Titanic Audiobook By Colonel Archibald Gracie cover art

Titanic

A Survivor's Story

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Titanic

By: Colonel Archibald Gracie
Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
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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. Historical Biographies & Memoirs Ships & Shipbuilding Transportation Engineering

Critic reviews

"A definitive account." (Los Angeles Times)
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This story is told by a person who was there. So many things went wrong. It's hard to imagine.

It's a heartbreaker

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Mr. Gracie's description of the Titanic's sinking is remarkable in its telling of the honor and humaniry of those on that ship. Gracie's writing is different and takes some getting used but it is good. I liked it.

Shows the honor of that night...

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Reading the differing opinions about certain happenings on the doomed ocean liner is eye opening. There was so much happening all at once during the sinking that a full knowledge about any one instance would be impossible. Also, there were forms of prejudice, both of nationality and concerning ones job, at play at certain times as well. Concerning the ship breaking apart, people didn't want to believe it broke apart partly because it could mean the work had been shoddy and in part because they expected more commotion from the ship than they heard. Although we know so much better today that she did break apart, it seems perfectly reasonable to me that the majority of the day found that hard to believe. Concerning "President Ismay's" conduct, as most beginner historians (and it seems the majority of the Titanic's day, excluding the author of this book) I spent a lot of time believing that he was largely to blame for the accident and was utterly wrong to enter a lifeboat. Nonetheless, the facts point toward him just trying to do his best given each situation and only going in so the boat would be more filled. I think those assertions are more visible when you take into account the manner of Mr. Ismay's brokenness proceeding the American and British tribunals. I have come to feel more for the man. This book has been truly eye-opening. I hope to read other accounts, especially those from different classes of people.

A Bit of History

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The sinking of the Titanic was written months after the actual event.

It is interesting to compare what we know as fact today, i.e., the breaking apart of the ship, to that of eyewitness accounts.

The rating would be higher were it not for the narrator. He is completely dry and unemotional—he could have been reading a cookbook.

Titanic

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This book goes into alot of detail about who was on which lifeboats, and the hearings, and actual quotes at those hearings, into the sinking of the Titanic.
That part, quite lengthy, does drag on a bit, but as this was written by a survivor in the same year as the sinking, it is a very credible and interesting account.

Amazing Detail from a Survivor

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