Book review: Titanic On Trial

THESE accounts, collated from testimonies from the two separate inquiries spanning the Atlantic, are absolutely riveting.

CONSIDERING the amount of coverage in the past century given to the sinking of the Titanic, it is unlikely there are many people in the developed world (or elsewhere) that don't have at least rudimentary knowledge of the events surrounding this incident, it being one of the most famous disasters.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised upon reading this book in finding such an amount of information of which I was previously unaware. This is in large part due to the fact it is taken mainly from the words of those who either survived the sinking (passengers and crew) or those involved in rescue efforts.

These accounts, collated from testimonies from the two separate inquiries spanning the Atlantic, are absolutely riveting, giving quite an insight as to how the situation unfolded, and the ship's demise along with the majority of souls on board.

Given 2012 marks a century since the sinking, this book is an especially fascinating look at not only the incident but also the differing standards of the day in comparison with ours.

Titanic On Trial
Nic Compton
Bloomsbury, $19.99