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Carpathia: The extraordinary story of the ship that rescued the survivors of the Titanic
In the early hours of 15 April 1912, the Cunard steamship Carpathia receives a distress call from the new White Star liner Titanic. Captain Arthur Rostron immediately turns Carpathia northwest and sails full speed through the dark night, into waters laden with icebergs, on a rescue mission that will become legendary.Almost a century later, Carpathia's wreck has finally been located. She's over 500 feet down and only a few divers in the world can attain these depths. Among them is Englishman Ric Waring's team. In this captivating and intensively researched story, we follow the dual narratives of Rostron and the daring rescue of the Titanic survivors by Carpathia, and of Waring's team and their dangerous determination to reach the wreck. Rich in history and drama, the true story of Carpathia from her launching to the sensational events of 1912, World War I and beyond is a compelling narrative that moves at the page-turning pace of the very best fiction.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
267 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 10, 2018
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284 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 3, 2018
My honest rating for this book would be 4.5/5 stars. This is a well researched and thought out book that resonates with the passion of the author. The only fault I can apply to this book is at the early stages of describing the ships it can feel rather analytical and therefore abit dry, but this is just a byproduct of the historical accuracy the author was obviously striving for. Otherwise it is a thoroughly entertaining and enlightning novel in which I would highly recommend to anybody who has even the slightest interest in Titanics story or of the early days of steamers.
(This is the second review I wrote for this book, the first was accidentally deleted by the Goodreads app. This book though was worth coming back and writing it out again)
(This is the second review I wrote for this book, the first was accidentally deleted by the Goodreads app. This book though was worth coming back and writing it out again)
January 7, 2023
We all know about the phenomenal and catastrophic sinking of the Titanic but here’s the story of the Carpathia - the first rescue boat on the scene. Vividly recounted, this story is a heartfelt read that only magnifies the tragedy and highlights the flaws of under-preparation and perhaps arrogance. Amazing job by the Captain and his crew aboard the Carpathia. Great story of the Carpathia as a ship in her own right too.
April 14, 2020
I am always up for a read about the Titanic disaster and the month of April seems like an appropriate month in which to do so. Just for something a bit different about the disaster, this read has its focus on the Carpathia story. This provided me with an informative and entertaining read.
April 18, 2024
As someone fascinated with all things Titanic, this was a really interesting read about the Carpathia, the ship who's Captain put his vessel and it's passengers and crew at risk by going to the rescue of the doomed Titanic.
Moving backwards and forwards in time from Carpathia's beginnings and that voyage for which she became so well known, to contemporary times where the reader gains a fascinating insight into those who risk their lives as salvage divers uncovering shipwrecks, this well researched historical account reads quite comfortably like a novel.
I loved the cool-headed determination of Captain Rostron and his crew as they set about doing all they could for the survivors of the Titanic, and some of the descriptions of rescuing those survivors and bringing them to New York where so many loved ones were waiting, many in vain, were extremely moving.
Concluding with Carpathia's sinking at the hands of a German U-boat in WW1, this was a really remarkable read.
Moving backwards and forwards in time from Carpathia's beginnings and that voyage for which she became so well known, to contemporary times where the reader gains a fascinating insight into those who risk their lives as salvage divers uncovering shipwrecks, this well researched historical account reads quite comfortably like a novel.
I loved the cool-headed determination of Captain Rostron and his crew as they set about doing all they could for the survivors of the Titanic, and some of the descriptions of rescuing those survivors and bringing them to New York where so many loved ones were waiting, many in vain, were extremely moving.
Concluding with Carpathia's sinking at the hands of a German U-boat in WW1, this was a really remarkable read.
October 15, 2019
Two journalists are on board the Carpathia when she steams towards the Titanic on a mission to rescue the sinking ship’s survivors. One journalist, Carlos Hurd, awakens to strange noises on the morning of April 15, 1912, and notes the peculiar position of the light through his porthole. What he discovers, when he comes on deck, is that the Carpathia’s lifeboats are now deeply into the mission of rescuing the Titanic’s survivors. Immediately Carlos recognises the gravity of this story. When he tells the other journalist they can work as a team to record the survivors’ stories, Colin Cooper simply replies that he’s not interested. He is on vacation.
