Phyllis Ryerse

Only 127 pages long, with many pages of b&w photos and illustrations, this is a brief but fascinating look at a family's experience on the Titanic as seen from the perspectives of very distant cousins, one extremely wealthy and the other a steward on the ship. Magnate Arthur Ryerson of Philadelphia was returning home with his family after receiving news that his eldest son had died in a car accident. The Titanic happened to be the first available ship. William Ryerson, pleased to have been show more hired for the voyage, is hoping to get back to England in time for his third child's birth.

The author, a relative of both men, has interviewed descendants of both lines and interwoven her insider information with a history of the voyage and its aftermath. The book is breathless at times, with a few too many exclamation marks, but not so much that the reader is dissuaded from continuing. I was able to visualize much of what it described, and it fit quite well with what many readers will have seen in Cameron's film. The photos, diagrams, and contemporary drawings and newspaper articles add to the sense of realism. If you have interest in the Titanic, this is a little treat awaiting you. show less