"Joseph Laroche was an anomaly among the passengers of the Titanic. He was exceptionally well-educated in a time when few black men had access to an education--and when even fewer were able to travel on a luxurious ship in first or second class. This biography recounts the life of Joseph Laroche, his part in the history of Haiti, and how he, as a 24-year-old father of two (soon to be three) children, ended up on the last ship of that era of glamourous travel. He was a direct descendant of the father of Haitian independence and related to two Haitian presidents. As an engineer, Laroche contributed to the construction of the Parisian railway and had a promising future ahead of him."--Provided by the publisher.