'Goodbye Miss Young. Good luck to you and don't forget to remember me to the folks back home.'

Major Archibald Butt (1865-1912)

The sinking of the Titanic on her maiden voyage in 1912 is one of the most dramatic stories in maritime history. The largest passenger steamship in the world, fitted with more advanced safety features than any of her rivals, she was proclaimed to be virtually unsinkable.

More than 1,500 people perished when the Titanic went down - many from drowning but more from hypothermia on one of the coldest but most beautiful April nights anyone could remember in the North Atlantic. The survivors of the disaster brought home tales of heroism and cowardice, of calmness and panic, of honour and disgrace.

Just how and why the Titanic foundered on such a beautiful April evening is the subject of this fascinating book. Author Rupert Matthews explores witness accounts and evidence gathered at the inquiries, along with more recent discoveries, to piece together a complete picture of what happened on that fateful night in 1912.