It only took four hours for the most advanced ocean liner afloat in 1912 to sink to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and into the quagmire of myth and legend.
Unsinkable: The Full Story of the RMS Titanic is a reissue of David Butler’s New York Times bestseller, just in time for the centennial of the ill-fated first voyage of the most famous (or infamous) ship ever to sail. The RMS Titanic sank into ignominy after striking an iceberg at precisely the worst place possible; the controversy began immediately and continues to this day.
The fact that the Titanic was carrying only enough lifeboats for one-third of her passengers is the main reason cited for the catastrophic loss of life caused by her sinking. However, maritime rules at the time of her sinking allowed the Titanic to legally have so few lifeboats. Her inglorious end caused an updating of safety standards to require sufficient lifeboats for full passenger loads, which has saved countless lives
since.
In Unsinkable, Butler traces the roots of Titanic’s legendary unsinkability, so ingrained in society that the Evening Star newspaper ran a headline stating that all passengers were saved after the ship collided with an iceberg.
In this edition, Butler provides a new postscript and foreword. His copious research has netted particularly poignant stories culled from eyewitness accounts. Chivalry was alive and well in 1912, as evidenced by the brave captain who, on what was supposed to be his retirement voyage, went down with the ship and passed into maritime legend.
Unsinkable is a must-read for fans of the Titanic and buffs of plain old history. Butler’s attention to detail and obvious research provides a brief glimpse into a bygone era. Titanic is ultimately a cautionary tale of the hubris of man, and Unsinkable an entertaining read.