«Titanic»: The Canadian Connection

Gordon Turner is the author of Empress of Britain: Canadian Pacific’s
Greatest Ship and the editor of SeaFare, a quarterly newsletter on sea
travel.

In the last dozen years, more than 50 books have been published about
the Titanic and the tragic night in 1912 when she struck an iceberg and
sank, resulting in the loss of 1,500 lives. This slender volume deals
with Canadians and Canada-bound emigrants who were aboard. It gives
short biographies of the better-known ones, who travelled in First
Class, and tells how they conducted themselves in the ship’s final
hours when families were separated, some members to survive and others
to perish. It also describes briefly the role of Halifax, where many
bodies were brought ashore to be embalmed and sent on to next-of-kin, or
in many cases to be interred locally.

The author has done considerable research and has an easy, fluid style
of writing. However, factual errors that have crept into the text,
incorrectly spelled names, and unfamiliarity with nautical terminology
all detract from the book’s value.