Undeterred, Carlos begins working on a story that he knows is going to rock the world – Carpathia’s vital role in rescuing the survivors. The ship’s captain refuses to let Carlos relay the information back to New York, since the wireless is needed for more urgent business. Working against the ship’s authorities, he enlists his wife to help him interview the survivors. Despite an embargo on paper and writing implements – the captain has recalled them to defeat Carlos’s objectives – he continues to record the story on serviettes or whatever comes to hand. When Carparthia finally approaches New York with the survivors on board, press-commissioned boats jostle alongside, touting for Carlos’s story. He attaches a floatation device to his story and tosses it out towards a press boat, praying his notes won’t fall into the water.
This story is one of many that, like a glossy Babushka doll, is nested within the much larger narrative about Carpathia’s rescue of the Titanic survivors. Some of these gleaming stories seem entirely disconnected with the main story – the discovery, for instance, of a new section of Roman wall at Wallsend; a potted history about World War One, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the murderous deeds of the Black Hand Serbian secret society; the peculiar rash of Mafiosi graffiti symbols marching across Carpathia’s bulkheads and alleyways; the work of Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino, the first Italian appointed to the New York police department and heading up the Italian Squad, with his mission to cut off the Mafia’s tentacles. But the connections do eventually reveal themselves, and with satisfying results. Weaving in and out of these historical stories are contemporary narratives about the deep-sea dive missions to rescue treasures from the Carpathia and the Titanic, the primacy of the ship’s bell, and enlivening stories about professionals like Richard ‘Ric’ Waring, a diver trapped in a hyperbaric chamber as his ship starts to sink.
As a former sailor and occasional diver, I enjoyed the strong command the author had on her material, all the more impressive since she describes herself as a landlubber. I was also drawn into the fascinating physiological complexities of deep sea diving and the dangers that come with that territory. For the broader readership there’s the opportunity to immerse yourself in the rich details of the unfolding stories, facilitated by a lush prose style. Here is the author’s description of the Titanic survivors as they languish in a saloon of Carpathia, recovering from their ordeal.
“Calf-bound, gilt-edged volumes are sequestered on a low bookcase, atop which sits a glass case containing stones. The wall behind the bookcase is composed of glass tiles that peek out into the alleyway. Amidst all this, reclining on thickly padded easy chairs and lounges dotted about the large room, are women of wealth and refinement. But their usual equanimity is absent. Faces are carved with grief. Bodies brittle...[they are] ragged butterflies and careworn moths, inhabiting some foreign realm.”
Other favourites include the description the author offers in relation to a rover sent down to explore Carpathia’s wreckage:
“The [rover’s] backscatter is like distant stars slipping past, particles streaming through the currents, catching on the rover’s strobe lights. Then the water swirls and the world becomes a grey blizzard, a cloudy mess of silt that unfolds like silk in the wind.”
There are “brass surrounds that gleam like warm brandy in firelight” and landscapes of starshine buzzing through ice pinnacles, and telling anecdotes about social stratification:
“Manchester cops called Manchester firemen ‘water fairies’ because firemen are higher up the hero totem pole than policemen.”
Ludowkye’s Carpathia is not an arrow shot to the heart of the story but a series of concentric circles radiating outward, the author’s keen eye conducting the full three hundred and sixty degree sweep of the dramas that occurred before, during and after that central fateful day in 1912 when the Titanic sunk. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in nautical and general history of that period, to any Titanic tragic, to the diving community, and to any writers looking for fine examples of beautifully written creative nonfiction.
Highly recommended.
