Books for children
This joint work by father and son successfully dramatises the terror and confusion surrounding the sinking of The Titanic, especially as it is also the story of protagonist Billy Fleming — a likeable youngster. The irony of his presence aboard the Titanic is that he is afraid to work in the Belfast shipyard as his father recently fell to his death while working on the great ship. Though Billy is a fictional character, his various relationships with many real-life members of the crew and passengers lend credibility to the narrative. Suitable for age eight and upwards.
This volume, using information available in The National Archives, is an attractively laid out fact-file about The Titanic. This book suggests that human error, as well as the much documented stubbornness of Captain Smith, led to the loss of an even greater number of passengers. The lifeboat drill on the preceding Sunday had been cancelled so that people could attend Sunday service; some hours before the collision, the nearby Californian tried to contact The Titanic to give them an urgent ice-warning, only to be told by radio operator Jack Phillips to ‘shut up’. Well-illustrated with contemporary photos and documents, this centenary book is one to keep.
