Titanic Voices: 63 Survivors Tell Their Extraordinary Stories

by Hannah Holman

There were over 700 survivors of the Titanic disaster and their horrific experience has captivated readers and moviegoers for over 100 years. But what was it actually like for a woman to say goodbye to her husband? For a mother to leave her teenage sons? For the unlucky many who found themselves in the freezing Atlantic waters? Titanic Voices is the most comprehensive collection of Titanic survivors' accounts ever published and includes many unpublished and long-forgotten accounts, unabridged, together with an authoritative editorial commentary. It is also the first book to include substantial accounts from female survivors and those travelling third class.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 11, 2012

Reviews

[Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was one that I was looking forward to reading. My interest in the Titanic goes far beyond the film interpretation of the sinking. I have also watched many documentaries and seen museum exhibits on the topic. So when I found this at my local bookstore, I could not resist and decided to pick it up. Was it as good as I imagined in terms of providing a first hand account of the sinking? Yes, and that is part of the problem.

You see, it has many different perspectives of the sinking, with every different view shown based on the rough estimate of when each boat was launched. Each corresponding tale tells about how the person in question survived the sinking. The author also provides a detailed account of what happened to each person before and after the Titanic sank.

This book has excellent primary and secondary sources about what happened as the Titanic sank, so why don’t I give it five stars? Well, this is an example of a primary selling point, also being a primary problem. While it is fascinating and interesting that these people went through this harrowing ordeal, it does become rather dry and dull after a time. As my father always says of the Titanic film: You know what is going to happen, the ship sinks every time. I think the same applies here. Eventually, I would just skim the rest with no real consequence, nor any information lost, overall. It is for this reason that I have to give this book a four out of five. If you are going to read this, then do so sparingly, one story at a time, then I think you’ll enjoy it.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Titanic Voices: 63 Survivors Tell Their Extraordinary Stories is by Hannah Holman. On April 14, 1912, the largest passenger ship, The Titanic, which sailed from Southhampton, England, hit an iceberg third of the third-class women survived. The same was true of children. Nearly all first-and second-class children were saved, but only about 1/3 of third-class children survived. Many stories came out about the loading of the lifeboats and how men came to be saved before many of the second- and third-class women. Some were true but most were false. The same was true of men but not as many men were saved as women. The lifeboats themselves were not filled with those being launched first having the fewest passengers in them and the latter having more. This is explained by passengers and sank. It did not carry enough lifeboats for all the passengers and crew members on board. Of those on board, only about 700 survivors were taken aboard the Carpathia. These passengers were mainly women and were comprised of all the classes on board, although first class fared better than others. Nearly all first -class women survived, most second-class women, but only less than one- was because at first no one wanted to believe the ship was sinking while the latter were filled because they knew it was sinking.
Many of the survivors were questioned for the US Senate Inquiry and later the British Board of Trade Wreck and some of their testimony is given in this book. However, many others were questioned or later gave their testimony. Most of this testimony was from officers, crew members, and first-class passengers. Many of those were under great pressure when testifying and wanted to present their roles in the best possible light. Thus, they should be taken with an eye towards caution. The testimonies in this book are from all classes and taken while aboard the Carpathia or elsewhere. The reason behind these testimonies is simply to record the events of what happened on that fateful day. Some of the testimonies are very lengthy and detailed, while others are very short. While reading these interviews, you can hear the tension in their words. They had just been through a horrifically tragic event and had lost companions and acquaintances.
Reading this book takes a lot of time. The interviews are sometimes quite lengthy and the print of the book is small. Sometimes it seems you are reading the same interview over and over and it can get to be a bit boring. By reading a little at a time, you can keep from getting to bored and get caught up with the stories of the various survivors. The accompanying photographs and graphics depictions are quite interesting. I definitely recommend this book for those who like reading about the Titanic; but be warned that it will take a long time to read it.

[Kristine J Beane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am an avid reader of almost all things Titanic, have been since I was a kid.
My newer interest with the Titanic subject is finding out was it was like for survivors post Titanic sinking, like the crew and some passengers. While this book did not answer it completely it was fascinating to have stories of many peoples experience in leaving the boat in the life boats.
The order of the stories is by life boat and the order they left the Titanic, as the book progresses the stories become more intense, harrowing and at times heart breaking. Seeing as the book is written in survivor own words at times some of the stories are emotional, sincere, boastful or exaggerated to play to the sensationalize media of the times.
Keep in mind this book is written by people at a time when political correctness and empathy were not paramount. Fine with me, might offend others.
The one thing that keep me from rating this a 5 is that the US senate and UK hearings were tedious and have motive behind them. I did enjoy the book.

[Jon Officer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nearly 700 people have submitted their survivor's accounts of what happened on the night the Titanic sank. The problem is that many could easily have been embellished, or even sincerely dramatised due to the shock of the event. Holman is a world renowned researcher of the event and has selected just 63 of the survivors accounts giving no discrimination between class or quality of the report, but simply using only the personal accounts that cross over with other passenger's or crewmen's stories of survival. Each story backing up the last and all concentrated in the order of each lifeboat that was launched. For the most detailed and reliable account of what happened that night, this collection is a must.

[Judy Tarver · Rating 4 out of 5]

For any person interested in the story of the Titanic, this book is a must read, in my opinion. The author has certainly done their research and many people told their own unique recollections of such a tragic event in history. Long book but worth reading!

[R.J. Southworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the content gets a bit dry at times, this is a useful book for Titanic enthusiasts: having so many survivor accounts placed together helps paint a detailed picture of the events, while it’s also interesting to note how recollections differ.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful addition to my knowledge of the Titanic disaster, but quite a lot of repetition.

[Amy Vicary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was slow and heavy to begin with. This account follows those survivors in the order which they disembarked the ship in their varying ways, either through boarding a lifeboat, or in the final moments, leaping from its sides and finding their time had not yet come. It is, at times, repetitive and seemingly impersonal, given that many of the survivors "voices" are from the inquiries following the disaster. It was, however, a fascinating study into the different views and experiences of those on board during those final, fatal hours. While the beginning is occasionally frustrating in its slow pace, the speed picks up as the situation aboard the Titanic becomes more obviously fatal to those remaining on board, especially when it finally reaches the last boats to be launched from the ship's side. A commendable effort is made to remain unbias throughout, however little new evidence is truly drawn to light, and little is mentioned of the survivors beyond their experiences in those final hours. Work is often borrowed from others' books to further pad out the experiences, which, while interesting nonetheless, feels a little contrite, somewhat lacking originality on the researching effort of the author.

[Stacie (MagicOfBooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will also do a video review here at my channel: http://www.youtube.com/magicofbooks

Read the full written review here: http://www.readdreamrelax.com/book-re...

[Heidi Harsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting but repetitive.

[Reanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but very long

[Jeffrey]

Looking forward to reading. This was a gift from Kami and Ed.