The Titanic Story: Hard Choices Dangerous Decisions

The Titanic Story is a slender book, the kind that offers entree to the field at the cost of a single Sunday afternoon, but it -- like the story itself -- is "inexhaustible," and merits more than one reading. It has something to offer everyone interested in the story of the Titanic, whatever their familiarity with the facts. Everyone knows how the maiden voyage of the Titanic ended. It's so much a part of cultural literacy, Cox argues, that the real essence of the story -- the people who were involved and their complex choices -- has been lost. The Titanic Story offers an alternative interpretation of the event, courageously treating the victims of the disaster as people instead of moral archetypes, and showing how they, as individuals, were subject to the timeless challenges of being human. His argument is compelling. After reading the Titanic Story, one is likely to agree with Cox that the Titanic disaster not only deserves, but in fact needs, to be apprehended as a complex human drama. Viewing it this way re-establishes the individuality of the victims, and draws them off the drab, flat canvas that popular history has confined them to. Cox reminds us, through judiciously selected stories and interviews, that the choices of passengers and crew aboard the sinking Titanic were the result of difficult, mostly impromptu balances of facts, and that even apt foresight isn't always enough to avoid a moral (or literal) disaster. The Titanic Story is also easy to read, and it has a friendly, discursive tone that's a lot like listening to an unassuming person talk about a matter in which he is well-informed and thoughtful. It brings a literary interpretation to bear upon a serious historical event without getting maudlin or indulgent (he uses the stage metaphor in moderation); it is funny when it's appropriate to be funny; and what's more, it is convincing. Professor Cox's book is an important, unique addition to the corpus of Titanic literature.

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.

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.

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.

A crisp and engaging read, Cox offers up fresh perspectives on this oft-told maritime tale. A veritable life preserver amid the flotsam of current 'Titanic' literature, I heartily recommend this book.