Many people still know about the Titanic. The unsinkable liner on its maiden voyage from Britain that struck an iceberg and sank with the loss of almost 2000 lives. But not a lot of people know about the Carpathia, the small liner that came to the rescue of those survivors in the lifeboats.
This book tells the story of the Carpathia. It’s a good read, if you jump those pages dealing with the modern day diving and salvage attempts. I found these distracting. I just wanted to read un-interupted the story of how the Carpathia came to the rescue of the doomed liner.
When author Jay Ludowyke gets into the Carpathia story, its gripping in its own right. How the small liner had such a weak radio signal she could not tell the world for days of her rescue work or the tragic loss of life with the loss of the Titanic. Of how the Captain (Arthur Rostron) shielded the survivors from the press, how his meticulous organisation kept many of the survivors alive.
I only wish she had refered to the vessel as “The Carpathia,” not “Thia,” it seemed a little jarring. But her narrative takes us through to World War One when The Carpathia was torpedoed and sank by a German U boat. A sad end to a plucky little liner,
The book also includes some fascinating photos and provides the online explorer with lots to follow up in a companion to the end of the Titanic.
