Amazon.com Review
There are two levels to Titanic, the enormously popular movie that caught the world's imagination in 1997 and didn't let go for half a year. First is the story of Jack and Rose, Hollywood heart throbbery writ large. Second is the story of R.M.S. Titanic, the ship itself. James Cameron's Titanic Explorer, a set of three multimedia CD-ROMs, deals with the second theme in some historical depth. James Cameron's Titanic Explorer has two main interfaces, a time line and a browser. The time line presents information sequentially, beginning with background information about the North Atlantic shipping routes, the White Star Line, the political and economic conditions of the time, and the people who guided Titanic through design and construction. The time line continues with coverage of the sinking itself. This is where most of the movie-quality footage appears, including scenes involving Titanic's crew, some of them cut from the movie. Maps (showing the relative locations of Titanic and surrounding ships, for example), support the theatrical presentations. The time line also covers events that followed the disaster, including government inquiries in both England and the United States.
The browser interface lets you access information in a less structured way. The list of passengers and crew, complete with "X" marks next to the names of those who survived the sinking, makes good reading if you're willing to apply some imagination. What is the story behind H. Voegelin, coffee man? How about J. Bradshaw, plate washer? For the notable names on the passenger and crew lists--the Astors, the ship's officers, and so forth--there are biographies consisting of text and still pictures. The browser also provides a searchable transcript of the inquiry proceedings and an animation showing the ship's descent to the bottom. Some interesting material appears in a series of "what if" articles, which detail how things might have worked out differently if, say, Titanic had had a double hull or if she'd hit the iceberg head-on instead of grazing it. James Cameron's Titanic Explorer is a fine overview of the Titanic disaster as a history lesson. --David Wall
Amazon.com Product Description
James Cameron's Titanic Explorer combines an in-depth historical database with state-of-the-art dramatic re-creations for a comprehensive exploration of the most famous luxury liner ever built and one of the most significant events of the 20th century. Titanic historians Don Lynch and Ken Marschall helped develop the comprehensive time line and database. The three-disk CD-ROM set includes film scenes depicting historically accurate events not included in the theatrical release of James Cameron's Academy Award-winning film, Titanic.