Titanic: A Survivor's Story and the Sinking of the S.S. Titanic

Customer Reviews:

A Must Read.......2006-07-14

Colonel Archibald Gracie was on board the Titanic when it sank. He was one of the lucky men who was able to cling to a capsized boat for survival. He details his account of the crossing, both before and after the iceberg. He mentions many people that he spoke with on the voyage, hoping to bring comfort to any families whose loved ones he encountered. The book seems to have been a form of therapy for the man and also an attempt to help those with questions after the sinking.

The book is written in 1912 language, but it is still very readable and easy to understand. It is really an excellent resource for specific information; Gracie examines each lifeboat individually with passenger's names (except for the 3rd class) and relays incidents from each compiled from testimony from those in each boat. He uses official documents like the court trial transcripts for his book, making it very credible.

Also included is a short account of John Thayer from the 40s. He was only 17 when the ship sank and lost his father of the same name in the tragedy. Thayer was another of the men clinging to the capsized boat that saved Gracie's life. His testimony enforces many of the things said by Gracie.

Vivid & Meticulous Firsthand Account of Disaster.......2003-03-30

Colonel Archibald Gracie is one of the few people who actually went down with the Titanic and lived to tell about it. First published in 1913, "Titanic" is his detailed account of the last day he spent aboard ship, the evacuation of passengers on the port side of the ship, and of his incredible survival on an overturned lifeboat after being plunged into the frigid ocean when the Titanic finally completely submerged. The first 113 pages of the book are dedicated to Colonel Gracie's firsthand account. In the remaining approximately 200 pages, Col. Gracie has compiled testimony from as many other eyewitnesses as he could find. These firsthand accounts of passengers and crew are taken from the official inquiries in the United States and Great Britain, personal correspondence and interviews with Col. Gracie, and occasionally from firsthand accounts that were published in books and magazines of the day. Taken together, they render a very detailed picture of what went on that fateful night and why more people were not saved. Colonel Gracie died 8 months after the Titanic sank, of illness possibly related to the prolonged exposure to cold that he endured the night the Titanic went down.

This is one of the most comprehensive and precise accounts of the Titanic disaster that you will find. Colonel Gracie is an engaging storyteller. I like his decision to organize the eyewitness accounts by lifeboat. The book also provides some interesting insights into the manners and social attitudes of the time.

Still a very readable account of the Titanic disaster.......2000-06-02

Originally published in 1913 as The Truth About the Titanic, Titanic: A Survivor's Story was the first book by an actual Titanic survivor to appear in print. Colonel Archibald Gracie, a military historian who is treated really brutally by James Cameron in his film, was not only a brave man but an indefatigable historian of the disaster. In the months remaining to him after the sinking (Colonel Gracie died in December 1912, possibly of aftereffects from his harrowing escape), Gracie tracked down other survivors and was the first to make an attempt at putting each survivor into the boat he or she escaped from. Written with period charm, this is an important book about the disaster and will dispell any remaining images of Cameron's doofy "Archie."

Poignant pairing of contrasting accounts of the same tragedy.......1998-11-27

Two of the most poignant survivor accounts of the Titanic sinking. Mr. Gracie, an elderly man with many social ties to others on the ship and Mr. Thayer, the 17 year old son of a prominent businessman were both first class passengers. Both nearly drowned as the Titanic plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic; but found refuge on the upside down collapsible lifeboat B. Mr. Gracie lost his best friend and Mr. Thayer lost his father. The grief each feels still calls out to us.

The style of each narrative is interesting to compare. Gracie, when describing his own experience or his impressions of the significance of the sinking, uses the flowing purple prose of the late 19th century (his style is more straightforward in his compilations of accounts of other passengers and he has even used their actual statements). Thayer, writing in 1940 about his own experience, is terser; but his reflection that the world seemed calm and his place in it assured before that night is poetic. Archibald Gracie died soon after he wrote his narrative. I'm unsure; but I believe Jack Thayer did not live long after he wrote his story. Since Mr. Thayer's account is not generally available in other sources, and Mr. Gracie was so thorough about who was in (or, in his case, on) each lifeboat, this book will be appreciated by any Titanic buff.

Excelent example of a survivor's account.......1998-08-24

I read this book at first to establish some truths about this great story. I feel that it had become a far fetched story of modern times , with all the romantic films and books available today. I came away from reading this book with a sense of great loss. Gracie, has spent a short time explaining the everyday bustle of those on board and at least 300 pages about how the ship sank and who was involved it what.

