A Night to Remember
Score Classic
What it's about
In two hours and forty minutes on the night of April 14, 1912, the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic and more than 1,500 people died. Walter Lord interviewed 63 survivors and reconstructed that night minute by minute, from the iceberg to the lifeboats, through the stories of passengers and crew in every class.
Why it's worth reading
It reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in 1955, and it remains the classic account of the disaster. Lord's style, clear, fast and humane, inspired generations of narrative nonfiction.
You'll love it if you liked
The Boys in the Boat, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster or Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
Good to know
It's short and can be read in an evening. Some editions also include Lord's follow-up, The Night Lives On.
Quick answers
Is A Night to Remember worth reading?
Yes. It reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in 1955, and it remains the classic account of the disaster. It ranks #781 of the 2,819 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 75.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is A Night to Remember about?
In two hours and forty minutes on the night of April 14, 1912, the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic and more than 1,500 people died. Walter Lord interviewed 63 survivors and reconstructed that night minute by minute, from the iceberg to the lifeboats, through the stories of passengers and crew in every class.
How long does it take to read A Night to Remember?
About 5 hours (182 pages), or about 10 days at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after A Night to Remember?
If you liked it, try The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer or Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.
By the numbers
- Readers91 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller37 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1).
Where it ranks
- #117 of the 198 history books we rank
- #245 of the 763 classics we rank
- #781 of the 2,819 books we rank
Bestseller
- #1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)
Reads as
True story, Adventurous
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