Lost Voices from the Titanic: The Definitive Oral History

Front Cover
Random House, 2009 - History - 352 pages
This is the story of the world's most infamous ship, told in the words of those who designed her, built her, sailed her and survived her sinking.
Starting from its original conception and design by the owners and naval architects at the White Star Line through construction at Harland and Wolff's shipyards in Belfast, Nick Barratt explores the pre-history of the Titanic. He examines the aspirations of the owners, the realities of construction and the anticipation of the first sea-tests, revealing that the seeds of disaster were sown by the failure to implement sealed bulkheads.
Barratt then looks at the Titanic's maiden voyage in April 1912, examining the lives of various passengers in more detail, from the first-class aristocrats to the families in third-class and steerage. Similarly, the stories of representatives from the White Star Line who were on board, as well as crew members, are told in their own words to offer a very different perspective on the voyage.
Finally, the book examines the disaster itself when Titanic struck the iceberg and sank hours later. Survivors from passengers and crew recount what happened, taking us back in time to the full horror of that freezing Atlantic night when up to 1,520 people perished.

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About the author (2009)

Dr Nick Barratt obtained a PhD in history from King's College London in 1996. Nick started work in television whilst working at the BBC as a specialist archive researcher. He is also in demand as a speaker on popular history and geneology following his work as a presenter, reviewer and commentator on all aspects of history, notably family history. for the BBC on Who Do You Think You Are. He has worked with a variety of companies, celebrities and TV presenters often compiling their family history including Richard Bacon, Richard Hammond, Victoria Beckham and Catherine Zeta Jones, Nick also writes a weekly column in the Daily Telegraph called 'The Family Detective'.

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