Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - The history of the R.M.S. Titanic, of the White Star Line, is one of the most tragically short it is possible to conceive. The world had waited expectantly for its launching and again for its sailing; had read accounts of its tremendous size and its unexampled completeness and luxury; had felt it a matter of the greatest satisfaction that such a comfortable, and above all such a safe boat had been designed and built - the "unsinkable lifeboat"; - and then in a moment to hear that it had gone to the bottom as if it had been the veriest tramp steamer of a few hundred tons; and with it fifteen hundred passengers, some of them known the world over The improbability of such a thing ever happening was what staggered humanity.

The sinking of the Titanic has captured the imagination of the public like no other tragedy of the modern age. Lawrence Beesley's eyewitness account of the disastrous voyage stands as one of the most carefully written and authoritative books on the subject, despite the fact that it was published only months after the event. Beesley was uniquely qualified to write this book, having himself been a second class passenger aboard the SS Titanic. He gives a detailed description of his personal experiences aboard the doomed luxury liner, setting the record straight on many topics, as well as presenting the event from a variety of other perspectives. Rich in both narrative detail and compassion, The Loss of the SS Titanic should be the first port of call for anyone interested in the famous ship.

The circumstances in which this book came to be written are as follows. Some five weeks after the survivors from the Titanic landed in New York, I was the guest at luncheon of Hon. Samuel J. Elder and Hon. Charles T. Gallagher, both well-known lawyers in Boston. After luncheon I was asked to relate to those present the experiences of the survivors in leaving the Titanic and reaching the Carpathia.

The Loss Of The S. S. Titanic Its Story And Its Lessons By Lawrence Beesley B. A. (Cantab.) Scholar Of Gonville And Caius College One Of The Survivors

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - The history of the R.M.S. Titanic, of the White Star Line, is one of the most tragically short it is possible to conceive. The world had waited expectantly for its launching and again for its sailing; had read accounts of its tremendous size and its unexampled completeness and luxury; had felt it a matter of the greatest satisfaction that such a comfortable, and above all such a safe boat had been designed and built - the "unsinkable lifeboat"; - and then in a moment to hear that it had gone to the bottom as if it had been the veriest tramp steamer of a few hundred tons; and with it fifteen hundred passengers, some of them known the world over The improbability of such a thing ever happening was what staggered humanity.

The circumstances in which this book came to be written are as follows. Some five weeks after the survivors from the Titanic landed in New York, I was the guest at luncheon of Hon. Samuel J. Elder and Hon. Charles T. Gallagher, both well-known lawyers in Boston. After luncheon I was asked to relate to those present the experiences of the survivors in leaving the Titanic and reaching the Carpathia. When I had done so, Mr. Robert Lincoln O'Brien, the editor of the Boston Herald, urged me as a matter of public interest to write a correct history of the Titanic disaster, his reason being that he knew several publications were in preparation by people who had not been present at the disaster, but from newspaper accounts were piecing together a description of it. He said that these publications would probably be erroneous, full of highly coloured details, and generally calculated to disturb public thought on the matter. He was supported in his request by all present, and under this general pressure I accompanied him to Messrs. Houghton Mifflin Company, where we discussed the question of publication. Messrs. Houghton Mifflin Company took at that time exactly the same view that I did, that it was probably not advisable to put on record the Loss of the SS. Titanic, by Lawrence Beesle 4 incidents connected with the Titanic's sinking: it seemed better to forget details as rapidly as possible. However, we decided to take a few days to think about it. At our next meeting we found ourselves in agreement again, --but this time on the common ground that it would probably be a wise thing to write a history of the Titanic disaster as correctly as possible. I was supported in this decision by the fact that a short account, which I wrote at intervals on board the Carpathia, in the hope that it would calm public opinion by stating the truth of what happened as nearly as I could recollect it, appeared in all the American, English, and Colonial papers and had exactly the effect it was i

This analytic, yet personal, account of the sinking of the Titanic by Lawrence Beelsely, scholar of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, provides a valuable complement to the American and British governmental inquiries and modern movies.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

It is related that on the night of the disaster, right up to the time of the Titanic's sinking, while the band grouped outside the gymnasium doors played with such supreme courage in face of the water which rose foot by foot before their eyes, the instructor was on duty inside, with passengers on the bicycles and the rowing-machines, still assisting and encouraging to the last. Along with the bandsmen it is fitting that his name, which I do not think has yet been put on record--it is McCawley--should have a place in the honourable list of those who did their duty faithfully to the ship and the line they served.

Lawrence Beesley, a British schoolteacher, was a second-class passenger on the "Titanic" when it hit an iceberg and sank in two and a half hours. This is Beesley's eyewitness account, written just weeks after the sinking, of his voyage on the "Titanic," the collision with the iceberg, his hours in Lifeboat 13, and his rescue by the "Carpathia." A classic account of the story of "Titanic." With 6 pages of photos.

It is related that on the night of the disaster, right up to the time of the Titanic's sinking, while the band grouped outside the gymnasium doors played with such supreme courage in face of the water which rose foot by foot before their eyes, the instructor was on duty inside, with passengers on the bicycles and the rowing-machines, still assisting and encouraging to the last. Along with the bandsmen it is fitting that his name, which I do not think has yet been put on record--it is McCawley--should have a place in the honourable list of those who did their duty faithfully to the ship and the line they served.

First published in 1912, just two short months after the sinking of the TITANIC, this hauntingly immediate account opens with Lawrence Beesley's story of arriving onshore and soon after walking through the doors of Messrs. Houghton and Mifflin to tell his tale. THE LOSS OF THE S.S. TITANIC represents Beesley's attempt not just to record the events of the sinking but to set the record straight. In so doing, he captures both the majesty and the tragedy of this legendary voyage -- the view from the lifeboat as well as that from the deck. Full of wonderful nautical detail and written with a hair-raising clarity, THE LOSS OF THE S.S. TITANIC is an altogether spellbinding tale of that fateful night -- one you won't soon forget.