Thanks so much! Glad you like it :)

I'd point all five fingers at Ismay. From lowering the bulkheads to reducing the number of lifeboats to promoting the "unsinkable" concept to pushing Captain Smith to beat the Olympic's maiden voyage speed through an ice field to replacing a seaman on a lifeboat, then finally, taking the best accommodation available on the rescue ship. The man was suffused with entitlement. He, of all people, should have gone down with the ship...

@@egm8602 I’ll agree to disagree. There’s a Swiss cheese model with never events- if it all came down to one person being bad at their job, then that’s a system problem. And for that, I don’t feel comfortable in saying that the penalty is death.

Amen to that

I will absolutely be doing an episode on the musical one of these days. I'm quite close with the original Harold Bride, and may have him on as a "witness"

Yes, negligence or incompetence that existed on every ship in the Atlantic that night. The standard for shipping at the time was extremely reckless. But what caused Titanic's hand to be caught in the cookie jar? What woke the world with a start and made them see how reckless it was? An anomaly of crazy circumstances.

YESSS 400!!!

All of it said is not true, as all of that misinformation came from William Randolph Hearst who destroyed Ismay's life in his Yellow press.

Thanks for the comment. Personally, I don't take into account how "terrible" he was as a person - if this is the case. Nobody, no matter how terrible, deserved to die that night or have their life ruined just for surviving. Also talking to the Engineer about what speeds you'd like to see is not the same thing as commanding a ship. I feel as though the group of very respected researchers you list in your comment would agree that we are not making up an alternate reality that Ismay was innocent (he is certainly not without some blame) but highlighting that his 112-years of punishment has been excessive - it's time we remember that he was a human being that night like everyone else.

@@WitnessTitanic I truly appreciate the work you do James. You have brought a much needed breath of fresh air to the THG project and Titanic community. However I do think you need to fully read Frances Wilson's book concerning his treatment of Florence Ismay and the children. Just the way he behaved to them is very upsetting. Also read his numerous letters to Marian Thayer (available at the University of Penn website). Granted a lot of his behavior can be attributed to his father Thomas who was really a bad father to him and often would bully him in front of his coworkers. I just think the plethora of lies Bruce told (his denial he had zero control over the lifeboat count, his attempt to escape on the Cedric, the blatant misdirection he gave regarding have zero influence on the speed of the ship, his berating of Alden Smith to let him leave the inquiry a number of times, his complete lack of knowledge about the crew and even their names, the fact that he never even bothered to try and tell his personal secretaries that the ship was in real trouble.. heck he didn't even bother to try and find them at all, his lying to the US inquiry that he didn't understand the nature of the relationship with White Star and J.P. Morgan even though he was the president of the IMM, etc. The man is a classic narcist and his treatment of people throughout his life more than illustrates this. Yes Randolph Hearst had it out for him but have we ever stopped to ask why? Ismay couldn't even be bothered to give the media the time of day while he lived and worked in New York. Ismay also lied to his father-in-law when he promised that he would stay in New York and never make Florence move to England. He quickly broke that promise. This list goes on and on. I have multiple degrees in history and the social sciences and research primary sources everyday. If you guys ever need another researcher I would be more than happy to send you my resume.

@@tanesha41 This is fascinating. Thank you for this break down. I WILL read this book and perhaps Bruce Ismay Part 3 will need to be recorded! I appreciate you taking the time to write this all out!

You’ve clearly watched Titanic (1997) one too many times my friend.