Inside the Titanic by Hugh Brewster (1997, Reinforced Hardcover)

Ken Marschall by far is the best illustrator of the "Titanic," and "Inside the Titanic" contains many of his wonderful drawings of the ship. The paintings and actual photographs of the "Titanic" in this book are simply amazing. The best feature of the book is a gigantic four page, pull out, "cut away" diagram of the entire ship and every major feature on board. It shows everything -- the dining saloons, the cabins, the staterooms, the engines, the recreational facilities, the grand staircase, the bridge, and much more. But there are more than just illustrations in the book. The story in the book is about two actual kids, Frank Goldsmith and Billy Carter (whose father by the way owned the Renault automobile in the hold of the ship), travelling on the "Titanic" and their experiences on the ship.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, the drawings in the book are simply amazing! Marschall's cover painting is characteristic of the rest of the book's illustrations -- minutely detailed and very interesting. While this is a kid's book, it's actually interesting for all "Titanic" fans. You can easily stare at the illustrations for a long time and still find something new in them that you missed before! They are quite engrossing, and I definitely recommend this book!

Our grandson brought an old tattered copy of "Inside the Titanic" home from the school library. Of course, it had to be returned, so we went to ebay in search of a copy of this book. Fortunately, we were able to find the book. It is a wonderful book...both well-written and well-illustrated. Our grandson will be delighted to receive his very own copy of the book!! The book is appropriate for many age levels. We would highly recommend it!!! The centerfold fold-out picture of the ship is amazing!! Oh, by the way, our grandson is five years old. Even though he can not read the text, he enjoys having the book read to him, and as I stated before, the illustrations are large and colorful. :-)