Bob Temple - The Titanic: An Interactive History Adventure

For the best You Choose experience,
view in portrait (vertical) orientation.

YOU are aboard Titanic, the worlds largest ocean liner. The ship has hit an iceberg and is headed to the bottom of the sea. Will you survive?

In this book, youll explore how the choices people made meant the difference between life and death. The events youll experience happened to real people.

Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the stories. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your device's back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.

YOU CHOOSE the path you take through history.

The year is 1912. A giant ship gleams in Englands Southampton harbor. Titanics looming shadow makes even the most powerful passenger feel small. No ship this big has ever been built.

The huge ship was built with safety in mind. Watertight walls called bulkheads are designed to keep water from flowing from one part of the ship to another. The ship also has 15 watertight doors. Newspapers say that Titanic is practically unsinkable.

In 1912, Titanic was the worlds largest ocean liner. The ship was 882 feet, 9 inches long.

All over the world, people await Titanics first voyage with excitement. Theyve followed the newspaper stories about it for months. It took three years to build Titanic, at a cost of $7.5 million. The ship has a saltwater swimming pool, a library, a gym, and three elevators.

In all, 1,316 passengers will travel aboard Titanic across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City. Some of the worlds richest people have planned for months to take this first voyage. They have paid thousands of dollars for the trip.

But the rich arent the only ones to experience this amazing ship. Third-class passengers step on a wooden gangway into the lower levels of the ship. Many are immigrants from Europe seeking a better life in the United States.

Captain Edward Smith led the ships crew of 890 people.

Some people traveling on the ship arent passengers. The ship has a crew of 890 people. They include cooks, , engineers, and a doctor. Other staff members work for private companies. These people are orchestra members, wireless radio operators, and restaurant workers.

As you step on Titanics deck, the chief steward welcomes you aboard. Another steward leads you to your .

Your stateroom is as elegant as a grand hotel. Carved oak lines the walls. Some mirrors are trimmed in gold. Every stateroom has electric light and heat. It makes you feel like royalty.

Once youve settled in, you decide to explore the ship. You spot the ships grand staircase. Topped by an iron and glass dome, it is dazzling.

The grand staircase connected the first-class areas of the ship.

Around noon, you walk up near the . Captain Edward Smith is there, directing the officers, quartermasters, and pilot. You hear the officers at their stations signal that they are ready. The pilot calls out, Let go the hold ropes! Crewmembers relay the orders. Tugboats help the great ship inch out of the harbor.

As the ship heads out to sea, you move to the first-class lounge. There, you meet two wealthy, famous men. John Jacob Astor and Hudson Allison are returning home on Titanic.

Titanics restaurant reception room featured an oak staircase and chairs covered with silk.

Astor is an old friend. You havent seen him since he left for Europe four months ago with his new bride. This Allison fellow seems interesting, too. He speaks with pride of his two young children, who are also aboard. Separately, both men invite you to join them a few nights later for dinner.

It is Sunday, April 14, your fifth night on Titanic. You join the Allisons for dinner in the first-class dining room. Hudson Allison introduces you to his wife, Bess, and 2-year-old daughter, Loraine. Normally, children arent present in the dining room, but Mrs. Allison wanted Loraine to see the beautiful room.

Hudson Allison was returning to Canada from a horse-buying trip in England.

A few minutes later, the Allisons maids, Alice Cleaver and Sarah Daniels, walk up to the table. Alice holds the Allisons baby son, Trevor. Sarah takes Loraines hand, and the women leave to put the children to bed.

Also at the table are two of Hudson Allisons friends from Canada, Harry Molson and Arthur Peuchen. Soon, the talk turns to the Titanic.

Ive crossed the ocean 40 times, but never quite as comfortably as on this ship, Peuchen says. Theres only one thing that worries me.

Whats that? you ask.

Im not sure that Captain Smith is up to the job, he replies. Hes too old, and his record isnt spotless. I dont know if Id trust him with my life.

Dont worry, my friend, Hudson Allison says to Peuchen. The journey has gone well so far. In a few days, youll be home with your family.

After a delicious meal and several hours of conversation, it is time for the night to end. You shake hands with the other men and head to your stateroom. You quickly dress for bed and fall asleep.

Suddenly, someone knocks loudly on your stateroom door. How long have you been asleep? Your says its midnight just one hour. The steward at your door calls out, Im sorry to inform you that the captain has ordered all on deck with life jackets.

On Sunday, April 14, you arrive for dinner with the Astors. John Jacob Astor greets you in the entryway to the dining room. He is dressed neatly in a tuxedo, and his beautiful young bride is wearing an elegant dress.