Undeterred, Carlos begins working on a story that he knows is going to rock the world – Carpathia’s vital role in rescuing the survivors. The ship’s captain refuses to let Carlos relay the information back to New York, since the wireless is needed for more urgent business. Working against the ship’s authorities, he enlists his wife to help him interview the survivors. Despite an embargo on paper and writing implements – the captain has recalled them to defeat Carlos’s objectives – he continues to record the story on serviettes or whatever comes to hand. When Carparthia finally approaches New York with the survivors on board, press-commissioned boats jostle alongside, touting for Carlos’s story. He attaches a floatation device to his story and tosses it out towards a press boat, praying his notes won’t fall into the water.
This story is one of many that, like a glossy Babushka doll, is nested within the much larger narrative about Carpathia’s rescue of the Titanic survivors. Some of these gleaming stories seem entirely disconnected with the main story – the discovery, for instance, of a new section of Roman wall at Wallsend; a potted history about World War One, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the murderous deeds of the Black Hand Serbian secret society; the peculiar rash of Mafiosi graffiti symbols marching across Carpathia’s bulkheads and alleyways; the work of Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino, the first Italian appointed to the New York police department and heading up the Italian Squad, with his mission to cut off the Mafia’s tentacles. But the connections do eventually reveal themselves, and with satisfying results. Weaving in and out of these historical stories are contemporary narratives about the deep-sea dive missions to rescue treasures from the Carpathia and the Titanic, the primacy of the ship’s bell, and enlivening stories about professionals like Richard ‘Ric’ Waring, a diver trapped in a hyperbaric chamber as his ship starts to sink.
As a former sailor and occasional diver, I enjoyed the strong command the author had on her material, all the more impressive since she describes herself as a landlubber. I was also drawn into the fascinating physiological complexities of deep sea diving and the dangers that come with that territory. For the broader readership there’s the opportunity to immerse yourself in the rich details of the unfolding stories, facilitated by a lush prose style. Here is the author’s description of the Titanic survivors as they languish in a saloon of Carpathia, recovering from their ordeal.
“Calf-bound, gilt-edged volumes are sequestered on a low bookcase, atop which sits a glass case containing stones. The wall behind the bookcase is composed of glass tiles that peek out into the alleyway. Amidst all this, reclining on thickly padded easy chairs and lounges dotted about the large room, are women of wealth and refinement. But their usual equanimity is absent. Faces are carved with grief. Bodies brittle...[they are] ragged butterflies and careworn moths, inhabiting some foreign realm.”
Other favourites include the description the author offers in relation to a rover sent down to explore Carpathia’s wreckage:
“The [rover’s] backscatter is like distant stars slipping past, particles streaming through the currents, catching on the rover’s strobe lights. Then the water swirls and the world becomes a grey blizzard, a cloudy mess of silt that unfolds like silk in the wind.”
There are “brass surrounds that gleam like warm brandy in firelight” and landscapes of starshine buzzing through ice pinnacles, and telling anecdotes about social stratification:
“Manchester cops called Manchester firemen ‘water fairies’ because firemen are higher up the hero totem pole than policemen.”
Ludowkye’s Carpathia is not an arrow shot to the heart of the story but a series of concentric circles radiating outward, the author’s keen eye conducting the full three hundred and sixty degree sweep of the dramas that occurred before, during and after that central fateful day in 1912 when the Titanic sunk. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in nautical and general history of that period, to any Titanic tragic, to the diving community, and to any writers looking for fine examples of beautifully written creative nonfiction.
Highly recommended.
February 5, 2019
At first I found the writing style to be confusing as it switches from the events in the 20th century to the divers searching for the wreck in the 21st, but after I picked it up and paid close attention to the year listed at the start of each chapter the continuity became quite easy. The story of the Carpathia is a historically fascinating one and as it was the vessel that was first on the scene after the Titanic sunk and took on board all the survivors it is a story worth telling. The actual descriptive chapters of the rushed voyage to the sinking site after the radio message was received is compelling not-to-be-put-down reading. I also found the story of the ship from its construction, eventually sad sinking to the wreck divers to be gripping and I have no hesitation of highly recommending this book to anyone who likes a thrilling book that will hold their attention from start to finish.
