Titanic cover art

Titanic

A Survivor's Story

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About this listen

It was one of the most traumatic events in maritime history, and Archibald Gracie was probably among the last to leave the sinking Titanic on that cold April night in 1912. In this unique account, he describes his personal experiences and remarkable escape from death in the icy waters of the Atlantic, painting a vivid picture of what it was like on board the Titanic in its final hours.

Tracking down other survivors for their stories and attending court hearings to obtain the official record, Colonel Gracie filled in the details of his account, struggling to complete it in spite of illness. Largely due to the effects of his ordeal and exposure in the frigid Atlantic, he finally succumbed on December 4, 1912. His book was published in 1913 to universal acclaim and remains one of the most vivid first-hand accounts of the disaster.

(P)1998 Blackstone Audio Inc.
Engineering Historical

Critic reviews

"A definitive account." ( Los Angeles Times)
All stars
Most relevant
loved every minute of this book, the crew and the people in the life boats were true heroes

great listen

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Col Gracie's personal experience is great for any Titanic fan to listen to. His first hand experience and research to include as much testimony to what happened that night is excellent.

Must read for a Titanic fan

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Very interesting and moving, and well read, something I've wanted to read/listen to for some time

Titanic first hand account

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Gracie spends the first half describing his own experience of the sinking, in a lot of detail. in the second half he presents lots of other survivors' accounts (that were available at the time- mostly from British and American investigations). There are multiple accounts from each lifeboat, from both crew and passengers. Of course, the survivors accounts are not 100% perfect. There were disputes at the time (like whether the ship broke in two) and I think some people's sense of time must have been distorted (unlikely anyone could survive swimming in icy water for an hour and a half..). But, they describe very vividly what it felt like at the time, what those people experienced, it is not an attempt at factual analysis!
The narrator has a voice that sounds like it would match Gracie's portrait and feels perfect for the era, and I really liked that.

A collection of survivor's experiences

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The Author is irritatingly verbose. This book could have been half the size of he'd just spoke normally and not like some bbc2 open university lecturer. This book will help you sleep!!

MIND NUMBINGLY BORING

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