On a Sea of Glass

The Life and Loss of the RMS Titanic

By: Tad Fitch, J. Kent Layton, Bill Wormstedt, George Behe - introduction

Narrated by: Tom Perkins

On the night of 14/15 April 1912, a 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 either drowned or froze to death. How could this 'unsinkable' vessel sink and why did so few of those aboard survive?

The authors bring the tragedy to life, telling the story of the ship's design, construction, and maiden voyage. The stories of individuals who sailed on her, many previously known only as names on yellowing passenger and crew lists, are brought to light using rarely seen accounts of the sinking. The stories of passengers of all classes and crewmembers alike, are explored. They tell the dramatic stories of lives lost and people saved, of the rescue ship Carpathia, and of the aftermath of the sinking.

Despite the tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic led to untold numbers of lives being saved due to new regulations that came into force after the tragedy. This book is an accurate and engrossing a telling of the life of the White Star Line's Titanic. Made special by the use of so many rare survivor accounts from the eyewitnesses to that night to remember, the narrative places listeners in the middle of the maiden voyage and brings the tragic sinking to life as never before.

©2012, 2013 Tad Fitch, J. Kent Layton, Bill Wormstedt (P)2024 Tantor

detailed, however

that wasn't the kind of detail i was expecting. if you want to know what every able bodied seaman had done for each life boat, a very good listen

Level of detail

Most detailed book about the titanic. Extremely well researched. Presents the facts in an unbiased way and lets the listener make their own conclusion.

An unrivaled semi-complete history

I don’t think I could come up with a better recommendation for any Titanic fan, casual or devoted, this history book has everything you could want for an interesting read, everything you could need as a historian and it packs more than a few surprises in its pages. From the concept of Titanic to what happened to her survivors, I could not recommend this entry enough. 10/10 from me.

The definitive Titanic-enthusiasts reference

I have this in its physical form as well. On a sea of glass is an amazing collaboration by historians who have spent years putting together the most concise and well organized work on the story of Titanic.

One of the best Titanic histories. Mediocre recording.

I own this book in multiple formats, it's the most detailed and well researched book on the Titanic I've come across. It's amazing, and kudos to the authors for all of their hard work. The only downside is the recording, for the most part it's fine, however, towards the end especially (most notably during the appendices), there's some weird reverb/sound distortion that is annoying. The book itself is fantastic, and I recommend it to any Titanic enthusiast.

For the Titanic obsessed

Probably the most detailed and up-to-date history and analysis of Titanic and her passengers and crew.