Historically intriguing

Where does The Midnight Watch rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is an excellent perspective on the Titanic story. It is not the best book I've read this year but it is one that I enjoyed immensely.

What other book might you compare The Midnight Watch to, and why?

I would have to say A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. This is the flip side of that night in the Atlantic.

What does Robert Fass bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I always get more by reading books myself. As I was sick I found the audible reading less of a strain on my eyes.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes. When the wife of Herbert Stone tried to give her husband a legacy by telling Steadman what a beautiful man he was.

Any additional comments?

If you like the story of the night the Titanic sunk you'll enjoy this story. Stanley Lord, captain of the California comes across as a self-centred jerk till the end when Dyer allows Steadman to give the elderly captain an out for his culpability on that night.

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3 people found this helpful

The most beautiful phrases

I loved this book. The narrator is wonderful. There were phrases which I wish I had written down as they were just so beautiful and deserve to be remembered. The story is so important. I have no idea if much of it is true, but it was brilliant nonetheless.

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Interesting and well read.

Loved the story and the possibilities. Thought provoking with the what if's (if it were true). The ending was a little disappointing though.

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A moment in history

For anyone as fascinated by Titanic as I am, this fictional story based on the facts of Captain Lord and the Californian is a must. The relationship between the Captain and his second officer, and an unrelenting journalist make for an intriguing tale. I recommend this book.

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Well constructed

When I first started listening to the book I thought I must have the wrong book. David did an excellent job laying a foundation in the early chapters, slowly building up to a crescendo at the end. As the book drew on I found it harder and harder to stop listening

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I did enjoy it.

The Titanic is always fascinating. I’ve read that the discovery of the wreck showed it was not the Titanic in sight of SS Californian. The distance between them was actually greater than thought at the time. This was not known through Lord’s life, so he suffered always for his perceived lack of action. I’m no expert and only share what some say. It was a great experience to feel part of the action in these aspects of the disaster.
Yes, the war must have put it in perspective, yet what horror that this happened. A very clever enjoyable book.

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Great book

Beautifully captured the intricacies of human nature and its failings in relation to a mammoth disaster

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Thought Provoking

I nearly didn't persevere with this book, but once I got into the story, I just wanted to see why the distress signals were ignored. Kept me interested then until the end, which was very thought provoking. The narrator's voice was a bit annoying, but otherwise a great book.

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Haunting, beautiful, human story that surprises.

If you have an interest in Titanic you should get this, even if you think you have read and know everything about the disaster. If your interest in the Titanic is passing or found its high water mark when you watched James Cameron's film, you may be thinking do I need this in my library. Well you do!!
This novel is not so much about the Titanic's lone disaster of failing to see ice burgs or having enough life boats for all the passengers, but instead focusses on the disaster of the California, the infamous ship that was close enough to see Titanic's lights, but failed to answer her eight distress rockets seen by the second mate of the California on his titular midnight watch. The ship was a cruise ship belonging to the same company The White Star Line, Captained by a very capable Englishman of the Merchant Navy. The mystery of why the California failed to come to Titanic's aid is what the book aims to answer.
The story is well written, extremely well researched, the author obviously loves everything maritime and absolutely respects deeply the subject matter as well as the characters both fictional and non fictional, and captures the spirit of the times while never falling into tropes.

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A different angle on the Titanic story

A very easy to listen to story from the point of view of a journalist reporting on the Titanic disaster. However he was interested to know more about the Californian, a ship within sight of the Titanic that did nothing to help. I found it quite intriguing and well written and well read.

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