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THE WRECK OF THE TITAN
- A Nineteenth Century ProphesyPJS
Morgan Robertson.
First published as FUTILITY
in the United States, 1898.
This edition published Great
Britain by Pocket Books, 1998. (An imprint of Simon and Shuster Ltd, London,
Sydney. CIP British Library 0-617-01819-1
From the introduction to
the book:
The Wreck of the Titan
was published under the title Futility in 1898. It eerily prefigures
the Titanic disaster and reflects many of the themes that make so many
people today hungry for details. The author anticipated so many specifics
- the watertight compartments, the length of the vessel, the iceberg and
even the name of the ship - that some commentators have found it hard to
dismiss as weird coincidence. But he also wrote a story of strange intensity
that stands up well in its own right. For him, writing at the end of the
Victorian era, the unsinkable Titan is a symbol of hubris. It represents
the triumph of the mechanical. In one extraordinary episode the protagonist,
feverish with despair and alcohol and unknowingly poisoned with hashish
(hemp at that time not being illegal) rails against God and the universe.
Where, he wonders, in a world controlled by the laws of motion and inhabited
by creatures resulting from the blind workings of evolution, is there room
for altruism, goodness and God? The author expressed his own preoccupations
and those of his time with almost hallucinatory power. However, there is
another unappealing way in which he unquestioningly accepted the attitudes
that prevailed in many circles at the end of the nineteenth century. His
portrait of Meyer is a grotesque anti-Semitic caricature which grates offensively
upon the modern sensibility. But an historical document is a product of
man, moment and milieu and to edit it for today's values is to tell lies
about its nature. It is a blemish on a story that otherwise remains compelling.
Morgan Robertson grew up at a time when Britain controlled a quarter of
the world. He had a robust Yankee disdain for the imperial British, who
are
notably shifty. The decision of the British captain not to stop when his
huge ship destroys a small sailing vessel - an accident that is emblematic
of the tension between mechanical and natural forces - precipitates the
whole ghastly tragedy. For late Victorian readers the image of a wind-powered
ship being mown down in the fog by the indifferent colossus of the steam
age would have been a frightening reminder of how quickly their world was
changing. Morgan Robertson was unembarrassed about writing a novel (or,
more precisely, a novella) of ideas. Surprisingly, those ideas which underpin
the narrative are still just as potent today. The Wreck of the Titan
is more than a curiosity; it is a compelling story. As for its uncanny
prescience about the Titanic, nobody can say for sure whether that
is a bizarre series of coincidences or whether something altogether more
mysterious was at work.
The story itself was written
by Morgan Robertson and published by M.F. Mansfield in 1898 as Futility.
It was republished in 1912 by McClure' s Magazine and Metropolitan Magazine
of New York and, with obvious reference to the Titanic disaster the same
year, renamed The Wreck of the Titan. As for the author, he was the son
of a Great Lakes captain. Born on 30 September, 1861 in Oswega, New York,
who ran away to serve in the merchant marine at the age of sixteen. He
was soon travelling the world, and by the time he left the sea in 1886,
he had obtained the papers of First Mate. Although Robertson only completed
a high school education, it is clear from this literary work that he was
a man . of intellect. His consideration of nineteenth-century ethics and
inadequate maritime regulations and shipping policies shows foresight in
what was to come. It is strange to consider why a fictional piece of work
such as this fascinates enthusiasts more than any other written on the
Titanic disaster itself. Only the reader can decide whether the story was
a psychic premonition ,or merely Robertson's theory of what could happen
if changes were not made to the antiquated shipping laws and regulations.
Morgan Robertson died on 14 March, 1915 in Atlantic City. It is fitting
to note that he was found in front of an open window, gazing out to sea.
-
Comment:
We often read of "this amazing
book which told of the sinking of the Titanic before it really happened",
and what a remarkable prophesy it was. Well, not really. The fact that
it was renamed with the ship as Titan is only a credit to commercialism
of the publishers in 1912, after the Titanic went down. The
similarities of both vssels striking an iceberg, and of matters relating
to lifeboats, or the lack thereof, are interesting but not particularly
prophetic. Still, this is a very good novel, a sad tale in many respects,
but with an interesting moral underlay. [ps] |
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WRECK
AND SINKING OF THE TITANIC
The Oceans's Greatest Diasaster.
