Many of these books claim to be the definitive story of the Titanic, taking you from conception to sinking to discovery of the wreck. Beware of this claim and keep in mind that on the part of a few of the books making the claim, it is simply a hook to get you to buy the book. Definitive is really a matter of opinion. I would have to say that if you owned Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy, by Eaton & Haas, and Titanic: An Illustrated History, by Don Lynch, you've got more than enough info and pictures between the two to sink ANOTHER ship. Literally. Both are of the oversized coffeetable book type, with hundreds and hundreds of pictures, as well as over 600 pages between the both of them.
Adams, Simon. TITANIC Copyright 1999. One of the "DK Eyewitness Books" children's series. Lots of colorful pictures and diagrams, with an overview of each aspect of the Titanic and the tragedy that befell it.
Archbold, Rick and McCauley, Dana. LAST DINNER ON THE TITANIC Copyright 1997. Every detail about the dinners served on the last day of the Titanic's voyage. Includes menus from 1st, 2nd and 3rd class, as well as recipes for all dishes. Also has all the exact details you'll need to host a Titanic dinner which will look and feel like the real thing!
Ballard, Robert
See the books about real disasters section for other Ballard books about the exploration of the Lusitania and the lost ships of Guadalcanal. THE DISCOVERY OF THE TITANIC Copyright 1987. EXPLORATIONS With Malcolm McConnell, copyright 1995. The author's autobiography, including details about the discovery of the Titanic and other wrecks. EXPLORING THE TITANIC Copyright 1988. The children's version of the book listed above. LOST LINERS Written w/ Rick Archbold, copyright 1997. A huge book, the same size as Titanic, an Illustrated History. In addition to a big section on the Titanic, though, this one has lots of stuff about other sunken ocean liners, including illustrations and pictures showing what they look like now, lying on the sea floor.
Biel, Steven DOWN WITH THE OLD CANOE Copyright 1996. Subtitled "A Cultural History of the Titanic Disaster". Takes a look at the disaster and how it even now plays a big part in our culture. TITANICA Copyright 1998. Subtitled "The Disaster of the Century in Poetry, Song, and Prose." Biel edited this book together which included editorials, poems, songs, sermons and other short stuff written after the disaster.
Bonsall, Thomas. TITANIC Copyright 1987. Story about and lots of pictures of all 3 liners, Titanic, Olympic, and Brittannic.
Burnett, Dinah. FROM WORKHOUSE TO PRISON TO...THE TITANIC? Copyright 2000. A biography of Alice Cleaver, a survivor of the Titanic sinking, written by her daughter. Alice Cleaver was accused of attempting to kidnap a child, Lorraine Allison, who survived the sinking. The author tells the life story of Cleaver and attempts to clear her name.
Canning, John. GREAT DISASTERS Copyright 1976. Documenting 40 of the worst disasters in the world which have happened in the 20th century. Includes some disasters not normaly mentioned in other books of this type. Good pictures.
Caren, Eric and Goldman, Steve. EXTRA TITANIC: THE STORY OF THE DISASTER IN THE NEWSPAPERS OF THE DAY Copyright 1998. Reproductions of newspaper articles from the time of the disaster.
Cleary, Margot Keam. GREAT DISASTERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY Copyright 1990. An oversize book full of cool pictures of some of the more well known disasters, including the Titanic.
Cush, Cathie. SHIPWRECKS Copyright 1997. A number of shipwrecks, including the Titanic, are discussed in this book, which includes lots of pictures of what they look like now, at the bottom of the ocean.
Davie, Michael. TITANIC Copyright 1986. Another novel following the entire story of the Titanic, from conception to discovery of the wreck.
Eaton, John & Haas, Charles TITANIC: A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME Copyright 1999. A minute by minute chronology of the disaster, starting from the ships conception right up to expeditions in the 1990's. TITANIC: DESTINATION DISASTER Copyright 1987. The first book about the disaster written by these 2 authors. Follows the entire story and expounds on theories surrounding the sinking. TITANIC: THE EXHIBITION Copyright 1997. Museum catalog written to accompany the exhibition of Titanic artifacts held in St. Petersburg, Florida. Includes lots of photos of the artifacts on exhibition. TITANIC: TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY Copyright 1994. An enormous book, oversized and more than 330 pages, this book builds on "Destination Disaster" and gets into great depth. Hundreds of pictures.
