On a Sea of Glass: The Life and Loss of the RMS Titanic

On the night of 14/15 April 1912, a supposedly unsinkable ship, the largest and most luxurious vessel in the world at the time, collided with an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage. Of the 2,208 people on board, only 712 were saved. The rest either drowned or froze to death. How could this ‘unsinkable’ vessel sink and why did so few of those aboard survive?

The authors bring the tragedy to life, telling the story of the ship’s design, construction, and maiden voyage. The stories of individuals who sailed on her, many previously known only as names on yellowing passenger and crew lists, are brought to light using rarely seen accounts of the sinking. The stories of passengers of all classes and crewmembers alike, are explored. They tell the dramatic stories of lives lost and people saved, of the rescue ship Carpathia, and of the aftermath of the sinking.

Despite the tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic led to untold numbers of lives being saved due to new regulations that came into force after the tragedy. This book is an accurate and engrossing a telling of the life of the White Star Line’s Titanic. Made special by the use of so many rare survivor accounts from the eyewitnesses to that night to remember, the narrative places listeners in the middle of the maiden voyage and brings the tragic sinking to life as never before.