Shipwrecks in 100 Objects

Shipwrecks in 100 Objects written by Simon Wills and published by

Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 224

The history of shipwrecks involves many shocking episodes: from men who saw shipmates eaten

by sharks, to castaways who ate each other. Learn about the cowardly captain who deserted his

passengers on a sinking ship, the obstinate ship-designer who took 480 men to their deaths, and

the first mate who wrecked his own ship for insurance money.

Historian and genealogist Dr Simon Wills is maritime adviser to BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? programme. In this fascinating book he uses objects associated with real incidents as touchstones for every tale. Our ancestors believed that sea monsters destroyed ships, but better-established causes include storms, war, pirates, human incompetence, fire and ice.

The pages of this book are packed full of tales of dramatic rescues and miraculous survivals, and as well as the stories of the innovations that have improved safety at sea. Meet the man shipwrecked three times within an hour, a coastguard still diving overboard to save lives at 79, and the lifeboat inventor who endured someone else taking credit for his work. Ships can have character too: refusing to sink despite overwhelming odds, or even returning to haunt us as ghost ships.

The dangerous life afloat stimulated pioneers to create the lifeboat service, offshore lighthouses, and lifejackets. Vessels lost at sea also inspired rewards for bravery, and artists and writers such as J.M.W. Turner, William Wordsworth, and Yann Martel the author of Life of Pi.

Featuring famous wrecks such as Mary Rose and Titanic, this book introduces other less well-known but equally remarkable events from our nautical heritage, some of which seem almost too extraordinary to be true.

Shipwrecks in 100 Objects is fast becoming one of my favourite book series, and the reason for this is that it shows how much you can learn about something just from small, seemingly inanimate objects or places. This is probably the 4th 100 Objects book that I have read, and this book is just as good as the others. They are all very interesting to read, the information is always insightful and intriguing, the authors always seem to do so much research and put plenty of detail into the book. This book covers a plethora of shipwrecks or problems at sea, ranging from wrecks through the weather, ‘monsters’, pirates and collisions with ships and the rocks. The objects are also wide-ranging and obscure too, such as paintings, medals, stained glass windows, tickets, photos and much more. I fully enjoyed this book and in quite a way it gets you hooked on the sea-faring life, if you are into life on the waves, you’ll love this book.

Titanic - Day By Day

Titanic - Day by Day written by Simon Medhurst and published by Pen &

Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 400

After the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912, the story hit the headlines worldwide.

Details of the tragedy were displayed on the front pages of every newspaper and

magazine, and were talked about in every home.

The events that happened on that fateful night should never be forgotten. In this unique book, each page is filled with information for every Titanic enthusiast, whether seasoned or a beginner. For each day of the year, there are births and deaths of passengers and crew alongside relevant newspaper articles from the time. These are details of true-life events as seen by the eyes of the world in 1912.

Also included are Titanic facts and Titanic survivor quotes. This allows the reader to discover more about the tragedy as it unfolded before the eyes of witnesses, and to delve into the British and American inquiries to see what really happened.

Simon's great-grandfather Robert Hichens, one of the six quartermasters of the Titanic, was at the helm when the ship hit the iceberg. He survived on lifeboat number six. His experience on Titanic is one of hundreds recounted in this book, passengers and crew alike.

Titanic Day by Day has a worldwide appeal to all ages because of the wealth of information and facts within. The book can be picked up both for casual reading or used every day of the week and enjoyed. It is distinctive in the way that it covers facts and information on Titanic’s passengers and crew in a daily format. With the information displayed throughout a full year, this allows for a uniquely straightforward exploration of details about the people who perished in the waters of the Atlantic and those that survived. This will keep their stories alive for generations to come.

This book is very much a personal book concentrating on the passengers rather than the disaster itself. The book looks at every day throughout the year and looks at the personal events of the people who were on board on that date. What this allows is the personal stories of the people and how the disaster affected them, and it should be said that the accounts are of those passengers but also the crew members on board. This was a nice easy read, but it should also be said that it was very informative and detailed, there has been a lot of research gone into this book.

