Review: The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era

The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era by Gareth Russell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What is unique about this book is that the sinking of the Titanic is explored within the context of the time period and world events. The Titanic is, at times, peripheral in the story as the author paints a picture of society and world events. Ireland was in the grips of tearing apart with the Protestants wanting independence and Catholics wanting to stay under British rule. Tensions are rising between countries and political parties with assassinations on the rise - soon a Lithuanian would be assassinating an Italian dignitary which would be the final catalyst for the beginning of WWI. Yet when the Titanic sailed, the differences in classes still persisted yet there was a beginning arch of Hollywood royalty as opposed to Old World royalty.

The author does extensive research about the ship, the reason it sunk, and if third class passengers were mistreated, the timeline of key players, and the physics of the sinking.

Spoiler alert: James Cameron’s Titanic movie was a blockbuster that took artistic liberties. Also, many of the follies are examined and the real reason for the massive loss of life was the decision to power through the ice field and the lack of time for evacuating. Even with enough life boats, 2 and a half hours was inefficient time to evacuate all of the people. Even with sufficient life boats, there would still have been a huge loss of life.

Tommy Andrews was meticulous and well liked. He was homesick.
Ismay was socially awkward and not a villain. His choice to enter a lifeboat was not as selfish as it has been portrayed.
Captain Smith was going too fast through an ice field even with warnings.
The routes were far too high in latitude.
Third class was not mistreated,

If you want more Titanic facts, this is a good one. It is put into the context of what was happening in the world and different countries. It also corrects some accepted alternative facts.

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