Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage

Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic’s First Class Passengers and Their World
By Hugh Brewster
Crown, 2012. 338 pgs. Nonfiction

From what led the passengers to their trip, to the rescue by the Carpathia in the freezing Atlantic, this book walks the reader through the first and final voyage of the Titanic. Using narratives from the lives of prominent passengers we read about the splendor of the first class accommodations, the clothes, the company kept, the unheeded ice warnings, the lookout’s missing binoculars, and the pressure to put on speed. Scrupulous research and 100 rarely-seen photographs bring this book to life to depict a vivid account of the Titanic’s tragically short life.

While I’m familiar with the Titanic’s tale I can’t say I know much about the passengers. This book changed that. It didn’t follow a particular person’s story, but the same people cropped up throughout and that made it feel real. This is definitely something I would recommend to anyone interested in learning more about the Titanic, or to someone who enjoys narrative nonfiction. This is not a book that just lists facts. It takes you on a journey.

ACS