A truly fantastic read ,and one that has inspired me to read more on the subject. Thanks Archibald !!!!

Book Description

The first of two volumes offers a unique combination of over 270 color maps and illustrations with a detailed chronological summary. The accompanying text gives full details of the main cultural, scientific, religious, and political events of the centuries from the Old Stone Age to the eve of the French Revolution.

Customer Reviews:

Essential Reference for All Non-Fiction readers.......2005-09-21

'The Anchor Atlas of World History, Volumes I and II' are two references evey intelligent reader should have, as soon as they have gotten their unabridged dictionary. I am a real wonk for maps, and for me these volumes are like a free pass to the candy store.

This piece may really be more of an argument for why you really need these books than any critique, primarily because that for the average book buyer, there is very little with which to compare these books.

It should be no surprise that these volumes are translated from the German, as our continental cousins, especially the Germans, French, and Italians are ever so much better at compiling useful references to scholarly subjects. For some reason, the English and, by example, the Americans seem to have little talent or inclination to take on this kind of work. Although the English, especially the Oxford and Cambridge publishing arms do a very good job at some subjects, especially history.

One of the best things about these volumes is that they are 'pocket sized'. One of the worst things about these volumes is that they are pocket sized. While I really appreciate the freedom they give me from quarto-sized pages which catch on my clothing as I balance them on my stomach while trying to read them, they do have very small maps which, I suspect, were a lot bigger in the original German editions. These picture make the Roman Empire fit in a space not much bigger than my palm. Hispania and Jeruselam were never closer!

History is such a rich subject that it really cries out for some good guide to help you find your way, especially in those periods and lands which seem to be left out of my grammar school curriculum.

To take just two very unhistorical fields as examples, I am listening to music of 15th century from Arab Andalusia. A check of the spread of Islamic expansion up to the time of Columbus shows that it was not so much the Arabs (residents of the Arabian Peninsula), but Islamic northern Africans who probably colonized the Ibearean peninsula, so their music has a lot more in common with Morocco than it does with the Levant. Not that I can really tell the difference between 14th century Moroccan from 14th century Lebanese music, but If I were to explore this further, I would have been spared a few dead ends. Another example is the food of modern Spain which owes almost as much to the Berbers of North Africa as it does to its original Roman colonists or later colonial influences from the Americas and the far east.

In general, there is simply no way one can appreciate the complexities of, for example, the political divisions of central Europe from Charlamagne to Napoleon without a map as you will find in these volumes. And, there is much more here than political history, but I feel the authors have wisely concentrated on political history.

One does not even need the text, and I rarely read it, unless I happen to be looking at a time and place which is totally beyond my ken.

If you read any kind of nonfiction or historical fiction, do yourself a favor and buy these volumes!

Fortunately, an updated version is available..........2004-01-08

This excellent resource is no longer out of print. Penguin is publishing soon in Britain an updated two-volume, paperback version (see the Amazon.co.uk site). A one-volume, hardback French version is already available in Canada and France (cheaper in the Amazon.ca site). In both cases, search for the authors, Kinder & Hilgemann.

Should be republished.......2003-10-23

These enjoyable little pocket books take a Cliff Notes approach to history. In a highly abbreviated text, the authors summarize everything from the Cambrian explosion to the Stamp Act of 1763. No important detail is left out.

Now this level of historical detail is available in many formats. What really sets the Anchor Atlases apart is the superb maps and diagrams. The power structure of Byzantine Rome, the campaigns of Alexander and Hannibal, 16th century Indian internecine warfare, etc., are all finely laid out in easy-to-understand, surprisingly comprehensive, illustrations.

The book's major limitation is it's 1975 publishing date, leaving out not just the past 3 decades of history, but also the significant advances in historical learning that have been made in that time as well.

Nonetheless, wonderfully informative and enjoyable.

WHY IS THIS OUT OF PRINT??????.......2002-12-11

You can't read a history book without these two volumes. You get not only maps but a terse narrative (nearsighted people without their glasses only, please) of everything pivotal that ever happened. How could they take these (in paperback form, very portable, as someone else pointed out) out of print?????

I've worn out two sets of these atlases.......2002-11-01

I have worn out two sets of these atlases. Every time I read a book of history, historical fiction, alternative history, or one with historical references, or watch the history channel, this set of books has allowed me to envision the geographical aspects of what I was seeing or reading. It has satisfied my curiosity on countless occasions. No other historical atlas has been up to this standard. It reports the facts, ma'am, just the facts. Others have included politically correct opinions. I wish I could find another set. It is disappointing to find that they are out of print.

