period of time that ranges from Queen Victoria to World War I. Specifically, the Titanic sinking happened in the Edwardian era and at the apex of the British Empire and European empires in general. This was a golden (gilded) age, where many felt that science and technology could solve any problem. It was an age where Europe hadn’t seen a major conflict in nearly a century. It was an age where all trade routes and many people were connected heavily. All in all, it was an age of confidence. Of course, not even two years after the sinking, all of this would come crashing down with the outbreak of The Great War (World War I) and everything was doomed to be different. It’s almost like the Titanic, the apex of man’s engineering might of the time, the unsinkable ship, which swiftly sunk into an icy ocean on April 14th, 1912, was a preview of all the tragedy to come in the 20th Century.

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have seen and been told that this book is the definitive story on Titanic. So I had to buy it. Then I saw the printing was so tiny I got a headache just looking at it so I bought an audio edition to listen and flipped along looking at all the numerous photos included on every page. This book is certainly as thorough as claimed to the point of being repetitive as they go through several survivor stories and look at them through the years. One person said this in the papers after the sinking, during the inquiry they said this but when they wrote a book they said this and with this information we can say that this is probably what happened. Again like with the Andrea Doria I am impressed at how many people seemed to know something bad was going to happen on Titanic which again makes me wonder if it's all just hindsight as the only person we know acted on such fears was Eva Hart's mother who slept during the day and stayed away during the night. But we'll never really know about that. I do agree that this book is definitely someone with an interest in Titanic should get this book. The photos alone make it worth it and maybe a magnifier if reading the book. The sinking parts are the most engaging some parts are technical and dry but it all makes up part of the story, such as if the ship was poorly built, the lifeboat issue, where and how the ship was damaged etc. There is a long appendix about the supposed suicide of an officer which was interesting. I once heard someone describe the possible suicide of a Titanic officer as being like the jumpers on 9/11 which makes sense to me. Chances are strong that Murdoch, Smith or whoever else is included in the conspiracy were going to die that night. These men did all they could to save as many as they could before the shooting happened, most of the officers had means to do so with access to a gun and motive, Murdoch being on watch when they hit the iceberg Smith being the captain knowing it was ultimately his fault as a captain. That combined with the choice of dying painfully by freezing to death or taking a quicker way out if it did happen I don't fault any of them for doing so. As I said they all did everything they could and the shooting happened when they weren't able to do much more and unless you are in that situation who are we to judge? This was a fascinating read, I especially liked how the stories of survivors changed even a little bit with each telling. Would definitely recommend to any Titanic enthusiast but be warned this is a huge and heavy, both figuratively and literally, book.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

464 pages

5 stars

If I could have given this book a hundred stars, I would have!

This is the definitive work on the sinking of the Titanic over the night of April 14th and 15th, 1912. It matters not whether the reader in interested in the ship, how she was built and so on or if they are more interested in the people on the ship: both those who survived and those who did not.

This book is extremely well researched. It must have been exhausting and taken a great deal of time. It covers the minutest of details, including the most common conspiracies, the order of the release of the lifeboats – right down to the time and the members of the crew that rowed them.

But is also takes the time to discuss the personal, and that covers a whole multitude of people and their interactions. It relies heavily on witness statements, but also on visual and scientific data gathered from undersea expeditions to the ship.

The official inquiries by the United States and the British were covered at length. There were many quotes from the records. At the end of the book, there are copious notes to guide the reader. I really liked the portion of the book that told what happened to the key characters after the sinking.

The only complaint I have is that in my paperback version, the print was very small and – don't see as well as I used to.

I have read a great deal, and watched every film, documentary and You Tube offering about the Titanic, so I was much informed. This book, however taught me a great deal more. I will definitely re-read this book and refer to it again.

[Jessica Weinreich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a beast! The authors have painstakingly taken what feels like ALL the witness accounts and most of the credible research and written it as an almost narrative chronology.

It is DENSE with information, small type and two columns per page. I usually absorb Titanic books - even large ones - quickly, but not this one.

Easily the most definitive tome it does focus on the building, sinking, and aftermath but not the discovery. As such, some major controversies, such as the Californian affair are given relatively cursory attention in sidebars and appendices, but the authors are clear as to why, and I accept the explanations.

A couple small complaints:

1- it lacks a survivor list, so as I weeded through several chapters with hundreds of quotes and experiences, I kept wondering which of them survived and had to cross reference with another book.

2- end notes suck. They're fine if they're serving as citations, and some of these do, but just as many are further details and finer points of text material. I understand that to put them as footnotes would change the page layout and lengthen the book, but flipping back and forth on nearly every page is difficult, especially on this giant text.

