The Titanic: End of A Dream [Paperback]

Wyn Craig Wade (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The most scrupulous of the recent spate of books on the Titanic disaster, Wyn Craig Wade's book relies on survivors' accounts to establish some startling facts, including that almost two-thirds of the first-class passengers survived while only a quarter of the steerage passengers made it to safety. And that those in the lifeboats chose to ignore the piteous cries of passengers in the water, almost all of whom perished. This chilling account demonstrates that the Titanic's sinking was in many ways entirely avoidable.

Review

A thorough, argumentative work, concentrating not on the drama of multitudinous subjective viewpoints . . . but on the verbatim testimony by witnesses. -- The New Yorker, John Updike

Product Details

• Paperback: 358 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (April 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140166912
• ISBN-13: 978-0140166910
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hows and Why of the Titanic Disaster, September 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Titanic: End of A Dream (Paperback)

The Titanic is the story of the greatest ocean disaster of at least this century. This does not include wartimes naval tragedies for this event in 1912 did not need to happen. As the 2nd Officer of the Titanic,Lightoller,once commented that it was all against us that night. The events of that night and others that lead up to it are recalled with fresh memories. This due to the work of a Senator from Michigan and his committee who actually met the rescue ship Carpathia in New York and served many of the notables with subpoenas. The Inquiry was held within a week of the rescue ship arriving in New York. As time goes on the stories of fact get embellished to small and great degrees. This book deals with a source that was very fresh and thus gives a great read that fills in so many details. It is a book you can't put down I rate it among the best ever written on the Titanic. Right up there with the best author on this subject Walter Lord. Mr Wade did a tremendous job in his take on that incredible night the Titanic went down.

If you have seen the movie by James Cameron or any other drama of lesser quality,which speak for most of them, go and Buy the Book. When you finish you will begin to understand why the story of this so rumoured unsinkable ship stands the test of time.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Biased but excellent, April 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Titanic: End of A Dream (Paperback)

Years ago, this was the first Titanic book I ever read, and it had an incredible influence on me. End of a Dream is a wonderfully-researched, wonderfully-written account of the aftermath, a fascinating subject given only a few pages in every other Titanic book I know of. However, it does have its flaws. I don't believe that Wade gives too much credit to Senator Smith, but I do think that in promoting his hero's place in history, he neglects some aspects of the story. For example, he pays too little attention to an area of the inquiry that raised many voices in 1912 -the question of whether news of the disaster had been covered up- as well as Philip Franklin, the major figure in that controversy. Franklin played a part in the inquiry almost as great as that of his employer Ismay, but he is a made minor figure in Wade's drama, as well as a rather ridiculous one. (He also gets his first name misspelled.) I don't mean to be over-critical of Wade, whose book was a landmark in Titanic study and remains one of the two best works on the subject today, but I do think that in order to increase the light shining on Smith he may have dimmed those shining on the equally interesting people around him. His book could have also benefited from a more appropriate title and cover blurb.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A detailed description of the U.S senate Titanic inquest!, December 8, 1999

By 

Jameson Holman (Toronto , Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Titanic: End of A Dream (Paperback)

Wyn Wade renowned Titanic historial shares his knowledege of the ship in a detailed fact filled boook sharing testimony fron the 82 witnesses at hte U.S titanic investigation in a detailed manner . Wyn also in great detail talks about the tragic legendary voyage in a very moving way . Learn more about the Titanic before reading the book , it takes much knowledge on the ship to memorize the testimony as I did.