A Graphic and Threilling
Account of the Sinking of the greatest Floating Palace ever built, carrying
down to watery graves more than 1,500 souls. Giving Exciting Escapes from
death and acts of heroism not equalled in ancient or modern times, told
by THE SURVIVORS Including History of Icebergs, the Terror of the Seas;
Wireless Telegraphy and Modern Shipbuilding.
Edited by Marshall Everett,
The Great Descriptive Writer. Special Introudcution, "Women and Children
First", by Rev. Henry Van Dyke, D.D.,LL.D.
Title on cover: STORY
OF THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC The Oceans Greatest Disaster.
Hardcover, illustrated boards
(mono photo-like image of lifeboards with ship going down in background),
320 pages, photographs, comprehensive list of the dead as appendix, interesting
graphs of rescued/died, by passenger class. The illustraation is pasted
on the board cover which is of green cloth and 'gold' (actually bronze
I believe) lettering.
There have been many books
written on this most famous shipwreck, this being one of the first - probably
the first. There is no specific date of publication, but there is the indication,
'Copywright 1912, by L.H.Walter'. There is no publisher indicated, but
the book was published by L.H.Walter of (probably) New York. The cover
also includes, "NEARER MY GOD TO THEE"
at the top, and "MEMORIAL EDITION",
" at the bottom.
The book is well illustrated,
with rather good photographs of several important people on board, the
ship, rescued passengers; and drawing. [ps]
STORY OF THE WRECK OF
THE TITANIC
Marshall Everett.
Conway, London, 1998. Reprint
of the 1912 original, in the Conway Classics series. Hardcover, dustjacket,
320 pp with 30 drawings, plus 32 pages with 35 b/w illust. Fp: Capt. E.J.
Smith, the Commander of the Titanic, who went down with his ship. |
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THE LOSS OF
THE SS. TITANIC
L. Beesley
Published by Houghten-Mifflin
Co., Boston and New York
Riverside Press Cambridge
published June 1912
[ps] |
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THE SINKING
OF THE TITANIC
L.T. Myers.
Copyright 1912.
Hardcover, 350 pages,
32 pages of illustrations.Size 6.5 x 9 inches.
[ps] |
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A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
Walter Lord
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First published
by Longmans Green & Co.,1956.
Illustrated edition (top
image), Allen Lane, Penguin Books, London, 1976. ISBN 0 7139 0989 7. Hardcover,
dustjacket, 232 pages, many illustrations and photos, index. [ps]
Many subsequent publications,
including Penguin Books, first edition in 1978.
The cover immediate right
(red lettering) is from a Penguin paperback. [ps]
It is deemed a classic,
a best seller, but I personally found it rather boring. To me it is not
"a compelling account", as that infers some compassion and excitement in
the writing. I did not find it so, and have read many other "shipwreck
books" that do indeed capture the moment. But, it is regarded as a "classic
bestseller", so whom am I to agrue with commerce - and it has a great title.
Like the first day I met .... but thats a nothing story although I ended
up a wreck! |
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THE MAIDEN
VOYAGE
Geoffrey Marcus.
First published in USA by
Manor Books, Inc, 1974.
Nell paperback edition (as
shown), 1976.
Paperback, 287 pages, mono
prints, index.
Very well written; reads
better than Walter Lord. Of its historic accuracy I cannot judge, but appears
on the surface to be factual, and no doubt more up-to-date than Lord. |
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THE
STORY OF THE TITANIC AS TOLD BY ITS SURVIVORS
Edited by Jack Winocour.
Dover Publications Inc.
New York, 1960
Softcover, 320 pages plus
20 pages of Dover books catalog. A few mono photographs not well printed
on the porous paper. Was there a hardcover edition?
This is in fact a reprint
of four significant ‘Titanic books', in the one volume; a great idea.
The books are: The Loss
of the S.S.Titanic - The Story and Its Lesson, by Lawrence Beesley; The
Truth About the Titanic by Colonel Archibald Graciel; Titanic by Commander
Lightoller; and The Thrilling Tale by Titanic's Surviving Wireless Man
from the New York Times, April 28, 1912, by Harold Bride.