[Nick Guzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have found My Bible. as someone who’s been reading about the Titanic for almost 30 years, it took me way too long to find this volume which literally has it all (extremely stefan voice) scholarly minute-by-minute breakdowns of the entire voyage, cabin assignments, strongevidence busting stupid myths or conspiracy theories like the Olympic switch, in-depth essays exploring what the band played and if any officers ~unalived~ themselves.

On a Sea of Glass blends the technical details with the personalities of all involved to highlight the human drama that makes the disaster so ceaselessly compelling, making this worthy successor to Walter Lord’s A Night to Remember as this century’s definitive text about the Titanic. unlike more sensationalist accounts, I appreciate its stated conclusion that “there are no villains in the Titanic’s story as a whole… only humans in unusual circumstances who made mistakes as they tried to pick their way through the disaster”

if i had to have one book with me on a deserted island, it would probably be this one. and given that it’s about a shipwreck which is probably how i would end up on a deserted island anyway, that’s really saying something

[R.J. Southworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the most detailed book on the Titanic that I've read. It delves deep into the ship's construction, maiden voyage and sinking, with practically nothing being considered too insignificant. The accounts of survivors form the meat of the book, with multiple accounts covering each stage of the voyage, and the reader is able to get a good feel for who many of those on board were as people. Everything is backed up with sources, with even generally accepted "facts" about the disaster being called into question based on the evidence; it's a necessarily slow read partly because I kept checking the endnotes. Essential reading for Titanic enthusiasts, who may be surprised to find out what they didn't know about the subject.

[Inger · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best titles to emerge in the number of books on the subject published to coincide with the Centenery of the sinking. A fresh appraisal of the evidence, including new material, that genuinely brings a new analysis to the table and critically examines common ideas and perceptions in Titanic historiography. Highly recommended.

[JW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely detailed account and probably the most up-to-date there is to find at the moment.

[Presley Roush · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely stunning and breathtaking. So well done. So informative. Truly the best book I’ve ever read. A fine forensic analysis.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly detailed and thorough - a must read for anyone into Titanic

[Elspeth G. Perkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly magnificent preservation of history that I am proud to have on my shelves

Over a hundred years have passed since the golden era of Edwardian superliners and we still stand in awe at the craftsmanship of these grand marvels just as those curious before us. They were said to be “practically unsinkable” and you know the ships' names as they were the elite of the Oceans and Seas that drew crowds of wanderers with their advertised newness and grandness to conquer the waves in style and become a story to tell within society circles. Entrancing then and now, we seem to never get enough of the prospect to explore these amazing innovations. Today however we quietly reflect as each unfortunate centennial arrives of these majestic ships that now peacefully rest at the bottom of the oceans and question what went so horribly wrong with these once wonders of the seas? While the names of Olympic, Mauretania, Britannic and Lusitania are a few names mentioned of these scrapped and lost liners, On a Sea of Glass is the Titanic’s story and explores the multiple questions and mysteries that will probably forever follow in her wake.

A magnificent array of historic facts will greet the reader with On a Sea of Glass: The Life and Loss of the RMS Titanic as they follow the Titanic from impressive ambitious beginnings to her harrowing demise and finally to stirring echoes of the aftermath. About half of the book is dedicated to the narrative of the Titanic as carefully researched facts and the lives of her: innovators, builders, tradesmen, designers, benefactors, passengers and crew become a unique feature of this book as their shared voices tell the ship’s story. The other portion is comprised of essays that reexamine the most well known legends and conspiracy theories attached to the Titanic and another section is dedicated to the survivors and what happened to them long after April 15 1912. There is also a segment of pictures in the back that shows places of interest, memorabilia and interesting tidbits of trivia. Stunning photographs fill chapters throughout and it becomes hard to not just stare at the page and imagine a simpler time but also the feel the icy breath of that April night on your neck.

In the end, I found this work to be a masterful exploration of historic events pertaining to the Titanic. I would have to say by the time you read A Night to Remember, The Night Lives On and On a Sea of Glass: The Life and Loss of the RMS Titanic you will know and be aware of every little fine detail that can be put forward concerning the Titanic. Even though I have read the above, I still found new details and kept saying to myself (and probably a couple times out loud) “I didn’t know that”. One of the fun new topics I learned about has led me to put The White Swan Hotel in Alnwick England on my list of places I must see when I travel along with Southampton and Belfast of course. The trove of trivia seemed bottomless for me but still my favorite part of this book was when I felt like I was being tapped on the shoulder to turn around and imagine seeing a hat tipped or a gloved hand being offered or a friendly welcoming smile of a passenger or crew member as they spoke from the pages and shared their experiences aboard the Titanic. It also became very hard not to shed a tear as those same voices spoke as the hours and minutes ticked down on that last cold night and early morning in April 1912. A book with this many depths of entertainment that not only brings the pages alive but is also a magnificent preservation of history is always welcome on my shelves. Highly recommend.

