Titanic: a Journey Through Time

Publisher: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1999 £ 24.99

Fifty pairs of hounds went down with the Titanic. Why this fact stays with me I don't know, except that after so many cliches about this shipwreck, it offers a fresh perspective on the disaster. That is really what this book gives - fresh perspectives on all aspects of the Titanic, from the almost prophetic prelaunch stories of ships in mid-Atlantic meeting doom in collisions, to discovery of the wreck and recovery of artifacts.

The information is presented in diary form, which gives an urgency and ease to the reading. The black and white photos show the reality of he heroes and villains. The colour pictures exhibit the Titanic "as her well-wishers would have liked her to be remembered" -a fantasy in which style had preference over safety. This book, though beautifully and excitingly presented is not a romance. It is a dynamic re-telling of a tragedy in which 1,523 souls were lost at sea. - SM

Page prepared 7 June 1999