From the book: Why does
the sinking of the Titanic hold such fascination for us? There have
been worse disasters at sea, but none has ever approached the interest
aroused by the death of this ship. Even today, nearly 65 years afterward,
the Titanic is an exceedingly popular subject for conversation, films,
and books. Many reasons have been advanced for the continuing fascination
of this epic tragedy, but none, we think, can contribute as much to an
understanding of it as the four accounts collected in this volume. All
four authors were survivors, and their stories contain the subjective truth
that only men actually involved in such an event can convey. Each presents
the catastrophe from his own viewpoint, and the icy waters, the cries of
the drowning, the confusion and the heroism, are given an intensely personal
immediacy. These are the stories, not simply of what happened, but how
it looked and felt and sounded to those whose lives were at stake.
This volume contains, complete and unabridged, "The Loss of the S.S. Titanic,"
by Lawrence Beesley, and "The Truth about the Titanic," by Col. Archibald
Gracie. Both are full-length books published soon after the disaster.
Each has become extremely rare today. The third story in this volume, "Titanic,"
was written by the only officer to survive the catastrophe, Commander Lightoller.
It consists of a long excerpt from his autobiography, and includes the
story of the "whitewashing" inquiries into the Titanic's safety measures.
This is the first publication in America of these excerpts. The last
section is a dramatic tale by the Titanic's surviving wireless operator,
Harold Bride. His story first appeared as a newspaper article, and
is receiving its first publication in book form. [ps] |
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VOYAGE OF THE ICEBERG
The Story of the Iceberg
That Sank the Titanic.
Richard Brown
James lomier & Co.,Toronto.
1983. ISBN 0-88862-656-8.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 152
pages, mono photographs, drawings.
Well, this is a novel approach
to the story of the Titanic. It reads as one would of a collision between
two ships, the history of each given in detail before that dreadful moment
of impact. But in this case, the other 'ship' is of course a block of ice.
The author combines a mercifully brief background on the Titanic - after
all, it has been done to death - with the 'life' of the iceberg as
it break away from the grip of the land and floats into history. Quite
a fascinating book.
From the fly:
There is only one Iceberg
that has gripped the imagination of the world, one Iceberg that has humbled
the arrogance of men who believe in technology; one Iceberg that tells
us of the wonders and dangers of the North Atlantic Ocean. That Iceberg
sank the Titanic. This remarkable book tells the story of that Iceberg's
journey from the day it was "calved" into Baffin Bay until it crippled
the Titanic eighteen months later. Richard Brown's quiet, compelling prose
describes the rich natural and human world through which the Iceberg travelled.
It is the story of the Sierapaluk, the one surviving band of Inuit in the
far northwest corner of Greenland, facing a life so harsh that the elderly
simply wander off to die when food runs short; of the last surviving bowhead
whale, a sixty-foot giant whose massive tail every whaler in the North
Water fears; of men like Osbert Clare Forsyth-Grant, a buccaneering Scot
who takes enormous risks with his ship and crew on the arctic ice - and
pays for it with his life; and of the outport men who stream to St. John's
each winter, pleading for a berth on the sealing ships and a chance to
strike it rich on ‘The Main Patch.' Through these lives, and many more,
the Iceberg passes on its way to the Grand Banks and its fateful meeting
with the Titanic. The two brush past each other on the night of April 14,
1912. The Iceberg drifts on, drawn towards the warm waters of the Gulf
Stream where its journey will finally end. The Titanic ends its maiden
voyage that night- as it sinks into the icy waters of the North Atlantic,
taking fifteen hundred men, women and children to their deaths. As a stunned
world struggles to recover from the shock of this unprecedented disaster,
another berg breaks off in . Jacobshavn Ice Fiord and drifts out towards
Baffin Bay. And so, the voyage of the Iceberg begins again. . .
[ps] |
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DOWN WITH
THE OLD CANOE - A CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE TITANIC DISASTER
Steven Biel.
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W.W. Norton &
Co, New York. 1996. Hard cover, cloth spine, dustjacket, 300 pp with 22
b/w illustrations.
According to the author,
once the Titanic had sunk, she became an icon for America's most extreme
notions about technology, theology, commerce, politics, gender, race and
class. This unique book takes a look at the tragic loss of the a Titanic
in 1912. The author looks at how the loss of the Titanic affected our lives,
particularly in the way we perceive the disaster, in our sayings and everyday
speach, and how authors have written of the tragedy.
Softcover (dark images):
W.W.Norton & Co., New York and London. 1996. ISBN 0-393-03965-X; 300
pages, mono prints, index.[ps-soft] |
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See also:
TITANICA - The Disaster
of the Century in Poetry, Song, and Prose.