Everett, Marshall. WRECK AND SINKING OF THE TITANIC Copyright 1912 by L.H. Walter. Published right after the wreck, this is a good book to get a flavor of what feelings were at the time.
Floyd, Candace. AMERICA'S GREAT DISASTERS Copyright 1990. Mostly a picture book. Documents some of the greatest disasters of all time, separated into chapters including floods, storms, fires, building collapses, earthquakes, mining and transportation disasters.
Garrison, Webb. TREASURY OF TITANIC TALES Copyright 1998. A collection of short stories about different aspects of the Titanic, its building, and sinking.
Geller, Judith B. TITANIC: WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST Copyright 1998. Includes full biographies of a number of the women and children survivors of the disaster, from all 3 of the classes on the ship.
Hutchings, David. RMS TITANIC: A MODERN LEGEND Copyright 1987. A short, pamphlet style book (about 50 pages) recounting the creation and subsequent sinking. Lots of pictures.
Hyslop, Donald; Forsyth, Alastair; and Jemima, Sheila. TITANIC VOICES: MEMORIES FROM THE FATEFUL VOYAGE Copyright 1994. This book is a compendium of first hand accounts from survivors of the sinking and others who lived during that time.
Jessop, Violet. TITANIC SURVIVOR Copyright 1997. Edited by John Maxtone-Graham, this is a previously unpublished manuscript written by a woman who survived both the Titanic and Brittanic sinkings.
Kennedy Center. SPOTLIGHT ON THEATRE NOTES: TITANIC A NEW MUSICAL Copyright 1999. A companion to the musical produced by the center's "Performance Plus" program (a lecture series featuring the people working on shows currently playing there, who talk about what goes on behind the scenes). Includes facts about the disaster, the musical's composers, a history of the production itself, and an interview with the musical's action coordinator.
Kuntz, Tom. THE TITANIC DISASTER HEARINGS: THE OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS OF THE 1912 SENATE INVESTIGATION Copyright 1998.
Lord, Walter THE GOOD YEARS Copyright 1960. The writer of A Night To Remember compiled this book of facts covering the years 1900-1914. Includes entries about the Titanic, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, and many other events. A NIGHT TO REMEMBER Copyright 1955. The best! Lord talked to lots of survivors and others involved in the rescue and compiled their stories into this lovely account of what happened from the time the ship sailed to the time the Carpathia picked up the survivors. See the Titanic Movies section for more details about the film made from this book. THE NIGHT LIVES ON Copyright 1986. Lord revisits his original book after the discovery of the wreck and theorizes on how the condition of it ties in with the story. He also discusses things that took place after the original book was published.
Lynch, Don TITANIC: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY With paintings by Ken Marschall, copyright 1992. Another oversize, coffeetable type book exploring every detail top to bottom of the Titanic, as well as the entire story from conception to discovery of the wreck.
MacInnis, Joseph. TITANIC: IN A NEW LIGHT Copyright 1992. Companion to the Imax film. See the Titanic Movies section for details on the film, available on videotape.
Maddocks, Melvin. THE GREAT LINERS Copyright 1978. This book is part of the Time Life series on The Seafarers. Includes Titanic and many more of the most famous passenger liners ever afloat.
Marriott, Leo. TITANIC Copyright 1997. Yet another retelling of the tragic story, profusely illustrated.
Marshall, Logan. THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC AND GREAT SEA DISASTERS Copyright 1912 by L.T. Myers. One of the first books to be published about the disaster, this one is a good judge of exactly what the feelings of the time right after the disaster really were. The writer compiles survivor accounts and other information known at the time, as well as listing details of what were considered to be other great sea disasters of the time.
McCluskie, Tom. ANATOMY OF THE TITANIC Copyright 1998. An in depth look at the exact steps in the building of the Titanic. They really get into detail and there's a lot of good pictures.
With Sharpe, Michael and Marriott, Leo. TITANIC AND HER SISTERS OLYMPIC AND BRITANNIC Copyright 1998. Another of those huge coffee table books that claims to have more info about the 3 ships than anyone else. They do come close: lots of pictures and info, including what happened to some of Olympic's fixtures after it was torn up. Also has a section about all the movies that have been made.
McMillan, Beverly and Lehrer, Stanley. TITANIC: FORTUNE AND FATE Copyright 1998. Book accompanying the exhibit at the Mariners Museum in Newport News, VA.