Anchor Atlas of World History Vol. 1, The : From the Stone Age to the Eve of the French Revolution (Anchor Atlas of World History Vol. 1 Ser., Vol. 1)

Average customer rating:

A great little book

Anchor Atlas of World History Vol. 1, The : From the Stone Age to the Eve of the French Revolution (Anchor Atlas of World History Vol. 1 Ser., Vol. 1)
Herman; Hilgemann, Werner; Menze, Ernest A. (translator) Kinder
Manufacturer: Doubleday Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KXLHC2

Customer Reviews:

A great little book.......2007-02-21

This fantastic little reference tome contains 4 millenia of world history in an easy to use format. Every other page contains a map or chart of a region or era. The opposite page has a brief description of the events depicted on the chart. Although it is essentially a compendium of just dates, facts, maps and charts, there is a surprising amount of information in here. Moreover, in this age of Wikipedia, where all of this data is available online, it is still rewarding to browse through this book and see how everything is connected together and what has going on in China at the same time that the Taj Mahal was built in India.

My only gripe is that since this book was created by 20th Century German historians, it is euro-centric. However, this pocket-sized book is worth every penny. They should print another edition! Also - the second volume (from 1789 to the 1980s) is also excellent.

Book Description

Leading researchers discuss what is now known about the effects of climate change on the natural world. They examine recent trends in and projections about climate change; ways that particular organisms are responding to climate change; conservation challenges, including social and policy issues; and more.

"This book will be a milestone in the emerging discipline of climate change biology. No issue is more important for the global environment; the impressive line-up of experts here gives it definitive coverage."—Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University

"A well-written treatise on the past, present, and future effects of climate change on plant and animal biodiversity. . . . It is destined to become a classic."—Choice

Arctic Climate Impact Assessment - Scientific Report

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Arctic Climate Impact Assessment - Scientific Report
ACIA - Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521865093

Book Description

The Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. Over the next 100 years, climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social, and economic changes, many of which have already begun. Changes in arctic climate will also affect the rest of the world through increased global warming and rising sea levels. Arctic Climate Impact Assessment was prepared by an international team of over 300 scientists, experts, and knowledgeable members of indigenous communities. The report has been thoroughly researched, is fully referenced, and provides the first comprehensive evaluation of arctic climate change, changes in ultraviolet radiation and their impacts for the region and for the world. It is illustrated in full color throughout. The results provided the scientific foundations for the ACIA synthesis report - Impacts of a Warming Arctic - published by Cambridge University Press in 2004.

Biodiversity Response to Climate Change in the Middle Pleistocene: The Porcupine Cave Fauna from Colorado

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Biodiversity Response to Climate Change in the Middle Pleistocene: The Porcupine Cave Fauna from Colorado

Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0520240820

Book Description

This book chronicles the discovery and analysis of animal fossils found in one of the most important paleontological sites in the world--Porcupine Cave, located at an elevation of 9,500 feet in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. With tens of thousands of identified specimens, this site has become the key source of information on the fauna of North America's higher elevations between approximately 1 million and 600,000 years ago, a period that saw the advance and retreat of glaciers numerous times. Until now, little has been understood about how this dramatic climate change affected life during the middle Pleistocene. In addition to presenting state-of-the-art data from Porcupine Cave, this study also presents groundbreaking analysis on what the data from the site show about the evolutionary and ecological adjustments that occurred in this period, shedding light on how one of the world's most pressing environmental concerns--global climate change--can influence life on earth.

Biodiversity, Temperate Ecosystems, and Global Change (Nato a S I Series Series I, Global Environmental Change)

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Biodiversity, Temperate Ecosystems, and Global Change (Nato a S I Series Series I, Global Environmental Change)
Timothy James Butler Boyle
Manufacturer: Springer-Verlag
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0387579508

Book Description

Reviewed here is the current state of knowledge concerning the relationship between global change and biodiversity of temperate ecosystems. The aim is to improve the ability to conserve biodiversity under conditions of global change. The book focuses on: - The threats posed by global change to biodiversity in temperate ecosystems; - Levels and spatial patterns of diversity in temperate ecosystems; - The impact of global change on genetic diversity; - The effects of disturbance (natural and anthropogenic) on temperate ecosystems; - Existing research priorities and programmes.