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the midst of all the pandemic and political drama saturating Current Year and driving us all crazy, I have oddly found enjoyment in several YouTube channels discussing the Titanic, as well as other historical maritime topics (I have no personal history with ships or the ocean or anything like that, so don't ask me to explain why this is a subject that I've gravitated toward). And all of these channels invariably bring up "On a Sea of Glass" at some point or another.

So I decided to pick it up on Kindle and see what the fuss was all about.

Holy cow - this book is stunning. I mean, I remember reading historical nonfiction about the Titanic around the time that the James Cameron movie came out and I remember those books being really sensational and dramatic. Reading those books, you got the feeling that everyone involved in this ship - builders, crew, passengers, etc. - were grossly incompetent and stupid.

"On a Sea of Glass," however, does what a work of historical fact should do - that is, put these people and situations in the time and culture that they actually existed. There is no sensationalism and no padding the dramatics. It's facts, quotes, primary sources, all brought together to paint as clear of a picture of the events surrounding this ship as possible.

While the content of this book depends almost exclusively on primary sources to tell this story, it is by no means a dry read. In fact, by the end of Chapter 2 (which deals with the Titanic leaving Southampton and stops at Cherbourg and Queenstown), I was so sad because I knew that a lot of these people that I was being introduced to were not going to survive the voyage. Hell, I was even sad for the ship herself. The ship was envisioned and built with the future in mind - she was meant to have a long and successful career and create many good memories. She might even have gone on to be as successful as her sister, Olympic, was. Her creators had such high hopes for her service... and it was never realized.

Reading this book, I started to understand why people humanize ships and give them human-like characteristics. Titanic showed a lot of promise. And because of a series of very unlucky events, she was lost before she even completed one trip.

And the lengths this book goes to debunk a lot of misinformation about the Titanic is remarkable. These authors seem to take it as a challenge to solve mysteries such as how the breakup occurred, how the SS New York broke free of its berth when the Titanic set sail, why J. Bruce Ismay was so vilified after the sinking (turns out he wasn't the mustache-twirling villain that he's been portrayed as. In other sources I've seen/read, it seems that media mogul William Randolph Hearst had a grudge against Ismay and took the sinking of the Titanic as an opportunity to destroy Ismay's reputation) - there are a LOT of great stories here and it's all well-researched and grounded in reality. It's less soap opera and superstition and more academic - but no less heartfelt and completely respectful of those who died in the sinking.

If you have even a passing interest in the Titanic, this is a great book to pick up. I don't think that the physical copy is available anymore (because I would TOTALLY buy it if I could), but the Kindle version works too.

[Jake Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has been researching the Titanic for almost a decade I have to say that “On A Sea Of Glass” is the best book on the subject. It’s just a wealth of knowledge. I was actually surprised that there was still so much more to learn.

I want to say this: If you’re someone who is new to the Titanic or is just starting out, DO NOT read this book. I don’t think it’s a good beginners book. “On A Sea Of Glass” is basically a text book on Titanic going over almost every little detail. So I think it would definitely be overwhelming. For newcomers they should go read Walter Lord’s “A Night to Remember” though some “facts” are dated, it’s still a great launching point.

“On A Sea of Glass” is very thorough in its research. They go over the construction of Titanic, her sea trials, each day that she was at sea, and it breaks up the sinking section into time frame windows (example: 2:00-2:20am) which really helps to explain when each event happened. The book also has little “Info Boxes” that go into greater detail on some topics & covering myths about the great ship. The book also comes with a lot of famous pictures that you’ve all seen (Boy on the Boat Deck, Captain Smith peering down from the Bridge, Titanic’s wreckage found) but it also has a lot of rare pictures that I had never seen before and was excited to see for the first time.

“On A Sea Of Glass” even has a chapter covering what happened to a handful of survivors post Titanic’s Sinking up to their eventual deaths. Something that I really appreciated because most books/documentaries pretty much stop following the survivors once they get to New York and the Senate Inquiries in both New York and London. It’s fascinating to read how they handled the tragic event in an age where PTSD and Therapy wasn’t really a thing. Some survivors kept sailing, even serving in both World Wars. Some were forever traumatized, refusing to return to their families and friends on the other side of the sea. Others dealt with more physical trauma that they had suffered from the sinking. And sadly a few survivors tragically took their own lives.

