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Title details for How to Survive the Titanic by Frances Wilson - Available

How to Survive the Titanic

Or, The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay

by Frances Wilson
Robin Sachs
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
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2 of 2 copies available
On the terrifying, chaotic night of April 14, 1912, while the Titanic was sinking, Bruce J. Ismay, the ship's owner, made a decision that would save his life - and end it. Ismay boarded a lifeboat meant for women and children, and within days became 'The Most Talked-of Man in the World.' Branded a coward, he became a flesh-and-blood embodiment of Joseph Conrad's legendary eponymous character, Lord Jim. How to Survive the Titanic interweaves numerous historical accounts and sources with insights drawn from Conrad's novels. Unlike other survivors, this pivotal figure never again spoke about the Titanic. This intriguing history offers a sympathetic yet clear eyed explanation why - important lessons all of us need to survive the tragedies and choices of our own lives.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 11, 2011

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781666593754
      • File size: 327003 KB
      • Duration: 11:21:15

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      J. Bruce Ismay is a historical footnote: The owner of the TITANIC survived the sinking and lived the rest of his life in shame. Should he have gone down with the ship? He said he jumped onto a lifeboat as it was being lowered, meaning he did not steal a seat. But did he fail life's biggest test of courage? Narrator Robin Sachs inspires both revulsion and compassion for Ismay, a man overwhelmed by fate. Sachs is the voice of many men and women from different cultures, who weigh in with bits and pieces of the drama. There were 2,223 on board the "unsinkable" ship when it sunk 100 years ago, and 1,500 died. This is the tragic story of one who did not. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 25, 2011
      This searching if sometimes clouded historical-literary study explores the meanings of the famous shipwreck through the enigmaticâor perhaps stuntedâinner life of a notorious cad. Ismay, a Titanic passenger and managing director of the firm that owned the ship, was condemned for violating the gentleman's code by, instead of going down with the ship, taking a lifeboat berth that might have gone to a woman or child; he was also blamed for the shortage of lifeboats and the ship's reckless speed in the ice field. Wilson (Literary Seductions) gives an absorbing account of the disaster and its cultural associations, but poring over Ismay's evasive public statements and newly unearthed, self-pitying letters glean her few insights into his culpability and characterâfor that she resorts to exegeses of Lord Jim and other Joseph Conrad tales about disgraced seamen. In treating the stolid, unapologetic Ismay as a tortured Conrad characterâ"Was Ismay a super captain, a double captain or a double agent, living both the life of the ship and the life of the passenger?ââWilson sometimes mistakes lit-crit conceits for analysis. Still, her approach yields a rich meditation on the mere moment's hesitation that separates cowardice from courage. Photos.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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