The story of the ill fated Empress of Ireland seems some how to have been largely overshadowed by the similar ill fate of the Titanic but here is a book which not only provides a detailed, contemporary, account of the tragic end of the Empress but also contains an account of the Titanic tragedy with the benefit of the 2 years and 1 1/2 months of perspective which is the surprisingly brief period separating these two (somewhat similar) marine disasters.
It may be that the Empress' sinking was a Canadian disaster, taking place in Canadian waters and taking the lives of passengers and crew who were mainly Canadian which is the reason that the story has not received the same international attention as that of the Titanic. Yet in it's proportions, 1,477 passengers, 1,012 of whom were killed, it affected the lives of at least 2/3 as many as that of the sinking of the Titanic. A huge loss of life for a single peace time disaster.
The book provides survivor lists and death rolls for both the Empress of Ireland and for the Titanic, or it does so for first and second class passengers (various excuses are offered for not listing the third class passengers and the crew.) The publisher's have extracted these lists and made them available, so you can check for your relatives before investing in the CD. To have a look go to www.archivecdbooks.ca.
This is an important, contemporary, document reporting one of Canada's most significant civil disasters.
