Stuart Robertson is a Naval and maritime expert and editor and is the author of The War at Sea and The Pirate's Pocket Book. He is also the author of one of the best-selling Amazing and Extraordinary Fact's series books, "Titanic", published by Rydon Publishing.

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• Introduction Harland and Wolff: Belfast's steely identity - The birthplace of Titanic From Liverpool to Southampton via bankruptcy - The White Star Line's chequered history Building for comfort not speed - Blue Riband takes a back seat American-financed, American-owned... - How British was Titanic?Heavy metal - The Olympic class on the stocksSlip sliding away - Launch dayIt's big - Largest moving man-made object on EarthIll-starred sister? - The Olympic and the origins of the `unsinkable' descriptionThe epitome of safety at sea - Titanic's state of the art design philosophyThe eerie foresight of Robertson and Stead - Predictions of the disaster?A doomed ship? - Nonsense or truth?A quick jaunt down the lough - Titanic's trials - and a baptism of fire?`Not very good material for a story' - The confident Captain SmithThe embodiment of luxury afloat - Titanic's unique selling pointsWho sailed on the Titanic? - And where did they come from? How many? - And in what class?Proud point of departure - Southampton for the first and last timeBiscuit and grog of the highest quality - Provisioning the world's most luxurious shipA room of one's own - Accommodation aboard TitanicThe points of no return - Getting on at Cherbourg and QueenstownUnusual ways of boarding - Stories of stowaways and kidnappingsRearranging the deckchairs... - Pastimes aboard shipFit to bust - What's for dinner? And where?Morse, Marconi and messaging - The value of wireless aboard shipFlags and call-signs - How Titanic identified herself at seaYou have been warned - Ice warnings received - and ignored?`Ice, right ahead' - Up in the crow's nest with the lookoutsThe gash that was actually a buckle - What's the real damage?The chief designer of the Titanic, Thomas Andrews - There at the beginning, there at the endBad tidings - The men in the mail roomBinoculars and searchlights - Would they have made a difference?That iceberg - Where is it now?CQD or SOS? - Titanic's distress callsThe show must go on - The Titanic's stoic musiciansSignalling to the end - The scene in the wireless roomMake that the last verse... - The musicians' last hurrah`Be British, boys, be British!' - The last words and deeds of Captain Smith`A queer feeling' - The unsettled chief officer, Henry WildeThe evacuation under way - The scandal of the half-filled lifeboatsWomen, children... - And Americans first?Titanic's last hour - The giant slips under the wavesThe Strauses - Together foreverYou can't take it with you... - John Jacob Astor IVFrom steerage to dressing Guggenheim - Bedroom steward Henry EtchesHypothermia or drowning? - Life expectancy in the North AtlanticThe Carpathia to the rescue - Cunard collects the casualtiesThe tragic inactivity of the Californian - What was she doing?The news spreads... - InaccuratelyThe Mackay-Bennett and Halifax - Bringing the dead back to shoreTitanic's grim statistics - Who lived and who diedThe authorities investigate - The US and British inquiriesTaking the rough with the smooth - How did White Star treat Third class passengers?Hindsight is a wonderful thing - The question of Captain Smith's negligenceAnyone seen my Marmalade Machine? - The curious possessions lost aboard TitanicThe tangled bureaucracy of death - Why the official tolls don't match upSouthampton mourns - A fitting maritime memorialCold steel - Was the Titanic's hull too brittle in cold water?It's all a question of luck - The indomitable Violet JessopOn the silver screen - Titanic in the cinemaTitanic back under the hammer - The trade in memorabiliaSecret assignment for Ballard - Cold War casualties are proving ground for Titanic searchScattered across the sea-bed - The resting places of the wreckThe slumbering giant disturbed - The ethical questions of visiting the wreckThe last survivors of the Titanic - Lillian Asplund and Millvina DeanTitanic sails up the Thames - Tragedy, tourism and trade`Rusticles' - What's eating the Titanic?Bibliography Web resources Index