August 5, 2019
The story of a great ship, the RMS Carpathia, which steamed at breakneck speed to rescue the survivors of the Titanic, and met her end in battle in the last months of the Great War.
I have two nitpicks about this book; one is that it’s not long enough – I want to know what happened to everybody! The other is the use of the historic present tense for multiple timelines in the past, which left me very confused and occasionally feeling that I’d got into the wrong Trousers of Time.
In the end I went through and read about the rescue, which is astonishing, and about her war service, and gave up on the rest. This might partly explain why I feel I haven’t got the whole story. I'll be doing further digging, and in that respect the book has really done its job.
I have two nitpicks about this book; one is that it’s not long enough – I want to know what happened to everybody! The other is the use of the historic present tense for multiple timelines in the past, which left me very confused and occasionally feeling that I’d got into the wrong Trousers of Time.
In the end I went through and read about the rescue, which is astonishing, and about her war service, and gave up on the rest. This might partly explain why I feel I haven’t got the whole story. I'll be doing further digging, and in that respect the book has really done its job.
September 7, 2024
I am not a big fan of non-fiction, but I am fascinated with all things Titanic, so I decided to give Carpathia a go after a friend wrote a very positive review about the book. The author's writing was great as the book read more like a novel than a non-fiction tome filled with dry facts and figures.
The plot alternated from the ship's beginning to 2007 as divers try to explore the Carpathia that now lies at the bottom of the ocean after being sunk by a U-boat during WWI. Unfortunately, the author didn't dwell on the rescuing of the Titanic's survivors. For me, this was the most interesting part of the book and I wanted more!
However, my biggest annoyance with this book was the way Ludowyke shortened the ship's name to Thia. I have been to Titanic exhibitions and have read articles and other non-fiction books about the Titanic, as well as numerous novels, and not once have I come across this ship being referred to as Thia. Why not just use the Carpathia proper name? Despite this, this book was still an interesting read.
The plot alternated from the ship's beginning to 2007 as divers try to explore the Carpathia that now lies at the bottom of the ocean after being sunk by a U-boat during WWI. Unfortunately, the author didn't dwell on the rescuing of the Titanic's survivors. For me, this was the most interesting part of the book and I wanted more!
However, my biggest annoyance with this book was the way Ludowyke shortened the ship's name to Thia. I have been to Titanic exhibitions and have read articles and other non-fiction books about the Titanic, as well as numerous novels, and not once have I come across this ship being referred to as Thia. Why not just use the Carpathia proper name? Despite this, this book was still an interesting read.
October 12, 2020
This was well researched and provided a comprehensive amount of detail and analysis of the search for the Carpathia which saved many lives of people escaping the sinking of Titanic. It was an extremely absorbing and highly interesting narrative. For me it was completely spoiled by the author's obsession with going backwards and forwards to a different date on almost every page without and purpose or reason. The lack of consistency in chronology made the book hard to follow. The huge potential for me turned into a big disappointment. Sorry. What should have been four stars was worth only two for the above reason.
April 13, 2022
Extensively researched across the entire history of the Carpathia from start to finish, this book is a scholarly work, including glossary, index, and fascinating, often first-hand sources for each chapter. The heroism and cool-headed courage of Carpathia’s Captain Arthur Rostron and his crew, and of the surviving crew of the Titanic who mastered the lifeboats, is incredible. Our ability to follow the Marconi radiogrammers’ messages and experience, both on the Titanic and Carpathia, is incredibly moving.
April 23, 2022
It was an okay book. I learnt a few new details about Carpathia and Titanic. The book jumped all over the ship's life and it was disorientating. Though the most frustrating thing was the author's decision to call Carpathia “Thia” throughout. I got to page 140 and I had to Google what “Thia” was. Carpathia has never been called this in its history. It’s like writing a book about Titanic and referring to it as “Nic”.
August 23, 2019
I was a little unsure at the start as I though it would be overdramatised but it quickly becomes an excellent, well researched and engrossing story. I enjoyed the book especially the switching between the timelines and learnt much. Thanks!
