This is a softcover book published by Publish America. But the best site to order it seems to be Barnes & Noble.com, who list it as available within 1-2 weeks. Here is the link to In Search of Great Uncle Pat on B&N's website. The price of the book is $17.95. For more information about the book, see the author's webpage as well. With thanks to Dru Schillow for bringing this book to my attention.
December 17, 2001.
The White Star Line, An Illustrated History, 1869-1934, by Paul Louden-Brown.
The 2nd revised edition of Louden-Brown's book is finally here! Originally slated for the Spring of 2000, this book may go down in history as one of the longest delayed publications ever. But was it ever worth the wait! I just received my copy over the weekend, and have barely had time to browse through it, but the work is awesome. A massive revision and expansion. Although both the first edition and this revised edition contain roughly 140 pages, the size of the book has gone from a six by nine inch softcover to a twelve by nine inch hardcover. The volume of content must have at least doubled, if not more. And the illustrations have gone from a respectable black & white style to fabulous tinted and full color ones. The images in this new edition are nothing short of spectacular.
This book has a fairly small print run of just 2,500 copies. To order a copy, go to the Titanic Historical Society's website, then follow the link for this book. The price is $44.95; shipping in the United States is $7.00. Tell them the Titanic Book Site.com sent you.
November 19, 2001.
There have been several children's books released in the past month or two:
Story of the Titanic by Steve Noon.
A hardcover book published by DK (Dorling Kindersley) Publishing. It is a slender, but oversized 11 by 14 volume. Through out most of the book every two pages open out to a great double page painting by Noon. These illustrations tell the story with wonderful cutaway drawings of the interior of the ship. The cost for this one is $12.56. Here is the link for Story of the Titanic on Amazon.com.
You Wouldn’t Want to Sail on the Titanic by David Stewart.
This book was originally released in softcover in Summer 2000. The new version is in a sturdier hardcover, library binding edition. The price for this version is $17.50 on Amazon.com's site. Here is the link to You Wouldn't Want to Sail on that site.
The Virtual Zone: Titanic’s Race to Disaster by Lynda Wilson.
This one is a softcover book with just over 100 pages. The cost for this book is $5.95 on Barnes & Noble's website (Amazon.com doesn't seem to have it available). Here is the link to The Virtual Zone on Barnes & Noble's site.
November 17, 2001.
The Sinking of the Titanic by Thomas Streissguth.
This book is intended for older children, probably high school age students. It is a volume in the 'At Issue in History' series. Three subjects are analyzed in this book: early accounts of the disaster including the Inquiries, the issue of the Californian, and some modern perspectives on the sinking. Each chapter includes a brief overview by the editor, setting the scene, as it were, for the articles that follow.
It is available in both hardcover and softback versions; cost is $27.45 and $18.70 respectively on Amazon.com. Here is the link to the hardcover edition of Streissguth's Sinking of the Titanic on that site.
November 10, 2001.
The Titanic: Historiography and Annotated Bibliography by Eugene L. Rasor.
The author is a professional bibliographer with some 11 bibliographies to his credit. His knowledge of bibliography is strong, but his knowledge of the Titanic is not. Though the bibliography lists 674 titles, quite a few of these are marginally related to the subject at best. There are also a fair number of titles that the author missed. Other disapointments include no illustrations of books, and neither are isbn numbers offered; both surprising ommissions in a modern day bibliography. There are no methods given to identify first printings, nor is there a guide to values.
There is a lot more covered here than just books though, and in most other areas the work is stronger. See my complete review on the Book List page. Despite its flaws, if you are a serious bookoholic, like me, you will want this book for its reference value. Here is the link to this Titanic bibliography on the publisher's website, Greenwood Publishing. The price of the book, which is a hardcover, is $76.00. Shipping is additional.
August 21, 2001.
A Garbled Titantic by Senan Baloney (Molony).
If you have been following the postings to the Titanic Mail List the past few weeks, you are already familiar with Senan's hilarious parody of the entire Titanic saga. If not, here is the chance to get your own Very Scarce copy of not only the entire text, but also including a selection of 100 photographs, many of which are, shall we say, unique. Senan's Very Scarce 1st printing is limited to just 100, signed copies.
Molony is known for his wicked wit, and he has sharpened it to perfection in this amazing and amusing text, skewering just about anyone and everyone Titanic from Ismay to Ballard. It is a slender, oversized book, and did I mention that it is Very Scarce?
My store, The Book Corner currently has a limited number of copies. The price is $25.00 + shipping. If you would like to order one, please give the store a call at 1-800-781-6060 within the U.S., or 813-684-1133 from anywhere else. If you are out of the country (or simply don't want to use the phone), you can also email the store at [email protected]. For complete details, please see the Book Store page.
August 20, 2001.
RMS Titanic, The Story Illustrated with Postcards of the Period by Roy Fletcher.
A new book that retells the story of the Titanic from the ship's construction to the discovery of the wreck through the use of collectible postcards. The book also contains a postcard price guide. It is illustrated with four color plates, and many illustrations in the text as well. It is softcover, and 100 pages long.
Here is the link to the author's website to order RMS Titanic, The Story Illustrated with Postcards. The price of the book is $17.00, which includes worldwide shipping. Special thanks to Dru Schillow for bringing this book to my attention.
