The Six: The Untold Story of the Titanic’s Chinese Survivors
By Steven Schwankert
Pegasus Books, 2025

 When looking to tell the tale of China’s biggest marine disaster, historian and shipwreck explorer Steven Schwankert happened upon an untold story of the eight Chinese passengers on the RMS Titanic. Six of them survived but quickly disappeared when expelled from New York afterward. Schwankert never dreamed that any new tales could surface from the world’s most researched maritime disaster. But as he dove further into the stories of these six men, a picture of the late-19th/early-20th century Chinese experience came into focus, revealing layers of bigotry and humanity.

About the Author
Steven Schwankert is a writer and documentarian who also authored Poseidon: China's Secret Salvage of Britain's Lost Submarine. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and leads the East and South Asia Chapter of The Explorers Club, dividing his time between NYC and China.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes.

About the Festival
The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. With the help of our presenting funding partners — Delaware Humanities and The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices | PenFed Realty — as well as our program and community partners, volunteers, and donors, the 2025 History Book Festival will be full of great discussions with authors of newly published narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. 

Thanks to all of our donors, especially our education and outreach funding partners: Ronald Collins & Susan Cohen, Carolyn & Aaron Nayer, Jen Mason & Clare Hancock, and Browseabout Books. HBF authors visit classrooms in Delaware, and HBF provides their books to schools, libraries, and community organizations.

Our Keynote event is presented by Griswold Home Care for Sussex and Kent Counties and Sally Mott Freeman & John K. Freeman; our Closing event is presented by the Delaware Community Foundation. Saturday’s Spirited Discussion, our gathering for attendees and presenters to celebrate and discuss their day, is presented by Dogfish Head Beer & Benevolence.

Special thanks to our Founding Program Partners for their continuing support: the Lewes Public Library, for event promotion and production, and Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Thanks also to the  Lewes Chamber of Commerce for event promotion, and the Cape Gazette and Delmarva Public Media, our media partners.