Last Dinner On the Titanic: Menus and Recipes from the Great Liner

It is impossible to read this book, which is as sumptuously appointed as the great ship itself, and not want to plan a Titanic dinner party immediately. Fortunately, the book provides--besides beautiful photos, delectable factoids, and fascinating quotes from the rich and vanished famous--clear, easy-to-follow instructions on how to plan such a party. You can use recipes for first-, second-, or third-class meals.

Remember, style is all. Try to equal the class evinced by Titanic survivor Renee Harris, who sued the steamship line for her husband's death in the sinking, put the $50,000 settlement into the first play by Moss Hart (who gives her credit in his popular autobiography, Act One), and lost all her cash in the 1929 crash. When Walter Lord, the dean of Titanic lore who wrote the introduction to this book, interviews the aged, broke Ms. Harris in her welfare hotel, he writes, "She had lost neither her sunny disposition nor her theatrical poise. One day I brought her a little jar of caviar in an attempt to give this gallant lady a taste of the good old days. She sampled it once, then pushed the jar politely aside. 'You call that caviar?' she asked." As Lord observes, "Reproducing the Titanic's marvelous food is surely one of the best ways to experience a bygone age of luxury and leisure."

Don't forget to set the mood with music: either Titanic: Music as Heard on the Fateful Voyage or Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture will do, depending on whether you're a classicist or a romantic. --Tim Appelo