I also appreciated ALL the quotes from primary source materials. This one has photographs, illustrations, sidebars in comic style, charts and more. My thoughts: The past few generations have been fortunate to have access to great nonfiction. The book also includes a timeline, an author's note, and bibliography. Chapters eight through ten focus on the aftermath: the investigations, the changes in policy, the hunt to find the wreck, the current state of Titanic, etc. Chapters four through seven focus on the disaster itself-hitting the iceberg, the distress calls, the loading of the lifeboats, the sinking, the rescue. (The Titanic picked up passengers from several different ports-and also let folks off.) The third chapter tells of the many warnings (four if I counted correctly) that came from other ships sailing in the area of numerous icebergs. The first two chapters tell the story of the building and early sails. This is a nonfiction book written for young readers (elementary aged) about the Titanic. Premise/plot: What you see is what you get. But the truth is, the first victims of the Titanic died while the ship was still being built. I would have devoured them and developed a big appetite for even more of this sort of truth-telling.First sentence: Mention The Titanic, and most people think of the disaster at sea. I wish I could have read History Smashers when I was in elementary school. 'Informative and fun, eye-opening and entertaining. Absolutely smashing!' -Candace Fleming, award-wining author 'Kate Messner serves up fun, fast history for kids who want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 'A history book for middle-graders that should be on everyone's (child and adult) to-read list.' - Shelf Awareness “Messner and Meconis provide a timely perspective on an important part of American history.” - School Library Journal 'Well-researched, entertaining, and packed with facts.' - Booklist 'The book’s format may be a good match for those with shorter attention spans, and permits it to be gratifyingly capacious in what it covers.' - New York Times Book Review 'Critical, respectful, engaging: exemplary history for children.' - Kirkus Reviews, starred review

History smashers the titanic