How to Survive the Titanic: The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay - Hardcover

Wilson, Frances

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062094548 ISBN 13: 9780062094544

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2011

Synopsis

Award-winning historian Frances Wilson delivers a gripping new account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, looking at the collision and its aftermath through the prism of the demolished life and lost honor of the ship’s owner, J. Bruce Ismay. In a unique work of history evocative of Joseph Conrad’s classic novel Lord Jim, Wilson raises provocative moral questions about cowardice and heroism, memory and identity, survival and guilt—questions that revolve around Ismay’s loss of honor and identity as his monolithic venture—a ship called “The Last Word in Luxury” and “The Unsinkable”—was swallowed by the sea and subsumed in infamy forever.

About this title

Product Description:

As the Titanic slid beneath the waves, its owner, J Bruce Ismay, jumped into a lifeboat and was rowed to safety. But if Ismay survived, his reputation did not. Condemned by an inquiry and vilified in the press, he became a guilt-ridden recluse. Drawing on his unpublished letters to Marion Thayer, with whom he had fallen in love on the voyage, this insightful, perceptive account unravels the reasons behind his jump and his struggle to live with its aftermath.

Review:

"Wilson herself casts a Conradian spell...finds submerged truths, unravels riddles, listens to echoes. This book is a deep reading of the catastrophe through one hapless, inert man."--Hermione Eyre, Evening Standard

"It is a pleasure to read a book...that offers something new on this topic. Titanic completists will certainly want this, and also...readers of biography and Edwardian-era history."--Library Journal

"Wilson gives an absorbing account of the disaster and its cultural associations.. . her approach yields a rich meditation on the mere moment's hesitation that separates cowardice from courage."--Publishers Weekly

"The author demonstrates an impressive knowledge of that night to remember. "--Kirkus

"A haunting story...A meticulously researched and eloquently written account of one of the twentieth century's most iconic disasters [that] explores a man 'mired in the moment of his jump.'"--Lucy Scholes, Daily Beast "Must Reads"

"A gripping retrospective on the Titanic disaster seen through the eyes of the wealthy ship's owner...and an inspired interweaving of the moral themes of guilt and responsibility"--Richard Holmes, Wall Street Journal

"A gripping account...Wilson brings a bright new perspective to the event raising provocative moral questions about cowardice and heroism, memory and identity, survival and guilt."--Forbes

"Persuasive...examines the disaster afresh through the prism of Ismay's life...Ultimately, Wilson's portrait-empathetic rather than sympathetic-depicts Ismay as an Everyman troublingly suited to our own uncertain times."--BusinessWeek

Wilson gives an absorbing account of the disaster and its cultural associations.. . her approach yields a rich meditation on the mere moment s hesitation that separates cowardice from courage. --Publishers Weekly"

It is a pleasure to read a book that offers something new on this topic. Titanic completists will certainly want this, and also readers of biography and Edwardian-era history. --Library Journal"

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0062094548
• ISBN 13: 9780062094544
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 328