Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Book Review: The Band That Played On

As a Booksneeze Blogger, I had the opportunity to review The Band That Played On by Steve Turner.  I've never really been a Titanic groupie, but the musicians have always intrigued me.  So I was interested in this title.

From the publisher:
The never-before told, inspiring stories of the 8 brave musicians who played as the Titanic sank.
When Titanic collided with an iceberg on April 14, the eight members of the band had already retired for the evening. Still, they put on overcoats and came out to play in the lounge. When most of the First Class passengers had taken to their lifeboats, the musicians moved to the deck and continued to play as the ship sank. One passenger said: “Many brave things were done that night, but none were more brave than those done by men playing minute after minute as the ship settled quietly lower and lower in the sea. The music they played served alike as their own immortal requiem and their right to be recalled on the scrolls of undying fame.” But who were they? What journeys brought them to this deck on this icy ocean? Who did they leave behind? Historian and biographer Steve Turner delves into the lives of these brave men, revealing eight unique portraits of bravery.
My take:   The book starts with an overview of how the band came to be, followed by a chapter for each of the eight band members.  Not much is known about some of these men, but Turner did a lot of research, and did a good job of piecing together what he could.  I did get rather bogged down in this section though.  There were so many details thrown out and I had a really tough time keeping track of who was who, and where we were talking about. 

The pace picks up though for the last few chapters.  Once we get on board the Titanic, we read quotes from surviving passengers about the bands, and then, of course, the accident and the bands joining together and playing as the ship sinks.  And what happened after... the families of the band members, their wives or fiancees...

This is an interesting twist on the story/stories of the Titanic.

Disclaimer:  As Booksneeze Blogger, I did receive this book for free from Thomas Nelson.  No other compensation was received.  For more about my take on reviews, visit my blog post here.



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