| About the Site.
This site is an attempt to list every single book ever printed in the English language on the subject of the Titanic and the Titanic disaster in fact and fiction. It attempts to construct a definitive printing history of these books, with brief bibliographic descriptions, and with special emphasis placed on the first editions of these books.
Whenever possible, I have identified the first time each book was printed. If, as is often the case, there are separate editions for the American and British markets, I have tried to determine which is the true first printing. Many of the more popular titles in the recent past have have been published more or less simultaneously in both markets, rendering the concept of the true first printing obsolete. For what it is worth, historically in the book trade when there has been simultaneous publications in more than one market, the author's country of origin has taken precedence and is considered the true first printing.
Although not the primary purpose of this site, I have also attempted to list all of the major reprint editions of these books as well. I say 'major reprints' as some of the better known titles have had numerous paperback reprints, and I have not been able to keep track of all of these.
This is more than just a simple list however, as it is also my personal journey of over ten years collecting the subject. This is not as relevant in the bibliographic segment of each listing, but is very relevant in the book reviews and descriptive segments. The descriptive segments are where I give a brief overvue; my take if you will, of what each book is all about. I have endeavered to keep my personal opinion out of the descriptions in favor of an unbiased explanation of the book's contents. For the most part, I believe I have succeeded, but there are some glaring exceptions - thus the 'Mostly Objective' part of the site's subtitle. Needless to say, opinions found here-in are mine and mine alone.
As of our fourth anniversary, in 2004, there are now about 850 individual titles represented (and growing). If you include the various alternate printings, the number of items swells to well over 1,000. And no, I most certainly do NOT own copies of all theses books in my personal library. I do own about a half of them though, and I am working on the rest!
Getting Around the Site.
The Titanic Book Site.com is best viewed at a screen resolution of 1024 x 768. Following is a quick summary to all the pages on the site with a brief overview describing what can be found on each page.
New Content: As I add new content or features to the site, I will add a notification of the update on this page.
New Book Alerts: When a new book is in-print and ready for purchase, a notification of availability will be posted on this page. A link to ordering instructions and the cost of the book will be included whenever possible. Only books that are actually in-print will be posted on this page, so once you see the book listed here, it is definitely available for purchase.
Upcoming Book News: What's on the horizon in the world of Titanic publishing? What rumors are making the rounds about new books in the works? Check this page to read what I have heard about possible upcoming titles.
Author Pages: The Author Pages are where you will find the most information about books, including bibliographic data, content description, book reviews, images of book covers, and even links to the author's websites, if available. Not all authors have their own page yet, but many do, and more will be added over time. If the author you are looking for is not included here on the Author Pages yet, you will find information about them and their books on the Book List pages instead.
Book Lists: The Book Lists are sorted alphabetically by the author's name. Due to the extended length of the original Book List, it has been broken down into four pages, A through D, E through L, M through R, and S through Z. The Book Lists include a brief bibliographic description for each book. Often an overview of the book's contents will also be available, although more and more of this descriptive information is now found on the Author Pages.
Books will be identified as either hardbound or wraps in the description. Wraps copies can be either paperbacks or oversized softbound books. Emphasis on the list is placed on American editions for the simple reason that I live in the United States and have limited access to information on British editions. Whenever possible I have attempted to include the editions for both markets, but there are still some gaps.
Although the bulk of the books listed here are directly related to the Titanic disaster, you will also find listed some of the better ocean liner histories if they include at least one chapter on Titanic. You will also find a select group of titles on the list that are not directly related to the Titanic story, but that I felt would likely be of interest to collectors anyway. Mostly these latter items are about the history of the White Star Line, or about Titanic's sisters Olympic and Britannic.
Title Index: An alphabetical listing by title of all the books described on the site.
Subject Index: This area is a selective listing of books by subject. It is by no means definitive, but still quite useful. If you are interested in a particular topic, such as survivor's accounts, a quick browse of the subject listing will identify the important books on that subject. Only authors and titles are listed on the Subject List page. For further information on any particular book, see the more complete listings on the Book List pages.
Illustrator Index: A listing of artists and photographers whose illustrations appear in Titanic books. The index is sorted by the name of the illustrator, and details which books their work can be found in.
Research Articles: A series of articles about books and book related subjects. I will cover a wide range of topics from the scholarly to the whimsical.
Titanic Book Store: This page lists the books on the Titanic that my out of print bookstore in Florida currently has in stock. Complete ordering information is also included.
Book of the Year Award: The award is given once a year, usually in mid-January, to the most outstanding new title amongst the crop of books published in the preceding year.
Other White Star Line Ships: A short list of titles about specific White Star Liners other than Titanic.
Books Beyond Titanic: Believe it or not, I do read quite a number of books that have nothing whatever to do with the Titanic disaster. There are also a number of maritime anthologies, that aside from a chapter on Titanic, cover other ships and disasters in excellent detail. On this page I review some of the better off-topic books I have recently read.
Other Shipwrecks: Bibliographies of other shipwrecks besides Titanic.
About the Site: This area is worth a few moments of your time especially if this is your first visit to the site. It explains in more detail what The Titanic Book Site.Com is all about, and describes what all the information included actually means.
About the Author: Here is a page to learn a little bit about me, personally, professionally and Titanically.
Terms & Definitions: Confused by some of the bookish slang used on the site. Here is the page to learn about the language of the used book industry. Whenever possible, I have tried to use plain English in my descriptions, but if you come across phrases you don't understand, click on Terms and Definitions to see a listing of bookish terms commonly used.
Scarcity Rating Scale: This page defines my scale for determining how easy or difficult titles are to find.This is based on my tracking the availability of Titanic books on the internet for well over five years now. The rating scale is:
Common - Fairly Common - Hard to Find - Scarce - Very Scarce.
For a fuller explanation of the scarcity ratings, click on the Scarcity Rating Scale.
Links: Find out about other Titanic bibliographic sites; author's websites, book search sites for new, used and bargain books; Titanic Society sites; and other general research and reference sites.
Advanced Search Page: An intra-site search engine, courtesy of Atomz.com.
Sources.
So where has all this information come from? I have spent literally hundreds of hours perusing for-sale listings on many of the new and used internet booksites. Many booksellers have generously answered my questions about books they have had for sale. I have also spent hours on end on the Library of Congress website (I know, I know, I need to get a life). Additional useful information has come from personal contacts with other Titanic enthusiasts, primarily on Jeff Newman's Titanic Mail List website, and from the message boards on Philip Hind's Encyclopedia Titanica website. You will find links to both these excellent sites on the links page.
I have endeavored in this site to only include information that is/was available in a public forum. Some collectors have offered information about their books to me privately, and in these instances I have NOT listed books they told me about if they requested I not do so. In this era of people indiscriminately 'borrowing' information from websites without the owner's permission, I have striven hard to walk the straight and narrow.
Recommended Sites.
There are many excellent internet sites devoted to all aspects of the Titanic story. Click on Recommended Sites to view the links to my favorites.
Special Thanks.
Many people have helped in making this site possible, and continue to help in keeping it current. Giving credit where credit is due, I have tried to note in the listings when someone tipped me off to a book I was not aware of. Special thanks, however, go to Fiona Nitschke and to Mike Herbold for their invaluable input above and beyond the call of duty. This site would not be what it is, if not for them.
Finally, this web site is a work in progress. As I have the opportunity to view more and more books, this site will become more and more complete. I hope you have as much enjoyment using the information compiled here as I had in compiling it.
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