REVIEW: The Ship of Dreams

The Ship of Dreams:
The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era
Author: Gareth Russell

I have read multiple books about the Titanic. I've read many, many facts and tales about the building of the ship, the White Star Line and its leaders, the race to build bigger and faster passenger ships in the early 1900s, the passengers, causes of the sinking, the trial and aftermath of the accident, etc. All that reading, and this book still provided details and information I had not read before! Gareth Russell digs down into the Edwardian Era and the people/time that created the Titanic and its sister ships. He also gives details about six different passengers on the ship....their privileged lives, what led them to be on board, and their fate.

So interesting!! I loved every single word of this book! Buying a copy for my non-fiction keeper shelf!

First off -- this book is non-fiction. This is not a narrative story or filled with fictionalized drama. This book presents facts -- lots and lots of details. The writing style keeps it interesting, but be aware that this is 300+ pages of non-fiction -- not a story. Russell gets down to the nitty gritty of society at the time, details about specific passengers, text from reports, letters, telegrams, facts about the ship and other ships of the day, the crew, interior of the ship compared to other ships of the era, the White Star Line.....I could keep going. There is a lot of information tucked into this book. Readers who like Titanic facts but don't enjoy reading non-fiction might want to skip this one. I love non-fiction, so all of the details, facts, information did not bother me one bit.  Loved it!

This is the first book by Gareth Russell that I've read. I will definitely be reading more! It is obvious that he did a huge amount of research and I like his writing style. The facts are all laid out in an interesting manner. I read this book slowly -- one chapter a night to let all the facts and details soak in. In my opinion, this is the best book on the Titanic and its sinking (that I have read). Interesting, sound research, and an in depth look at the aftermath of the sinking and the era that created larger, faster and much fancier passenger ships. Awesome read!

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**