Rating: Summary: A spellbinding read Review: I have been fascinated with the Titanic for years, and now with the resurgance of interest due to the movie, I find myself reaching for this book once again. Of all the many books, articles and journals written on the Titanic, Walter Lord's book touches us in a way the 'newer' books don't. He tells the story from survivor accounts and his own experiences after having researched the great vessel with an honesty that is sometimes cold, yet truthful. He worked with what he had at the time--not technology, but merely an interest to tell the story from a human point of view. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Titanic and her legacy. This is one book you will not want to put down and when you finally do, you may feel the emotions welling inside you as so many before when experiencing the wonder of this great tragedy.
Rating: Summary: A Riveting Classic Review: I first read Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember" in the summer of 1968 as part of my required reading list for freshman year of high school. I was so fascinated by the account that I read it at least three times that summer and early fall. It brought to chilling life one of the greatest maritime disasters in history. As I read the dog-eared, yellowing, crinkled-paper copy of the paperback (its purchase price was sixty-cents back then) once again last year as a "mature" 42 year old, Mr. Lord's brilliant account of the tragedy still held my attention. His vivid, detailed, yet smooth flowing narrative brought back the excitement as felt as a young teenager, in a way that few books have. I recently viewed the movie "Titanic" with my fourteen year old daughter. The movie was thoroughly enjoyable, but there were some aspects of the book (such as the spectre of a rescue ship only a few precious miles away)that could have added to the drama. The book is worth reading both as literature as well as history.
Rating: Summary: Excellent example of masterful non-fiction Review: Very well written, consise, and descriptive portrait of the sinking of the Titanic and what those involved experienced.
Rating: Summary: A Star Crossed Voyage Review: After watching "Titanic" the movie, I wanted to learn more about the people and the dynamics that brought about that night's disaster, and I found it in Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember". "A Night to Remember" is a collection of eyewitness accounts formulated into a complete and enjoyable story. Aside from the culture and characters, Lord goes into great detail to explain the folly that brought about the sinking of the "unsinkable ship". Only a couple miles away, apparently, a large ship named the California sat idle while HMS Titanic began her death throws. Why didn't the California attempt to help the fleeing passengers? Meanwhile, hordes of passengers clamored to get themselves on-top of an overturned life raft, only to fatigue, fall asleep, and slide off its slippery underside. "A Night to Remember" is based on eyewitness accounts and Lord takes the time to explain that some of these accounts have been distorted due to shame or suggestion. Lord shows how news of the Titanic's disaster disseminated and how the true horror had not been well gauged until the Carpathia docked in New York harbor. The Titanic is possibly the greatest maritime disaster in history and "A Night to Remember" gives an in-depth look at how it played-out.
Rating: Summary: You felt as if you were there. Review: Walter Lord did an excellent job of writing this book. As you read the book, you felt as if you were there. You had a sense of what it was like to be on the Titanic the night that it sank. You could vision the first class passengers in their elegant gowns and suits sitting in the dining room eating expensive food and talking about the days activities, the second class passengers standing on the deck looking at the vast ocean, and the third class passengers in the steerage part of the ship being overlooked by the crew and other passengers, but with high hopes that they would soon be starting new lives in America. As the book went into more detail about when the ship collided with the iceberg and began to plunge beneath the waves, you felt as if you were on the ship as it was going down. You could picture in your mind the bustling people and the crew lowering the lifeboats and trying to keep the passengers under control. You could feel the movement of the boat and held your breath as the ship sank, and almost heard the screams and cries of the people in the lifeboats as they realized that everything they had was gone. You could feel the emotions of the people who had survived. This book gives us a look into what really happened on that fateful night.
Rating: Summary: Tragedy At Sea Review: This is the story of the "unsinkable" Titanic. She was four city blocks long, with the latest, most ingenious safety devices, a French "sidewalk cafe", private promenade decks-but only twenty lifeboats for the 2,207 passengers and crew on board.Gliding through a calm sea, disdainful of all obstacles, the Titanic brushed an iceberg. Two hours and forty minutes later, she upended and sank. Only 705 survivors were picked up from her half-filled boats. And she had been called "the ship that God Himself couldn't sink." A Night to Remember is a minute-by-minute account of her fatal collision with an iceberg and how the resulting tragedy brought out the best and worst in human nature. Some gave their lives for others, some fought for survival. Wives beseeched husbands to join them in the boats; gentlemen went taut-lipped to their deaths in full evening dress; hundreds of steerage passengers, trapped below decks, sought help in vain. If you've seen the movie by James Cameron, this book is highly recommended to get the real story.
Rating: Summary: The grand-daddy of all Titanic books... Review: The grand-daddy of all Titanic books, and still one of the best. Much has been written and updated since this book was written in 1955, but it still holds its place as the one that started the interest in the grand old ship, and her tragic fate. Just the starting point for anyone interested in the Titanic...
Rating: Summary: Old but never archaic. Review: Even with the amount of time I've been studying the "Titanic" legend, I still discovered a few new things about the disaster that I didn't know. You won't find a more detailed account anywhere else!
Rating: Summary: All you need to know about TITANIC is right here ! Review: I have received Walter lord's book "A night to remember" and the movie, two weeks ago, since then I have read the book two times and seen the movie three times ! This book is the one and only book you'll ever need to buy to have all the real facts and details about that terrible night. YOU WILL NOT REGET BUYING THIS BOOK !!
Rating: Summary: it was ok Review: I thought that the book was ok. I liked how Lord gave details about what individual people were doing during certain events. But, then again, it was really dragged out and was boring at times. But it was interesting to know how poeple found out about hitting the iceburn, and what they went through.
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