How to Survive the Titanic

The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay

By: Frances Wilson

Narrated by: Robin Sachs

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 of why - important lessons all of us need in order to survive the tragedies and choices of our own lives.

©2011 Frances Wilson (P)2011 Dreamscape Media

Interesting Telling of Titanic

Very engaging and unique perspective on the sinking of Titanic. Appreciated the background material on the shipping industry of the times as well as the nature of man’s fascination with the sea. Excellent narration.

Delightful POV for Titanic Fans.

For anyone interested in Ismay and his role in the Titanic disaster, this is a must read.

A fascinating literary and historical gem

This is a fascinating book centers on the sad life of Bruce Ismay … The man who should not have survived the Titanic . It also explores Joseph Conrad is the key to the psychology of a hero who failed.

Not especially uplifting, but quite good

Any additional comments?

The author did a good job pulling together quite a bit of different sources to describe what happened leading up to and following the sinking of the Titanic. This was a great story and look at J. Bruce Ismay's life. The story was fascination and mostly well told. It was a bit convoluted in parts and delved into aspects that seemed only tangentially related (e.g., there's a long section relating Ismay to a character in Conrad's "Lord Jim"), but overall I would rate it as entertaining and informative. It wasn't entirely satisfying in that one never really knows whether Ismay is a selfish bastard who took a spot in a lifeboat from one of the 1500 casualties OR if he was just an opportunist who jumped in one of the last boats to leave OR if he was the secret cause in his acting as superCaptain. It almost doesn't matter what the answer is since in trying to figure out the answer to this question one may actually have insight into one's own character and thoughts. Ultimately until and unless you're put in that situation I don't think it's possible to know what you would do and that may be one of the points of this book. Recommended.

So interesting

I found this book fascinating. There were so many aspects of the sinking that I had read about and I have seen Titanic, but I had not really considered the aftermath. This book keeps your interest you can follow all the details. It made me think about men and woman first, how that might affect any male survivor.