Additional information
by Charles River (Author)
*Includes pictures
*Includes accounts written by some of the people who discovered the wreck
*Includes a bibliography for further reading
"Only a vestige remains of the men and women that but a moment before quickened her spacious apartments with human hopes and passions, sorrows, and joys.' Upon that broken hull new vows were taken, new fealty expressed, old love renewed, and those who had been devoted in friendship and companions in life went proudly and defiantly on the last life pilgrimage together. In such a heritage we must feel ourselves more intimately related to the sea than ever before, and henceforth it will send back to us on its rising tide the cheering salutations from those we have lost." - Senator William A. Smith, Chairman of the Subcommittee appointed for the United States Senate Inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic
Just before midnight on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic, the largest ship in the world, hit an iceberg, setting in motion a chain of events that would ultimately make it history's most famous, and notorious, ship. In the over 100 years since it sank on its maiden voyage, the Titanic has been the subject of endless fascination, as evidenced by the efforts to find its final resting spot, the museums full of its objects, and the countless books, documentaries, and movies made about the doomed ocean liner. Thanks to the dramatization of the Titanic's sinking and the undying interest in the story, millions of people are familiar with various aspects of the ship's demise, and the nearly 1,500 people who died in the North Atlantic in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912. The sinking of the ship is still nearly as controversial now as it was over 100 years ago, and the drama is just as compelling.
The Titanic was neither the first nor last big ship to sink, so it's clear that much of its appeal stems from the nature of ship itself. Indeed, the Titanic stands out not just for its end but for its beginning, specifically the fact that it was the most luxurious passenger ship ever built at the time. In addition to the time it took to come up with the design, the giant ship took a full three years to build, and no effort or cost was spared to outfit the Titanic in the most lavish ways. Given that the Titanic was over 100 feet tall, nearly 900 feet long, and over 90 feet wide, it's obvious that those who built her and provided all of its famous amenities had plenty of work to do. The massive ship was carrying thousands of passengers and crew members, each with their own experiences on board, and the various amenities offered among the different classes of passengers ensured that life on some decks of the ship was quite different than life on others.
Naturally, the intense interest in the Titanic also meant that there would be great efforts made to locate the wreck. In fact, the first searches for the wreck began in the days after the giant ship went down, but given how far down it sank to the floor of the Atlantic and the fact that the ship had inaccurately transmitted its location shortly before it sank, initial efforts were doomed. As it turned out, the most famous wreck in the world would not be located until 1985, over 70 years after the ship sank that fateful April night.
Finding the Wreck of the Titanic: The Search Efforts and Discovery of the World's Most Famous Ship chronicles the numerous searches attempting to locate the wreck of the Titanic, the successful discovery operation led by Robert Ballard, and the initial results of Ballard's find. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the discovery of the Titanic like never before.