Merideth, Lee. 1912 FACTS ABOUT TITANIC Copyright 1999. Chock full of interesting, short facts about the liner.
Miller, William H. THE FABULOUS INTERIORS OF THE GREAT OCEAN LINERS IN HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS Copyright 1985. Pictures of the interior of 72 different ocean liners including the Titanic are included.
Mowbray, Jay Henry. SINKING OF THE TITANIC EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS Copyright 1912, 1998. A paperback reprint of a book originally published right after the sinking.
Nash, Jay Robert. DARKEST HOURS Copyright 1976. An encyclopedia with descriptions of thousands of disasters, worldwide, from ancient times to the present.
O'Donnell, E.E. THE LAST DAYS OF THE TITANIC Copyright 1997. This one actually has some photos we've never seen, including a complete reproduction of the photo album made by Father Francis Browne, the last person to take pictures (that didn't go down with the ship) on the Titanic.
Pellegrino, Charles. HER NAME, TITANIC Copyright 1988. This book is an interesting look at both sides of the Titanic story. It combines the story of the Titanic up to the sinking with the story of the discovery of the wreck, alternating chapter by chapter between the 2.
Server, Lee. THE GOLDEN AGE OF OCEAN LINERS Copyright 1996. This book has illustrations and stories about some of the great ocean liners of the world, including the Titanic.
Stevenson, Jay and Rutman, Sharon. THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO THE TITANIC Copyright 1998. Everything you ever wanted to know about the ship but were afraid to ask, put together in a fun, easy to read manner.
Stone, Peter and Yeston, Maury. TITANIC: THE COMPLETE BOOK OF THE MUSICAL Copyright 1999. Includes the story of the making of the blockbuster Broadway musical, the complete libretto, and lots of pictures.
Tibballs, Geoff. THE TITANIC: THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE UNSINKABLE SHIP Copyright 1997. Mostly, this one is yet another rehash of information we already know, but most of the illustrations, believe it or not, are ones we haven't seen. The bright spot is that this book also has a section detailing the many movies which were either entirely about the Titanic, or where it at least made a cameo appearance. Also included is information about George Tulloch's salvage effort.
Wade, Wynn Craig. THE TITANIC: END OF A DREAM Copyright 1979. Yet another complete story of the Titanic, going from sailing to discovery of the wreck.
Ward, Kaari; editor. GREAT DISASTERS Copyright 1989. A Reader's Digest compendium of disasters, from ancient times to recent.
Watson, Milton. DISASTERS AT SEA Copyright 1987; updated and recopyrighted 1995 by William Miller. An encyclopedia of all passenger ship disasters which have happened since 1900.
Wels, Susan. TITANIC: LEGACY OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST OCEAN LINER Copyright 1997. This book was a joint production by Time Life and the Discovery Channel. This book includes lots of pictures of the items that have been brought up in salvage operations. The story itself is taken from the many specials that the Discovery Channel has produced about the ship, including information about exactly how the ship sank.
Winocur, Jack. THE STORY OF THE TITANIC AS TOLD BY ITS SURVIVORS Copyright 1960. The stories of 4 survivors have been put together in 1 book. Includes "The Loss of the S.S. Titanic" by Lawrence Beesley, "The Truth about the Titanic" by Colonel Archibald Gracie, "Titanic" by Commander Lightoller, and "The Thrilling Tale by Titanic's Surviving Wireless Man" by Harold Bride.
Life June, 1997. "The Strange Allure of Disasters" National Geographic December, 1985. "How we found Titanic", by Robert Ballard. National Geographic October, 1987. "Epilogue for Titanic", by Robert Ballard. Popular Science February, 1995. "What Really Sank the Titanic", by Robert Gannon. Discusses the new investigation into the "brittle steel" theory. It has been said that the reason the Titanic sunk so easily is because junky steel was used to build it. When subjected to extreme cold, this steel easily snaps in two, whereas high quality steel mostly bends before it breaks.
Bass, Cynthia. MAIDEN VOYAGE Copyright 1996.
Clarke, Arthur C. CHOST FROM THE GRAND BANKS Copyright 1990. In the year 2012, two rival companies try to find a way to raise and preserve the Titanic.
