Ken Marschall

On the night of 14–15 April 1912, Titanic, a brand-new, supposedly unsinkable ship, the largest and most luxurious vessel in the world at the time, collided with an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage. Of the 2,208 people on board, only 712 were saved. The rest perished in the icy-cold waters of the North Atlantic, and the tragedy has fascinated and perplexed the world ever since. This stunning book tells the story of not just the Titanic, but also of its sister ships, Olympic and Britannic. Maritime experts J. Kent Layton, Tad Fitch, and Bill Wormstedt tell the stories of these legendary liners with a compelling narrative alongside original artwork from up-and-coming artists, bringing to life the design, construction and service of the ships together with the wrecks of the ill-fated Titanic and Britannic. From the cold, starry night when Titanic collided with her iceberg to the tragic wartime loss of Britannic and the impressive reliability of the long-lived Olympic, this cinematic and immersive new study captures all of the glory and drama of the Olympic-class age and allows readers to visualise Titanic and her sisters like never before.

The name Titanic has become synonymous with catastrophe, the story of this luxurious liner legendary. Wrecked after colliding with an iceberg on her maiden voyage, the loss of around 1,500 lives among her passengers and crew has gone down in history as one of the most emotive and tragic disasters in history. In this evocative collection of photographs the authors of Titanic: The Ship Magnificent tell her full story, from the shipyards of Harland & Wolff and its early vessels, with the backdrop of the great race to build the biggest and best passenger liner, to the frenzy of excitement surrounding her launch. Looking at her officers and crew, as well as her stops at Cherbourg and Queenstown – including some special, rare photographs – the book follows the story to its inevitable conclusion, considering the lifeboats, the presence of the Carpathia and the aftermath of the disaster.