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David G. Brown.

Winner of the Titanic Book of the Year Award for 2000.

Brown, David G. The Last Log of the Titanic. 1st printing. NY: International Marine / McGraw-Hill. October, 2000. hardcover. isbn: 0071364471. scarcity: fairly common.

It has been a while since I have read a Titanic book from start to finish in one sitting, but I did with this book. The Last Log is another one of the many ‘alternate theories’ of the sinking books that are so in vogue these days, but unlike most others of it’s ilk, this one has real teeth.

I am a complete layman in things nautical, but Brown enabled me to understand every point he was trying to make, even some of the more arcane concepts like Bernoulli’s Principle and lolling. The author has written one of the most knowledgeable accounts from a mariner’s perspective that I have ever read. In addition, Brown has gathered much of the conflicting testimony and arranged it into a cohesive whole. I did not agree with all of his conclusions, but I have to acknowledge that his version of events is completely credible.

For one, First Officer Murdoch’s actions are finally recognized for what they were, that of one of the most competent officer’s to ever command a bridge. Ismay also gets a great deal of coverage, and although his part in the story is much, much darker, the author avoids the ‘sinister villain’ oversimplifications the White Star Line chairman has received at the hands of many other authors.

On the other hand, Brown does make some incredible claims, often with little or no supporting evidence. One of the largest, that Titanic was dodging ice for hours before the final collision. Another being that when the ship ported around the berg, it almost collided with a huge ice field just beyond. There is simply no eyewitness evidence to support these claims.

Some members on the Titanic Mail List were initially put off by the in-your-face attitude of the editorials adapted by the publisher as a selling ploy. But don’t let that stop you from reading this book. It’s that good. Highest recommendation.

Paperback version, also by McGraw-Hill under the title The Last Log of the Titanic, International Edition. isbn# 0071373950.

Brown, David G. The Last Log of the Titanic. 1st British edition. Tab Books. December, 2000. hardcover. isbn: 0071364471. scarcity: fairly common.


Brown, David G. The Last Log of the Titanic. 1st softcover edition. New York: International Marine, McGraw-Hill. April, 2003. wraps. isbn: 0071413081. scarcity: common.

Brown, David G & Parks E. Stephenson. White Paper on the Grounding of Titanic. by the authors. May 31, 2001. . isbn: none. scarcity: hard to find.

Not a book, but rather a report submitted by the two authors to the Marine Forensic Panel (SD-7) on May 31, 2001. In their paper, the authors further develop a theory Brown originally put forward in his book The Last Log of the Titanic, in which the ship did not side-swipe the iceberg as has been believed for so long, but rather, that the ship grounded on an underwater ice shelf which smashed in her double bottom, causing structural damage to her steel plates as well.

This is fascinating stuff. The authors have made a significant contribution that challenges long held theories about the disaster. This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand what really might have happened to the ship on that dark night in April, 1912.

The report is available free of charge and can be read on Stephensons' website. Here is the link to the Grounding of the Titanic White Paper.