Gracie, Colonel Archibald. The Truth About the Titanic. 1st printing. NY: Mitchell Kennerley. 1913. hardcover. isbn: none. scarcity: hard to find.

Colonel Gracie hobnobbed with the rich and famous, so his book was of particular interest to readers who wanted the dirt on how the great met their fate. Gracie did his best to answer those questions. His was the first book published by a survivor that concentrated on the events in first class. Gracie’s book has never struck me as being as ‘honest’ as Beesley’s book. It has always seemed to me that Gracie took great pains to paint the first class passengers in the best possible light, perhaps not always truthfully so.

It is never the less a very readable, very interesting book. Gracie was perhaps a better researcher than a writer and this really shows up in the second half of his book. Here Gracie describes who made it into each lifeboat (from the first cabin anyway), and what notable events happened in each of the lifeboats. Here Gracie is in his element and his ability at compiling information really pays off. He went to great length in interviewing survivors and pouring over the American and British inquiries to cull this voluminous, often conflicting information. For many, Gracie’s detailed description of the events in the lifeboats is still the definitive work.

Gracie, Colonel Archibald. The Truth About the Titanic. reprint. New York: Mitchell Kennerley. 1913. hardcover. isbn: none. scarcity: very scarce.

This edition is different from the first printing in that it contains an extra plate showing a post-disaster picture of Gracie. With thanks to Tarn Stephanos for the cover image, and details about the extra picture.

Gracie, Colonel Archibald. The Truth About the Titanic. modern reprint. Riverside, CT: 7 C’s Press. 1973. hardcover. foreword by Robert H. Gibbons, President of Titanic Enthusiasts of America (now the Titanic Historical Society). isbn: 911962077. scarcity: hard to find.

This is a modern reprint of the original 1913 book. What makes this edition worth collecting in and of itself is the addition of a large photo plate section of artists’ paintings of the disaster. Included in this section are several paintings by a young Ken Marschall.

Gracie, Archibald & Andrew Gracie. Titanic: A Survivor’s Story. Intl Pubs. May, 1997. wraps. isbn: 086299179X. scarcity: common.

A more recent reprint of Gracie’s book.

Gracie, Archibald & John B. Thayer. Titanic: A Survivor’s Story and The Sinking of the S.S. Titanic. 2nd edition. Academy Chicago Publishers. March, 1998. wraps. isbn: 0897334523. scarcity: hard to find.

A reprint which combines two original works by survivors. Gracie’s work was originally published in 1913, Thayer’s in 1940.

Gracie, Archibald & Harold Bride, C.H. Lightoller. Survivors: Stories of the Titanic. reprint. Mattituck, NY: Amereon House Ltd. December, 1989. hardcover. isbn: 0848821912. scarcity: hard to find.

An anthology which reprints three original works by survivors. Gracie’s work was originally published in 1913, Lightoller’s in 1935, and Bride's in 1912.

This is an audiobook which contains five cassettes, each one and a half hours long, read by Davidson. It is apparently a reading of Gracie’s 1913 book The Truth About the Titanic.

With thanks to Patty Miller for mentioning this one to me. Cover image courtesy of Patty, as well.