Climate, Biodiversity and Forests: Issues and Opportunities Emerging from the Kyoto Protocol

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Climate, Biodiversity and Forests: Issues and Opportunities Emerging from the Kyoto Protocol
Paige Brown
Manufacturer: World Resources Institute Forest Frontiers In
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

As policymakers prepare to implement the limits on greenhouse gas emissions called for in 1997 Kyoto Protocol, this timely report considers the role of forests and land use in protecting the earth's climate and biodiversity. Prepared in a collaboration between World Resources Institute and IUCN-The World Conservation Union, the report focuses on the ways in which forests and land-use change can both exacerbate and mitigate climate change. It identifies opportunities the Protocol presents for the conservation, improved management, and restoration of forests, and it explains why the role of forests has proved controversial. Finally, the report identifies key decisions ahead in industrial and developing countries to seize these opportunities for climate, forests, and biodiversity.

Drowning: The National Heritage Climate Change and Coastal Biodiversity

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Drowning: The National Heritage Climate Change and Coastal Biodiversity
Wa Reid , Walter V. Reid , and Mark C. Trexler
Manufacturer: World Resources Inst
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0915825627

Global Biodiversity In A Changing Environment: Scenarios for the 21st Century (Ecological Studies)

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Global Biodiversity In A Changing Environment: Scenarios for the 21st Century (Ecological Studies)
F.S. Chapin
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0387952497

Book Description

The scientific community has voiced two general concerns about the future of the earth. Climatologists and oceanographers have focused on the changes in our physical environment -- changes in the climate, the oceans, and the chemistry of the air we breathe. Environmental biologists, on the other hand, have addressed issues of conservation and the extinction of species. There is increasing evidence that these two broad concerns are intertwined and mutually dependent. Past changes in biodiversity have both responded to and caused changes in Earth's environment. In its discussions of ten key terrestrial biomes and freshwater ecosystems, this volume uses our broad understanding of global environmental change to present the first comprehensive scenarios of biodiversity for the twenty-first century. Combining physical earth science with conservation biology, Global Biodiversity in a Changing Environment provides a starting point for regional assessments on all scales. The book will be of interest to those concerned with guiding research on the changing environment of the earth and with planning future policy, especially in accordance with the Global Biodiversity Convention.

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An accesible collection of studies on the biology of climate change

Global Climate Change and Life on Earth

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0412028212

Customer Reviews:

An accesible collection of studies on the biology of climate change.......2007-01-16

It's unfortunate that a good collection of studies and overviews of the biology of global warming is already a little out of date (published 2001 according to the display here on Amazon but my paperback copy was dated 1991)but this is still a good handy collection. This book is a good adjunct for the several other books out there for the layperson that describe and explain the meterology,physics,atmospheric studies and oceanography of climate change. This book provides a much needed perspective on the challenges that living organisms face with climate change including sections on agriculture and fisheries. If you wish to be well read on global warming and all of its effects this would be a good addition to your reading list. I just hope up an update will soon be released.

Global Environmental Change and Infectious Diseases: Impacts and Adaption Strategies

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Global Environmental Change and Infectious Diseases: Impacts and Adaption Strategies

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

This book examines how man-made global environmental changes may affect infectious diseases. The authors look at six major global changes: climate change, the thinning of the ozone layer, soil degradation and changes in land use, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity and a degradation of ecosystems of the oceans. This holistic view of the impact of GEC is welcome for two reasons: firstly, the drivers of GEC interact and their effects are therefore difficult to separate and secondly, up until now the literature has focused on single driver views, particularly on the relationship between climate change and health.

Mankind is not portrayed as passively enduring the consequences of its own behavior, but rather as perpetrator, victim and solver of the problems. Hence, the book also deals with adaptation opportunities and describes specific policy suggestions.

Despite its name global change has very different effects locally and there are large differences in the capacity of populations to protect themselves against negative health effects. The authors address inequities both in the environmental disturbances and in the health consequences.

To tackle this task the editors have assembled an impressive group of authors from disciplines as diverse as biogeochemistry, geography, earth science, modelling, microbiology, medicine and epidemiology. However, the book remains very readable for a wide audience of teachers, scholars and interested lay people.

Global Environmental Change: Its Nature and Impact

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Global Environmental Change: Its Nature and Impact
John J. Hidore
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Textbook Binding

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ASIN: 0023541342

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