The most scrupulous of the recent spate of books on the Titanic disaster, Wyn Craig Wade"s book relies on survivors" accounts to establish some startling facts, including that almost two-thirds of the first-class passengers survived while only a quarter of the steerage passengers made it to safety. And that those in the lifeboats chose to ignore the piteous cries of passengers in the water, almost all of whom perished. This chilling account demonstrates that the Titanic"s sinking was in many ways entirely avoidable.