Stenson, Patrick. “Lights”. The Odyssey of C.H. Lightoller. 1st printing. Lon: Bodley Head. 1984. hardcover. isbn: 0370305930. scarcity: hard to find.

A spectacular biography that recreates the adventurous life of Titanic’s second officer, the senior officer to survive the disaster. Lightoller’s life reads like an adventure story that would put most fiction characters to shame. Stenson captures the highlights of Lightoller’s (very scarce) autobiography, and adds much more by continuing the story beyond World War One (where the autobiography ended) through Lightoller’s peaceful death in the 1950’s. Some have faulted Stenson for not capturing the impish side of Lightoller’s character, a not unwarranted criticism, but that is a minor flaw. This book is wonderful reading.

Stenson, Patrick. The Odyssey of C.H. Lightoller. 1st American printing. NY: Norton. 1984. hardcover. isbn: 0393019241. scarcity: hard to find.

This is the retitled, first American printing of the book originally titled “Lights”. The Odyssey of C.H. Lightoller.

Stenson, Patrick. Titanic Voyager. The Odyssey of C.H. Lightoller. revised edition. Great Britain: Halsgrove and Endurance. 1998. hardcover. isbn: 1874448817. scarcity: hard to find.

In this revised edition of his book, the author has taken the opportunity to pack the text with numerous photographs from the Lightoller family scrapbooks. These photos show Lightoller through-out his life along with many of the ships he served on. All these extra photos make this edition even more interesting and entertaining than the first edition - something I didn’t think was possible.