Any Titanic enthusiasts out there I highly recommend you pick up this book. Even if you feel like you know everything about the Titanic and there’s probably nothing left to learn (me prior to this book) I can guarantee that you’ll probably learn something new or even see people from a different perspective.

[Abe Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't quite the page-turner that I was expecting. In many parts of the book, less interesting facts or circumstances were provided from multiple accounts which made the book plod along leading up to the sinking. That said, it's obvious the details are as accurate as any account out there. The writing surrounding the sinking is as haunting as would be expected and I enjoyed the last part of the book about what happened following the sinking, including the rescue effort. Still a great book, just took me longer than I would have liked.

[Sarah Mcgrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account of the Titanic's construction, voyage, sinking and aftermath. It's extremely detailed without being dry. Lots of well known conspiracy theories are debunked. A nice touch was all the photos of passengers, it made the witness accounts even more fascinating. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the true definitive story of Titanic.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A work of unparalleled detail. Not for the casual reader but if you’re really into Titanic this is the book that will delve into every question and nugget you want to know about in authoritative detail. Don’t skip the appendix either they’re fantastic at answering many questions theory’s and myths that have arisen in the intervening century.

[Briar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. The authors did an excellent job of giving a detailed account of what happened. They debunked many myths and described some details we can't be completely sure about. This behemoth of a book it worth it for anyone who wants a detailed, chronological account of the tragedy.

[Itz Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the best novel of all time. Titanic will always be remembered forever. God bless the dead.

[Cory Enayat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Very accurate.

[Molly Raskin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent but…had some issues. For one, it had some factual errors. It felt like much more attention was paid to the experiences of first class passengers on the luxury liner than second class or immigrants in third class. Many human errors that contributed to the tragedy were overlooked, dismissed, or excused without evidence. I expected them to unpack some of the most interesting aspects of the Titanic, like the depth of Captain Rostron and Harold Cottam’s heroism or almost anything about the inquiries. However, little attention was paid to these topics compared to the exhaustive minutia of 1st class passengers’ entire lives. If you want to understand exactly why the Titanic sank, it is nothing compared to Walter Lord’s two books about the Titanic.

A few random issues in no particular order:

-It barely touches on the extreme classism that led to massive 3rd class death rates. Walter Lord unpacked this topic thoroughly, pointing out that 1st class men survived at a higher rate than 3rd class children, and that the inquiries falsely concluded that 3rd class passengers were treated fairly. On the other hand, the authors of this book uncritically repeat White Star Line’s defense that steerage passengers died mainly because of language barriers.

-There is zero criticism of Captain Smith. I don’t know who they’re trying to impress, but they only seem to defend him. Smith was not the sole reason Titanic sank, but he made undeniable mistakes. The authors debunk the Olympic conspiracy theory—yet they fail to emphasize that Smith also was on the bridge of Olympic when it collided with Hawke! His lack of preparation navigating ships of this size contributed to both Olympic and Titanic’s collisions.

-They barely touch on what happened on the Californian, either. They include some of mistakes by Captain Lord, which is absolutely fair—but why not point out that he, unlike Smith, heeded the ice warnings and stopped for the night?

-They defend the Titanic’s safety, construction, and lack of adequate lifeboats. Why not talk about how Harland & Wolff designed the ship with a double hull and enough lifeboats for everyone on board, but White Star Line rejected it so they could focus on luxury and profit? Titanic was safe in many ways, but it was also unsafe in many others, which is why sister ships were immediately retrofitted with additional safety features after Titanic sank. These upgrades later saved the Olympic.

[Wesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hello, Goodreads. Of course, everyone knows the familiar stories of the Titanic. You know, the nobility of the band playing to the very end and all that. But what I’m interested in are the untold stories, the secrets locked deep inside the hull of Titanic. And I’m out here using a really good book to go further into the wreck than anybody’s ever done before.

Why, if it hadn’t been for this book, I would never have learned about second class passenger Imanita Shelley - proof positive that the “Karen” has existed since time immemorial. And my perception of J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of the White Star Line, would’ve remained thoroughly negative - when in reality, he wasn’t the cowardly villain he’s so often portrayed as in Titanic media. In fact, while the bulk of the book deals with the facts of the Titanic’s construction, voyage, and sinking, the appendix tackles common myths and misconceptions associated with the sinking, with the authors attempting to separate fact from fiction wherever possible.

While only 300-some pages long, the font is teeeeny tiny and in Bible format - and by that, I mean formatted with the text running in double columns, so the actual page count is a bit deceptive. But hey, that’s ok! The Titanic’s gross tonnage was 46,329 tons, and by the end of this work, you’ll have absorbed 46,329 tons of additional RMS Titanic knowledge!