Dusk to Dawn: Survivor Accounts of the Last Night on the Titanic [Hardcover]

Paul J. Quinn (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0965520994 | ISBN-13: 978-0965520997 | Publication Date: November 1999 | Edition: 1st

On board the Titanic the cream of society laughed, dined and listened to music, and the poorest of immigrants celebrated the hope and joy of entering a new world of opportunity. This book takes you through their evening and into the night, telling the survivor's sales of the dramatic events which would turn all of their lives around. Dawn would find the majestic ship vanished, and desperate survivors floating about the Atlantic in tiny lifeboats. Explore the hours between sunset and sunrise through survivor accounts, stunning colour artwork and black and white photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Quinn, a member of the Titanic Historical Society and author of Titanic at Two A.M., has researched and painted the Titanic throughout most of his adult life. In this lavishly illustrated account, which includes 27 original color paintings by the author and 80 black-and-white photographs, Quinn uses extensive survivor testimony to place the reader in the midst of the last eight hours of the great ship's life: from one passenger's vivid recollection of how the sun's pathway at dusk "ran ahead of us...and slipped over the edge of the skyline" to a survivor's comment, watching from the railing of the rescue ship Carpathia: "Finally the sun came up. It was a beautiful sparkling morning looking down on a group of widely scattered small lifeboats...all that was left of the greatest ocean steamer ever built." Introduced with a thoughtful foreword by Edward S. Kamuda, president and founder of the Titanic Historical Society, this is a documentary counterpoint to other recent retellings. Recommended for larger public libraries and libraries with a special interest in the Titanic.
-Robert C. Jones, formerly of Central Missouri State Univ., Warrensburg
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

Mr. Quinn is an artist and writer who brings a lifetime of interest and research to this book. He has been interested in the Titanic since he was a child. He has spent years recreating the ship in his oil paintings, and prides himself on historical accuracy to detail. Dusk to Dawn uses extensive survivor testimony gleaned from the lengthy full publication of the US Senate Hearings which were held after the Titanic's sinking. Mr. Quinn's careful placement of the recollections of passengers and crew allow the reader to sort out many controversial issues surrounding that night, and relive the experience. Mr. Quinn is a member of the Titanic Historical Society, and his artwork has appeared in their quarterly journal. He is the author of Titanic at Two AM, published in 1997.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fantail; 1st edition (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965520994
• ISBN-13: 978-0965520997
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,726,350 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, July 9, 2001

By 

Thomas Fairbanks (Los Angeles, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dusk to Dawn: Survivor Accounts of the Last Night on the Titanic (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were some real treats in it like the analysis of Captain Smith, who was portrayed by piecing together a whole bunch of survivor statements, which ended up showing a captain who remained involved and on the ball after the collision. I also liked the treatment of a potential third boat (besides the Californian)in the area during and after the Titanic's sinking. This is the first book I read that also showed the captain leaving the bridge only minutes before the impact (instead of the more common portrayal of a little after 9 p.m.) Very interesting.

There are a lot of Titanic books out there, and this is one of several of them that is both informative and entertaining (there are some enjoyable new illustrations in this book as well).

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, October 11, 2000

By 

Kal El (Athens) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dusk to Dawn: Survivor Accounts of the Last Night on the Titanic (Hardcover)

Paul Quinn really does his homework - and follows through with the hard but necessary research that is not evident in so many other Titanic books. He goes through all the court transcripts with a fine-tooth comb, apparently with no particular ax to grind, and simply lets the facts lead where they may. For example, we learn that First Officer Murdoch, who was evidently involved in the final panic and shooting near the bridge, was also much more involved in both port and starboard boat launchings than has been suggested in earlier works. Up to the moment of the rush(s) on the last boat(s), Murdoch was the one officer who kept his head and launched the boats properly. Quinn is also a good painter, and is the first artist to actually portray what survivors saw (and could not see) under real lighting conditions.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Insights into Old Sources, September 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dusk to Dawn: Survivor Accounts of the Last Night on the Titanic (Hardcover)

Paul Quinn has an ability to look at what everyone else has seen (chiefly the British and American Inquiries into the loss of the Titanic) and to think what no one else has thought. This ability defines genius. In his latest book, for example, he follows First Officer William Murdoch throughout the sinking and reveals that it was Murdoch's competence that saved MOST of the people who got off in the lifeboats that night, revealing that there was much more to this man than would be suggested by those of us who have spent what now appears to be too much time focusing on the last ten minutes of his life. One may not always agree with Quin's conclusions (for example, some fine details of the flooding sequence); but agree or disagree, he always makes you think, and rethink, what you thought you already knew. I'll continue to buy all of his books on this subject, just to see what breath of fresh air he next blows on to a tale from the good old, old, old days.