Harold Bride worked in the wireless room of the Titanic, while Jack Thayer and his parents had access to the luxury oceanliner's first class accommodations. Bride later became an important witness during subsequent U.S. and British investigations. Thayer insisted for years he had seen the Titanic break in two on the night of the sinking and in 1985 he was proved right. Based largely on these two survivor's experiences, the easy fictionalized narrative is filled with dialogue. A wide range of compelling photographs, cross-section illustrations, drawings and paintings in full color, charts, and other visual material are handsomely placed on all pages of a gripping account. Daisy Spedden's Polar, the Titanic Bear (Little, Brown, 1994) is an excellent companion to this book. (Ages 8-14)

Seventeen-year-old Jack Thayer explores the Titanic and forms a brief friendship with another passenger before experiencing the wreck of the giant ocean liner. One of the world's most well-known historic events, the sinking of the "Titanic" in 1912 grippingly unfolds in this story told from the perspectives of 17-year-old Jack Thayer, a passenger, and 22-year-old Harold Bride, the ship's junior wireless operator. Stunning, full-color illustrations, detailed diagrams of the ship's interior, and rare photographs convey a wealth of information to complement the gripping story.