How to Survive the Titanic or The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay [Paperback]

J Bruce Ismay's life was defined by a single event - the fact he survived the sinking of the Titanic when so many others, including hundreds of women and children, did not. While the captain duly, nobly and even appropriately, in a macabre sort of way, went down with his ship Ismay, the chairman of the White Star Line, stepped into a lifeboat and was saved. The public, viewing the tragedy with horror needed a villain to blame and focused on Ismay, accusing him of cowardice, a reckless desire to push the ship onwards at full speed no matter what and blaming him for the lack of lifeboats. What Frances Wilson does in her book, and does very well in my view, is explain how matters were not quite so simple and, while never taking sides, she reveals that Ismay was not, perhaps, the monster of popular opinion.

None of us can ever really know what it was like to be on the Titanic as she went down. We can watch the films, read the numerous accounts of the sinking and look at the poignant photographs of the ship leaving land behind forever but mercifully being in the midst of the chaos, the screams and the panic as the water lapped across the sloping decks will always be the stuff of nightmares, rather than something we actually experienced. If we were in that situation and, like Ismay, had the chance to calmly step into a lifeboat can any of us honestly say we wouldn't have taken the opportunity? According to Ismay, and to those officers who survived and who witnessed the event, the boat deck was clear of women and children when Ismay took his chance. It is admittedly a difficult statement to believe but Ismay wasn't the only one to claim it was the case. One can argue that the Darwinian instinct to survive took over and that the socially acceptible code of behaviour in which women and children were given priority was trampelled in the process but if there were no women in sight then surely he did little wrong. Other first class male passengers took their chances in earlier lifeboats and were left largely unscathed by the press. Ismay, because of his position with White Star, was castigated.

J Bruce Ismay, in the book, never comes across as likeable: he is handsome and elegant but cold, distant, aloof and with little ability or desire to make friends. His treatment of his wife was similarly cold. None of this helped him during the inquiries following the sinking - his manner was unhelpful, distant, even a little shifty as his memory began to appear selective and inconsistent. Also, as Wilson points out, he inhabited a curious position on the ship: not one of the crew but a man who could sway the captain; a passenger who had not paid for his ticket; an occupant of First Class whose family had made their money (poor show) rather than being born into it. Ismay is always out of place, out of time, and in some ways it is difficult to feel anything but a degree of sympathy for him.

The final piece of Wilson's book links Ismay with the character of Lord Jim from Joseph Conrad's novel of the same name. I've always liked Conrad so I found these passages interesting but admittedly if you were looking for a book purely on Ismay and the Titanic you might find their presence sits a little awkwardly. All the same, I think the parallel is valid - art and life, after all, do have a habit of immitating one another and the author draws some perceptive analogies between the fate of the real man and his literary alter ego.

In conclusion Frances Wilson writes very well and persuasively and I found her analysis, comments and observations on Ismay and the incredible night the Titanic went down utterly fascinating. Recommended.

Contains some interesting information about Ismay's attitude to the sinking but presents no new details to confirm exactly what action was or was not taken by him on that night of disaster. The book also has a great reliance on long quoted passages from 'Lord Jim' by Joseph Conrad. All in all not the most informative read.

J. Bruce Ismay was the managing director and chairman of the White Star Line, the company that built the Titanic. Ismay was on board and had seen a warning about ice sent from the Baltic, but went to bed after dinner apparently unconcerned. When the collision occurred at 11:40pm Ismay awoke and went to the bridge. One of a handful of people on board who realised the ship would sink he failed to warn his secretary, valet, dining companion or others of the danger. However, he did help load the lifeboats on the starboard side and was helping load Collapsible C, one of the four life rafts when he claimed, "I helped everybody into the boat that was there, and, as the boat was being lowered away, I got in." On this one action, Ismay was judged by the media as a coward. There were conflicting reports in the confusion - that Ismay was ordered to go, that he was virtually thrown into the boat by an officer, that he left on the first boat, that women already in the boat begged him to accompany them or that he was pressured to leave by members of the crew or the Captain. Ismay himself claimed he only took a seat when no women were there to take a place before him, but his actions were a defining moment in his life. William E. Carter, an American polo-playing millionaire, jumped into Collapsible C at the same time as Ismay and also claimed the deck was deserted and both men got into the lifeboat only after checking no women were there. However, Carter also claimed his wife and children had already left the ship and later, his wife Lucille, sued for divorce claiming he had deserted her and her children to their fate. Other passengers claimed there was pandemonium around the boat and that Ismay pushed his way on. So, was there a crowd, no people in sight, a panic or had Ismay made sure all women and children on his side of the ship had been put into the boats? The general confusion and panic meant that stories conflicted and people remembered things differently.

Ismay certainly did not seem to understand the general mood after the sinking of the Titanic and seemed disconected with people. On the Carpathia he hid in a cabin, refusing to see other passengers and not trying to help. He wanted to return to England as soon as he arrived in New York, but was virtually coerced into remaining for an inquiry led by Senator William Alden Smith. He was questioned on the stand for hours and the press made up their mind he was to blame. Ismay complained, saying "I did not suppose the question of my personal conduct was the subject of the inquiry." Neither Smith nor newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst gave him an easy time. The story of Ismay's survival was bigger than the story of the Titanic itself. The most serious accusation was that he had not wanted the Titanic to slow down in dangerous waters because he wanted to break the speed record to New York. The most common accusation was that he did not behave like a gentleman. Indeed, it was Ismay who was responsible for turning down suggestions for more lifeboats. Although, in his defence, the Titanic carried 10% more than the British Board of Trade's official requirements. A White Star Official said, "If a steamship had enough lifeboats for all there would be no room on deck for the passengers". Instead of lifeboats, there was luxury and the ship was seen as unsinkable - the whole ship was, in effect, a lifeboat.

This then is the story of the unlucky Mr Ismay, who survived one disaster to endure another sinking at the hands of the press and public. It is a fascinating story of his life, career and events leading up to the Titanic disaster and the events which happened afterwards. There is also a very interesting parallel with the story of "Lord Jim" by Joseph Conrad, which the author of the book discusses. The opening chapter, which deals with the night of the actual sinking is brilliantly written and the author is always fair and presents all the evidence and all sides of the arguments. Ismay was, in many ways, an unsympathetic character, but the author always tries to explain why he reacted the way he did to events. It is understandable that survivors, and the families of those lost, felt it was wrong that Ismay did not go down with the ship. In the event of such a disaster, it is impossible to judge someone, and you can't help but feel some sympathy with Mr Ismay when the public was looking for a scapegoat and found one in him. Excellent and very enjoyable book and very highly recommended. Anyone with any interest in the Titanic will enjoy this.