Stephen Biel
W. W. Norton & Co.,
New York. 1998. Pictorial card cover, 202 pp with 8 b/w illust. In
memory of Titanic Heroes: poems. sermons and religious views; songs, news
'and other Timely Reflections'. |
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FATHER BROWNE'S TITANIC
ALBUM
A Passenger's Photographic
and Personal Memoir.
E.E.O'Donnell.
Wolfhound Press, Dublin,
1997. ISBN 0 86327 598 2.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 120
pages, large mono prints, index.
This is an extremely valuable
and wonderful collection as it documents the last photphrpahs of the Titanic
before her fateful voyage. The fly tells it all:
A unique and major book
about the Titanic's tragic inaugural voyage, by one of this century's great
photographers. For many historians of the Titanic, Father Browne's importance
is due to the fact that he disembarked from the liner in Cork Harbour with
the largest extant collection of pictures taken on board. Some of these
photographs of the liner and her passengers appeared on the front pages
of the world's newspapers reporting the sinking of the ship in 1912, with
the loss of over 1,500 lives. However, in the past two decades with the
rediscovery of his 42,000 negatives and the publication of ten volumes
of his photographs, Father Browne's reputation as a photographer has received
a major boost. One commentator states that he is 'one of the greatest photographers
of the first half of this century'; another describes him as 'the Irish
Cartier-Bresson'. This new book relates the story of his Titanic voyage.
It uses the photographs, most of them pre- viously unpublished, from his
personal album. Put together by Father Browne himself, the album is an
invaluable archival treasure. This book includes facsimile reproductions
from that album, enlarge- ments of the photographs of the Titanic and her
passengers, and additional photographs relating to the liner and to her
departure from Southampton, her voyage to Cherbourg and her arrival at
Queenstown (now Cobh) in county Cork, Ireland. Together, these photographs
tell the full story of the great ship's voyage up to her departure from
her final port of call before disaster struck. In addition, Father Browne's
own account of his journey, previously only privately published, is included
along with some intriguing memorabilia, including correspondence from the
White Star Line and from fellow passengers, plus his fifteen - verse poem,
'In Memoriam', never previously published. Father Browne's menu card, telegrams,
and press cuttings add further interest.
[ps] Highly recommended.
It was still in print in 2003. Wolfhound Press are at 68 Mountjoy
Square, Dublin 1, Ireland. |
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HER
NAME TITANIC
The Untold Story of the
Sinking and Finding of the Unsinkable Ship.
Charles Pellegrino.
First published in Great
Britain by Robert Hale Ltd, 1990.
Original hardcover, dustjacket.
This softcover edition in 1998; 268 pages, mono plates, index, selected
bibliography.
The blurb tells us that
the book was used by James Cameron for the film 'Titanic'. Walter Lord
suggests that the book is 'Impressionistic. Surrealistic ... like walking
through a Stanley Kubrick film'. That I can relate to as it is as difficult
to read as it is in understanding '2001:A Space Odessey', and 'A Clockwork
Orange'. I find Pellegrino's style to be somewhat pretentious, with an
attempt at being sensationalist - yes, impressionistic and surrealistic.
He seems to write for himself, not for the reader. What he describes in
the book is interesting, but, I found nothing new with respect to the sinking
of the vessel (so I wonder what James Cameron found so important); the
finding of the wreck and the subsequent dives are interesting. He gives
great credit to Robert Ballard, justifyably so no doubt, but does so in
a somewhat condescending and over-flattering way that makes you wonder
what these two got up to in the cabin. The chapters alternate from the
sinking, to the finding, to the diving, and back again, which I found quite
annoying, but maybe thats the modern style. Arthur C. Clarke remarks (on
the cover blurb) that it "... often moved me to tears". Me too, but for
other reasons. And Stephen King says that it is 'hypnotic'. Well, it certainly
put me to sleep many nights. The blurb further suggests that this is a
'spellbinding work of oceanography'. The oceanography was indeed spellbinding,
but not the book. [ps] |
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TITANIC SURVIVOR
The Memoirs of Violet Jessop
- Stewaerdess.
Intorudced, edited and annotated
by John Maxtone-Graham.
First published by Sheridan
House Inc., New York, 1997.
Published in Australia 1998
by Boronia Press, Campbell, ACT. ISBN 0 646-35277-6.