Key Figures Aboard RMS Titanic

Key Figures Aboard RMS Titanic written by Anthony Nicholas and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £20.00 - Hardback - Pages 208

Titanic. The Marilyn Monroe of ocean liners. A sleek, sultry beauty, taken out way before her time. A kind of 21st century Flying Dutchman, with interiors by Cesar Ritz, still striving to achieve the waters of a port she can never reach.

Titanic is a brilliantly lit stage, carrying her cast of exotic, terminally endangered extras toward an abyss at once both unfathomable and inconceivable.

Here’s where any similarity with any other tome about the Titanic ends.

For the first time ever, a succession of key characters and groups of individuals come to the fore. Centre stage, over seventeen chapters, we meet the men whose decisions, actions and omissions combined like some slow burning powder trail to trigger a final, cataclysmic conclusion; the foundering, in mid-Atlantic, of the biggest moving object ever seen on the face of the planet.

One by one, a series of individuals take a bow. Seemingly omnipotent owners and hugely experienced ship’s officers. Engineers and designers. Would be rescuers and embattled wireless operators.

We meet them as individuals, not supermen. Their histories, backgrounds and life experiences are assessed for the first time ever, putting their actions on the night that Titanic sank into a context, a light as stark as that of the distress rockets, arcing into the sky…

This book to me is about the writing and the stories of those involved in the events that happened that fateful night in 1912. We all know that the Titanic was one of the biggest cruise liners in the world and through a number of mistakes, it would hit an iceberg and would slowly sink to the bottom of the ocean. As I said firstly was the excellent writing by the author Anthony Nicholas, the book is split into 17 chapters but each one looks at a figure in the building, commissioning and working on the liner. Some of the figures and stories you have a lot less sympathy for and some of them show a great deal of fortitude and bravery. But the writing conveyed by the author is great and really had me engrossed in the book which I spent a long evening reading. I would definitely recommend this book to others for its great detail and writing.

Why the Titanic was Doomed

Why the Titanic was Doomed written by Bryan Jackson and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20.00 - Hardback - Pages 176

Titanic – the most magnificent ocean liner of her time – was doomed and destined for disaster before she ever left the docks at Southampton. Doomed by her owner, doomed by her designers, doomed by the men who sailed her -- doomed even by her sister ship.

Author Bryan Jackson presents a new and unique look at the many circumstances that came together the night of April 14, 1912 to claim over 1,500 lives and leave Titanic lying in 12,000 feet of water on the bottom of the North Atlantic.

Each chapter details how seemingly disconnected pieces served to create a tragedy that remains as significant today as it was over a century ago. They include flawed design decisions, outdated regulations, substandard materials, weather conditions, lookouts left blinded and warnings never acted upon. Perhaps the most fascinating piece is a look at how events involving sister ship Olympic would result in Titanic being placed directly on course to meet the iceberg which would sink her.

In addition, Jackson offers a look at the circumstances that saved some from perishing in the tragedy. They range from the rich and famous -- to family members travelling in third-class who managed to escape the sinking while the majority of the passengers sailing in those accommodations would not survive.

Also provided is a comprehensive Titanic timeline which details the events which lead to her construction -- and eventual destruction.

I have to say right from the start, I thought this book was brilliant. I loved the writing, the format and the amount of research and work gone into it is enormous. I really enjoyed the way the book had been split into 14 important reasons why the Titanic was doomed, and doomed from the start. The book looks at how the ship was built, the materials used, the lack of staff training, cheap equipment and how aesthetics was put over safety and comfort. Oh and there was a big iceberg too.

The reasons or possible reasons for the sinking were in some cases just staggering. Although I am not a huge fan of Titanic history, I must say that I learnt so much from reading this book. But to think the owner of the company managed to survive the sinking by getting into a lifeboat sticks in the throat, as it was some of his decisions that doomed the ship. I loved reading this book and I can honestly say it is already in my top 3 books of the year. A book I would wholeheartedly recommend to others.