Customer Reviews

Titanic in Photographs (Titanic Collection)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was originally reluctant to buy this because of the fear of redundancy, but my fears were unfounded. This book offers an insight into many photos I hadn't seen before, reproduced in a sharp detail that appears as if they were taken last week. From construction to fitting out, to post disaster, the range of photos is quite satisfying. Of course there are the few that are grainy and fuzzy, but they are few. There are also some colour illustrations that leave one nostalgic.

If you are looking for a great photo book on Titanic, this is the one. The text is moderate, making this more of a photo essay. I don't read much of the text in these kinds of books because I like the visual, so I can't comment on the text.

The story of the Titanic from construction to the aftermath of its collision with an iceberg in the North Atlantic on an April, 1912, night is told through the medium of photographs (plus some contemporary publicity illustrations). The construction is covered in as broad a selection of illustrations as I have ever seen, and I would suppose that almost every image taken of the Titanic afloat is reproduced here. For interior views, in a few cases photos from her sister ship, Olympic, are substituted, because no actual Titanic photograph of the desired detail (such as the grand staircase and the elevators) is known to exist.

The book is undoubtedly aimed more towards the Titanic enthusiast than the general reader, in that there is no comprehensive narration to tie everything together. But for that Titanic enthusiast, "The Titanic in Photographs" is a nice addition for the bookshelf. Most, although not all, of the photos have been printed elsewhere, but seldom in such a handy, widely inclusive manner. And a general reader would also enjoy browsing through the collection, I believe, as a window in a hundred years ago.

Another great work from the authors of the 'bible' of Titanic ("Titanic: The Ship Magnificent")

I finally picked up a copy of this book on the weekend and read it in a day. I can vouch for what everybody else here has said that this is an excellent book for any enthusiast's collection.

I was taken by the thoroughness of the photographic record and the written text as well. Its a great start off point for any person just getting interested in the tale of Titanic, or even for the more long term seasoned veteran.

The pictures are very crisp and clear and will be seminal for close study of details. The real selling point of this book is that it contains the uncropped photos of Titanic. Most photos are limited to one page only, thereby eliminating the annoying crease from the book's spine obscuring details. I liked the fact that this was a book of Titanic photos (as the title says) with only the odd Olympic photo standing in when no photo of Titanic existed.

The text is sound, easy to read and engaging. It takes you through from the inception of these large ships to the calamity and aftermath. There are a few details, especially found in the solid captions to each photo, that I was not even aware of. Its always exciting to discover some new tidbit of information regarding Titanic that I never knew before, rather than a simple rehash of the known details.

The mid-colour section is breathtaking, with ample period photos displayed.

As Ken Marschall states in the Forward, such a book of Titanic photos is conspicuously missing from the record, but here is one book that goes over and above. Although it is true that every Titanic photo taken may not have been seen or discovered yet, this volume gives the historian and enthusiast all they can want in having most of the more important photos of Titanic in one exceptional volume. A Must Have!...5 Stars!