Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived by Andrew Wilson
I've had this book on my "to read" list for quite some time and a random Saturday trip to the library had me walking away with a copy to finally read.
This book was amazing! I've read other stories about the Titanic but they've always been about the sinking of the ship itself and the people who died on that frightful 1912 night. While I do realize that is the important part of the whole event this book actually focuses on those who survived and what their life was like after the sinking of the ship. I was amazed at some of the lives these people lead after the sinking of the ship. Some obviously couldn't handle the the enormity of it all and ended their lives, others lived as the walking dead, some ended up having very successful lives, while others ended up in loony bins. I never gave much thought to those who survived before and since the majority of them were women and children and the time period they were from what that meant. In 1912 not a lot of women held their own finances and to lose their husband in the sinking of the ship meant more than just losing a loved one. There was also a lot of talk of the honor that someone deemed as a husband/father/brother getting the women and children in to the life boats first and not joining them. There isn't that required kind of chivalry anymore in this day and age so that put an interesting spin on it for me. Something else I found incredibly interesting is the amount of things some of these people brought on the ship with them. Since there are account from survivors you hear about the things that they lost in the ship from fancy dresses to multiple pearl necklaces.
I couldn't put this book down. I recommend this to anyone interested in the Titanic and really anyone interested in a good read. If you've read other books about the Titanic and the sinking of the ship I can guarantee this will be like no other.
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