Softcovr, 239 pages, mono
prints, index.
(Probably initially published
in hardcover).
The author is one of the
few people in the world to survive two major shipwrecks - the Titanic,
and later, the Britannic. This is truly valuable book in th huge
bibliography on th Titanic, offering a first hand account of events, and
the life of a truly remarkable woman. |
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LAST
DINNER ON THE TITANIC.
Menus and Recipes from the
Great Liner
Rick Archbold, Dana McCauley
Publisher: Weidenfeld
& Nicolson. United Kingdom, 1997. ISBN: 0297818406
Hardback, softcover I believe,
144 pages; 100 illustrations. Dimensions: 21.0 x 24.0 centimeters.
This is a collection of
over 60 recipes which featured on the "Titanic"'s menus. |
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GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS
A Journey into the Heart
of the Titanic
By Don Lynch, Ken Marschall,
James Cameron, James Cameron. [Wot! No Ballard??]
Hardcover, 144 pages, Expanded
Edition; 300 colour illustrations. Dimensions: 26.42 x 26.77 x 2.13
cm.
Da Capo Press, USA, 2003.
From a promotional review:
A breathtakingly illustrated true tale of adventure and discovery to tie
in with a groundbreaking new 3-D large-screen movie from the director-producer
of Titanic. . In the late summer of 2001, James Cameron, the director-producer
of the highest-grossing picture in Hollywood history, led a new deep-diving
expedition to the wreck of the lost liner Titanic. With him was a team
of underwater explorers that included the artist Ken Marschall, the historian
Don Lynch, and two actors from the movie, Bill Paxton and Lewis Abernathy
(who played Brock Lovett and Lewis Bodine). Their equipment included state-of-the-art
digital 3D cameras, a pair of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), and a
specially built deep-water lighting platform that illuminated the fabled
ship as never before. In a series of historic dives they filmed deep inside
the ghostly liner, obtaining haunting, never-before-seen images. In spring
2003, this remarkable journey into the heart of the Titanic will be presented
coast-to-coast in a digital 3D giant screen film, Ghosts of the Abyss.
For those who will be drawn anew to the story of the Titanic, as well as
for those who have never stopped being fascinated by the ship's tragic
fate, James Cameron's "Ghosts of the Abyss" will be a revelation in pictures
and words. Cameron compellingly describes just what keeps him returning
to the Titanic, and the meticulous journals kept during the dives form
a dramatic adventure narrative. But what will truly astonish are new, incredibly
vivid images from within the ship's staterooms and public rooms, matched
with archival images from 1912 and new paintings and diagrams-a "then-and-now
gallery" that captures as never before the history, the drama, and the
legend of the Titanic. |
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TITANIC'S LAST SECRETS
The Further Adventures of
Shadow Divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler.
Brad Matsen
Published by Hachette Book
Group, New York, 2008.
Softcover, 324 pages, index,
bibliography, notes, a few mono photographs.
The author is well know
and appreciated for his many previous publications and television productions
related to the sea. At first glance at the title and sub-title you would
be forgiven for thinking that this is a novel in the vein of Clive Cussler'
adventurous Dirk Pitt, but I think the author is taking it seriously. The
back cover blurb states that ôAfter their celebrated exploration
of a sunken Nazi U-boat off the coast of New Jersey, Shadow Divers John
Chatterton and Richie Kohler now take on the investigation of 'the world's
most notorious shipwreck'. That interesting episode in the lives
of the two divers was not without controversy but we wont go into that
now as I no little about it. But - the blurb continues - "or almost a century
one vital question about the disaster has remained unanswered: Why did
Titanic sink as quickly as it did? If the ship had remained afloat for
just two hours longer, more than two thousand people would have survived
on that infamous night in 1912". If I remember rightly, the Titanic hit
an iceberg!. It grazed the iceberg to the extend that several compartments
were breached, more than what could have kept her afloat, with the incoming
volume of water sending her to the bottom within hours. If that is what
Robert Ballard thinks, its good enough for me. Please don't tell me that
the authors have discovered a pre-Nazi conspiracy! "In this riveting and
controversial book (here we go again) "New evidence (is) found by Chatterton
and Kohler in their own dives to the wreck of Titanic. Weaving his
way through a labyrinth of clues and theories, the author reveals answers
that are more shocking than anyone ever imagined." Yep, I think this must
be a Dirk Pitt novel. [ps] |
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