The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic

I have never been one for poetry, but when I saw a review on The Watch That Ends the Night, I wanted to give Allan Wolf a chance and I'm glad I did. Being a Titanic enthusiast myself, this book was so creatively written and even though it is written in verse, it reads as if it were a novel. Through many different point of views and written in multiple genres, such as telegrams, letters and undertaker notes, this is definitely a rival for James Cameron's Titanic. So fluid and detailed through the eyes of the eclectic passengers aboard the Titanic, this was unputdownable and I found myself even researching facts about the Titanic that I didn't know. I will be recommending this to any and all who love the historical story of Titanic.

Simply put, The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf is one of the best books I've read all year. Written in verse, it is the story of the Titanic from its launch to its sinking, told in twenty four different voices, including those of third class passengers, first class passengers, crew, and even the iceberg. We learn of the hopes of young third class teens, the desperation of a second class father, the con artist in first class, the valiant musicians, and the new Marconi wireman, plus many more; with the exception of only one, all were real passengers aboard the ship, and all were changed forever when destiny met a silent, waiting iceberg in the dark of the ocean.Creative and captivating, Mr. Wolf keeps the action steady as the stories of the passengers race toward a struggle with life and death. I was equally enthralled with young Frankie Goldsmith's ice dragon adventures as I was with Captain Smith's realization that this final voyage would not be to his anticipated retirement. Wolf's research is detectable in all his details, and this Titanic buff was pleased to read his illuminating author's note in the final pages. I could easily have inhaled this novel in one long breath, but I made myself savor each word, right down to the lines falling off the pages as Thomas Andrews takes his final plunge with the ship. As 2012 is the centenary of the sinking of the great ship, there will doubtless be lots of information and many books available, but this one should definitely be the one literature and history lovers should seek out. Highly, highly recommended.Thanks to the Historical Novel Society for providing me with a copy of this wonderful novel.

I was lucky enough to have a voice class that invited Allan to come and workshop some of his poems from this book with our class. Therefore, I picked it up because I love having first edition prints, especially when I have the chance to meet the author.What I wasn't expecting was for this book to blow me out of the water. Allan wrote this book based on reality - people who were actually on the ship, the undertaker who picked up the bodies, the rats who lived in the bed of the ship, and the iceberg itself. I found this book hard to look away from and my copy is covered in flags so that I can go back and really envelop myself in his work. Some of his most poignant pieces in the book were based on things that probably happened.Allan himself was wonderful. He's been writing poetry for a while but when he directed our class, you could really see his stories come to life. If you ever were to sit down with a theatre troop and read the poems, I think you would understand how beautiful and how interesting all of his poems are. Each person has a voice, a perspective and paints an image of the Titanic that was (mostly) real.Overall, I loved this book and would recommend it highly, for anyone. For Titanic lovers it's another insight to what happened in a unique way. For someone who doesn't know as much, it's an introduction to real people, as opposed to Jack & Rose.

This book has so many things going for it. It is both historical fiction and poetry. Allan Wolf made the characters true to life and the stories from different classes, nationalities adds to the depth of the story. I listened to it as an audio book first. I was crying as I drove listening to the undertaker as he describes the work that they had to do in the icy seas after the sinking. I also appreciate that the author adds a last section that explains which things were from historical evidence and which he added for the story. Because of all of these things I'm using it in a university Children and Young adult literature class. Even though it's out of print it's well worth getting used. I also recommend the audio version.

Written in poetry format and kept my attention. Received in good condition. Other than a mistype in the description, this copy worth the price. Seller contacted only to make them aware of it. A little rough on the edges but definitely a good copy. Would recommend this seller.

I applaud the author for doing a fantastic job capturing the voices of twenty-four real live people and giving them dignified voices to tell their individual stories. This was a very thoughtful and highly creative work. I cried--the story of the Titanic will always be a sad one, no matter how many times it's told and no matter how it's told--yet, I cried more personally with this one. The experience of loss was more personal and personally felt. And the sense that I lost someone that I sort of came to know and to truly sympathize with was stronger here. Great job done in making the Titanic story still a modern story and a very much human one.

The author mixes the emotions of the crew and passengers of the Titanic through varying rhyming schemes. The events in the book play out as the same events in reality, and even though there are a few made up characters, those characters are complex enough and believable enough you would not be surprised to find them on the real Titanic. The author does a better job at describing the heart-wrenching sinking of the Titanic better than the movie Titanic. The scenes in the book are from three periods in time: Before the Titanic launches, the actual voyage/sinking, and then the survivors and their stories. I would recommend this book to all who are Titanic fans.

I purchased this as a new book and 2 pages came torn

This book was highly recommended to me. When I first got it, I was surprised and disappointed that it's all poems. I was so wrong: The voices are so distinct, the story--which we already know--flows from different perspectives, and the poetry is beguiling. I now have a copy in my permanent library.