December 5, 2024
This was amazing. It’s not a light read as dates do go back and forth. Suggest reading the timeline at the back of the book before starting as it is then a bit easier to keep up. 100% recommend if the titanic interests you.
January 29, 2019
I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this as it starts with a detailed background, but I’m glad I kept reading because all those facts fit together to make this a compelling story.
July 10, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The stories were told beautifully and skillfully entwined together. I could not put it down
February 2, 2023
Ms Ludowyke’s look at the story of the Carpathia is one to enjoy. The research has been detailed and thorough, and I was engrossed in the way the Carpathia came to the aid of the Titanic on that fateful night. My main grievance is the odd set-up where we jump backwards and forwards, though the author does say that she had reasons for setting the text up like that. As it is, I didn’t like it although I agree that it helped this version of the text somewhat — but the flow of events got muddled up.
I was led to this by the Mariner’s Mirror which is one of the few podcasts that I listen to for book recommendations. In the episode which introduced the book, the author described the moments when the radiographer came to the door of the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur Rostron, and he, without a doubt, had his ship plunge into the icy waters. That depiction may sound compelling to many, but my background at sea gives this another dimension: from a hundred years on with technology at hand that Rostron could not have imagined, sailing into waters riddled with icebergs would still be a chilling quest. In Rostron’s day… well, as Ms Ludowyke brings out, if the captain had known, he wouldn’t have done it.
The podcast also focussed on the building of the Carpathia, but the book didn’t really cover that part. The story of the ship was very much the story of a ship at sea, with an odd beginning at Hadrian’s Wall. The vast majority of the book covered the Titanic event, but there were also episodes from the sinking of the Carpathia herself.
In addition to all of this, however, was also the story of the discovery of her wreck. This could have been clearer, with the author going to talk to some divers who went to the wreck in search of treasure. I feel like the story of the dives on its own would have been rather dull, so the author’s attempts to take bits and bobs of this and pepper the rest of the account with this was made primarily to keep a reader’s interest. Nevertheless, the look into diving—which could have been described more thoroughly with respect to the equipment—was a welcome description of underwater operations.
I enjoyed this. The story is a compelling and emotional one, but Ms Ludowyke’s style is also good. I don’t like the structure of the book, but it’s designed to keep the reader coming back.
This review was originally posted on my blog.
I was led to this by the Mariner’s Mirror which is one of the few podcasts that I listen to for book recommendations. In the episode which introduced the book, the author described the moments when the radiographer came to the door of the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur Rostron, and he, without a doubt, had his ship plunge into the icy waters. That depiction may sound compelling to many, but my background at sea gives this another dimension: from a hundred years on with technology at hand that Rostron could not have imagined, sailing into waters riddled with icebergs would still be a chilling quest. In Rostron’s day… well, as Ms Ludowyke brings out, if the captain had known, he wouldn’t have done it.
The podcast also focussed on the building of the Carpathia, but the book didn’t really cover that part. The story of the ship was very much the story of a ship at sea, with an odd beginning at Hadrian’s Wall. The vast majority of the book covered the Titanic event, but there were also episodes from the sinking of the Carpathia herself.
In addition to all of this, however, was also the story of the discovery of her wreck. This could have been clearer, with the author going to talk to some divers who went to the wreck in search of treasure. I feel like the story of the dives on its own would have been rather dull, so the author’s attempts to take bits and bobs of this and pepper the rest of the account with this was made primarily to keep a reader’s interest. Nevertheless, the look into diving—which could have been described more thoroughly with respect to the equipment—was a welcome description of underwater operations.
I enjoyed this. The story is a compelling and emotional one, but Ms Ludowyke’s style is also good. I don’t like the structure of the book, but it’s designed to keep the reader coming back.
This review was originally posted on my blog.
January 30, 2021
I started and finished this book in a time when I needed something hopeful and that’s what it is - a story of hope and the history of an incredible ship throughout the years. I think the best nonfiction comes from authors who truly care for the subjects they write about and this is very present here.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews