The Titanic Story: Hard Choices, Dangerous Decisions [Paperback]

Stephen D. Cox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 1999

The tragedy of the Titanic continues to fascinate readers and filmgoers. Author Stephen Cox maintains that the true stories of those onboard are even more compelling than the fictionalized tale told in James Cameron's box-office smash. Cox retells the real story in human terms, by focusing on a few individuals. Through these survivors' firsthand accounts, he uncovers the fatal decisions that underlay the events.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Cox dissects the actions of Bruce Ismay, director of the White Star Line, which built and maintained the Titanic, on the fateful night of its sinking. The image of Ismay climbing into a lifeboat and rowing away with his back to the sinking vessel is just one of the lasting, eerie memories portrayed here. Cox has taken the court testimony of passengers, sailors, even a ship's cook, and helped put a human face on the survivors of the wreck; unfortunately, some of those faces would be distasteful to look at, considering the actions of their owners. Cox regales us with tales of the lifeboats and the human struggle going on aboard as some payoffs were made and some boats skedaddled from the site of the sinking ship with all due speed, while many floundered about in the freezing water. Cox has the necessary scorn for Ismay and others whose actions were less than heroic, and his critic's approach to the affair reveals that the event truly did change people's lives. Joe Collins

Review

A stellar blend of analysis and primary source material: good for both recreational reading and history studies. -- Booklist YA, 4/1/99

At a time when the popular media's distortion of the Titanic's story reaches its zenith, this persuasive clarification and debunking of public misconceptions is particularly welcome; it must form an essential part of any Titanic student's library. -- Philip Armstrong, Secretary of the Ulster Titanic Society

In 87 years the story of the Titanic has been reduced to slogans and soap opera. The Titanic, we are told, was doomed from the start by arrogant certainty in technology and progress. It was a time when rich people got out and let the poor sink.

Stephen Cox, professor of literature and director of the Humanities Program at the University of California at San Diego, argues modern moviemakers have radically simplified the Titanic story and essentially falsified it.

The lessons drawn from the Titanic are more debatable than they are made out to be today, Cox writes, and in any case are not what makes the story the cultural icon it has become. We remember the Titanic because it was a morality play. Ordinary people were forced to make "lifeboat" choices usually left to college philosophy classes. -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/17/99

There are more comprehensive treatments of the Titanic than this book, but none that better conveys why we should care how a couple thousand people spent two hours in the middle of one hellish night in the North Atlantic eighty-seven years ago. -- The Weekly Standard, 5/31/99

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Open Court; 2nd edition (March 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812693965
• ISBN-13: 978-0812693966
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,294,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Titanic Story: Easy choice, wise decision, March 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Titanic Story: Hard Choices, Dangerous Decisions (Paperback)

The most remarkable thing about this remarkable book is that, after all that has been written about the Titanic, someone has contributed a fresh perspective. Author Stephen Cox quiets the cacophony of finger-pointing moralizers, who so confidently distinguish heroes from villains in this tragedy, with his careful and thoughtful analysis of the ethical paradoxes associated with the event. This impartial treatment and the annotated bibliography are worth the price of admission. But the real treat is the drama of the Titanic Story. Intertwined with the factual descriptions are the excerpts from exciting eyewitness testimonies, taken primarily from the American and British inquiries after the disaster. Add to these the fascinating and poignant photographs of the people whose lives were destroyed by the Titanic, and you have a hell of a read. You will enjoy this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Titanic Story: an Easy Choice and a Safe Decision, February 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Titanic Story: Hard Choices, Dangerous Decisions (Paperback)

The most remarkable thing about this remarkable book is that, after all that has been written about the Titanic, someone has contributed a fresh perspective. Author Stephen Cox quiets the cacophony of finger-pointing moralizers, who so confidently distinguish heroes from villains in this tragedy, with his careful and thoughtful analysis of the ethical paradoxes associated with the event. This impartial treatment and the annotated bibliography are worth the price of admission. But the real treat is the drama of the Titanic Story. Intertwined with the factual descriptions are excerpts from exciting eyewitness testimonies, taken primarily from the American and British inquiries after the disaster. Add to these the fascinating and poignant photographs of the people whose lives were destroyed by the Titanic, and you have a hell of a read. You will enjoy this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND INDEPENDENT THINKING, May 17, 2000

By 

himichael "himichael" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Titanic Story: Hard Choices, Dangerous Decisions (Paperback)

This is the best revisiting of the facts that you can buy. However, I fully expected to see a lot of bad reviews here because of the book's originality. Independent research and independent thinking have led the book's author to some controversial conclusions. If you read this with an open, critical mind, some little thought bubbles full of Titanic preconceptions will burst.