Cussler, Clive. RAISE THE TITANIC Copyright 1976. Written prior to the discovery, this story goes under the assumption that the ship made it to the bottom in one piece. An attempt is launched to locate and raise the Titanic to get at the last known supply of a rare radioactive mineral. The mineral is needed for a top secret project to defend the U.S. against the Soviet Union. This project is very similar to what we call the Star Wars Missile Defense Initiative today, but, as far as we know, the book predates the existence of (or at least the public knowledge of) the project, so there seems to be a little prophecy going on here on the part of Cussler. A really good movie was made from this novel. See the Titanic Movies section for more details. SERPENT Copyright 1998. Not about the Titanic, but by the same author. This time around, the search is on for an ancient treasure that is in the hold of the Andrea Doria, which sunk in the 1950's.
Finney, Jack. FROM TIME TO TIME Copyright 1995.
Marsh, Ed W. JAMES CAMERON'S TITANIC Copyright 1997. The complete story of how director James Cameron made the movie Titanic. Lots of pictures. We got this book after seeing the movie and it's amazing to see how much of the special effects were computer graphics. It all looked so real. We listed this book here because the movie was really a work of historical fiction, rather than a straight take on the real events. See the Titanic Movies section for more details about the movie itself.
Martin, Les. YOUNG INDIANA JONES AND THE TITANIC ADVENTURE Copyright 1993. Part of the Young Indiana Jones series of books written for children.
Peck, Richard. GHOSTS I HAVE BEEN Copyright 1977. Book from a series written for juveniles about a girl with psychic abilities. A portion of the story deals with the Titanic.
Robertson, Morgan. FUTILITY, a.k.a. THE WRECK OF THE TITAN Copyright 1898. A spookily prophetic book written 14 years before the Titanic sunk. The book is about a ship named the Titan, which is almost exactly the same in every way as the Titanic, i.e. tonnage, number of passengers, number of engines, not enough lifeboats, and on and on. (The Titanic wasn't even thought of until 1907!) The ship makes a crossing in April, but strikes an iceberg and sinks. Another book written by Robertson sees even farther into the future! BEYOND THE SPECTRUM, written around the same time, predicts World War II almost 40 years before it happened. The story is about a world wide war fought mainly in the air (airplanes didn't exist when he wrote this!!), which began after Japan bombed American forces in Hawaii on a December morning. Guess what they fought with? Sun Bombs: bombs capable of destroying things for miles around, with a flash so bright that it blinded anyone still left to look. Sounds kinda like an H-bomb, huh? Both of these stories, along with one of the writer's stories about pirates, are available in a single, bound edition put out in 1994 by Buccaneer Books. I ordered mine from Border's Bookstore, so anyone interested in obtaining a copy should try there first.
Serling, Robert. SOMETHING'S ALIVE ON THE TITANIC Copyright 1990. A group of scientists launches a search for the Titanic to recover millions of dollars in gold supposedly hidden in its cargo area. The only problem is, the ghostly passengers still on board the ship don't wish to be disturbed, and they make that very clear. Serling puts a pretty cool twist on the then recent discovery of the great ship. Wouldn't it be neat if this really happened to the group that's been salvaging stuff from the Titanic lately?
Steel, Danielle. NO GREATER LOVE Copyright 1991. A pretty good book written by the master of the romance novel. A family returning to America is devastated when the ship they are sailing on, the Titanic, sinks to leave the eldest sister to care for her 5 brothers and sisters alone when her fiancee and parents sink with the ship. For those strictly interested in Titanic stuff, about a third of the book deals with the sailing, sinking, and rescue of survivors who sail the rest of the way on the Carpathia. The rest of the book is about how the eldest sister deals with the tragedy while trying to make a living running the family newspaper in order to care for her siblings. A miniseries was made for TV from this novel. See the Titanic Movies section for more details.
Walker, Jim. MURDER ON THE TITANIC Copyright 1998.
Wallace, Jim. TERROR ON THE TITANIC Copyright 1996. Youth's book in the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series. (#169) Set on the Titanic, this book is written in such a way that as you read a page, you are given a number of different pages to turn to depending on what you want to do next. For example, one page explains what happens as you watch the last lifeboat leave the ship. If you want to stay on the Titanic, turn to page 81. If you want to jump over the rail and swim for a nearby lifeboat, turn to page 110. Pretty neat, huh?
Comments, things we should check out or add? Please Email / knighton@cablespeed.com
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