July 10, 2001.
Vocation Titanic by Jens Ostrowski.
A new biography, this one of second class passenger Father Joseph Peruschitz. Peruschitz lost his life in the disaster. This new work was researched and written by German author Ostrowski; both the German and English versions are included in the same volume.
Copies of this book can be ordered, signed by the author, for just $12 U.S., and that includes shipping worldwide. For now, you can only pay in cash, which I know makes some people nervous, as there is no guarantee the money won't be pilfered and the envelope empty by the time it reaches its destination. Still, I have sent cash on several occasions in the past, and so far I have been lucky in that the money has made it to its destination every time. Lost Liners.de, the site offering the book, hopes to have PayPal set up soon, so if you really hesitate to send cash, you might ask them to let you know when this service is available.
Here is the link to Vocation Titanic on the Lost Liners.de website. The link for ordering information in English is near the bottom of their homepage. With special thanks to Thorsten Totzke for posting the availability of this title to the Mail List.
June 2, 2001.
White Paper on Grounding of Titanic by David G. Brown and Parks E. Stephenson.
This is not a book, but rather a report submitted by the authors to the Marine Forensic Panel (SD-7) on May 31, 2001. In their paper, the authors continue 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 Titanic grounded on an underwater ice shelf which smashed in her double bottom, causing structural damage to her steel plates as well.
The report is available free of charge and can be found on Parks' website. Here is the link to the Grounding of the Titanic White Paper.
June 1, 2001.
Californian and Titanic, Facts vs Myths by D.E. Bristow.
Diana's new work is a 70+ page, oversized, spiral bound booklet in which she collates and updates some of her theories from her previous books about the Titanic and the Californian. The primary focus of this booklet is the most in-depth examination of the meaning and import of Titanic's distress rockets I have ever read. The author develops a completely fresh way of looking at the issue of the rockets, and does a very credible job of explaining an alternate theory as to why ships on the ocean that night, including Californian, might not have realized Titanic needed assistance.
This book is for sale right here at Titanic Book Site.com on the Book Store page. The price is $10.00 + $5 media mail shipping. If you would like to order one, please give the store a call at 1-800-781-6060 within the U.S., or 813-684-1133 from anywhere else. If you are out of the country (or simply don't want to use the phone), you can also email the store at [email protected]. For more details, please see the Book Store page.
May 14, 2001.
Bibliotheca Titanicana by Günter Bäbler.
Günter's new book is a bibliography of over 150 titles published about the Titanic disaster in the German language since 1912. Each listing includes a photo illustration of the front cover and full bibliographical details. It has a clean, attractive layout which organizes all the information in a concise manner. The text is, of course, in German.
The book is softcover, 178 pages, and the price including airmail worldwide is $30 U.S. To order Bibliotheca Titanicana, send your payment in cash (registered post is best, so it can be insured) to the author at Postfach 712, 8630 Rüti, Switzerland. Günter says he has plenty of copies, so you don't have to write him first to ask about availability. If you are in the U.S. like me, it is worth knowing that his job takes him to the states on a regular basis. He brought my copy over with him on the plane, and mailed it to me from Boston. The book got here in just a couple of days. Let him know if you would like him to sign your copy for you.
And while you are at it, ask him about his book about a Carpathia passenger's account, called Carpathia, which was published in 1999. The book was written by Bäbler and co-author Josef Karl Lisibach. This one was published in a limited edition, is in hardcover, and is in German, too. I believe the price for this book is the same as for the bibliography.
April 22, 2001.
The Titanic: Disaster at Sea by Michael D. Cole.
This is a children's book for the 12 and up age levels. The book is listed with two subtitles: Death of the Dream Ship and Disaster at Sea, though both titles have the same isbn number.
I was not impressed with this one. There are a large number of errors in the text. To read my complete review, go to Michael Cole's author page on this site. It is hardcover and costs $18.95. Here is the link to Titanic Disaster at Sea on Amazon.com.
April 13, 2001.
Adventures in Ocean Exploration: From the Discovery of the Titanic to the Quest for Noah’s Ark by Dr. Robert D. Ballard & Malcolm McConnell.
I haven’t seen this title yet, but assume it is a continuation of Ballard’s undersea adventures started in the book Explorations. My Quest for Adventure and Discovery Under the Sea.
It is available both in hardback and softcover, but apparently only by special order on both Amazon.com & Barnes & Noble.com. Here is the link to the hardcover version of Adventures in Ocean Exploration on Barnes & Noble's website. The price for the hardcover edition is $40.00. Barnes & Noble is not showing a softbound version. Amazon.com lists both hard and softcover editions, but there is no pricing on their site.
April 9, 2001.
Ka-Re by Donald Allen Kirch.
This is not actually a new book, rather it is a rerelease of Kirch's book Still Waters under a new title. The book is fiction which resurrects the Egyptian mummy smuggled aboard the Titanic legend. The book is available both in hardcover and in paperback, priced at $25.00 & $16.00 respectively. Here is the link to the hardcover version of Ka-Re on Barnes & Noble.com.
April 4, 2001.
The Irish Aboard Titanic by Senan Molony.
This is not a new book alert, per se, but rather the eagerly awaited second prinitng of Senan's book. It was first printed during the summer of 2000, in a fairly small print run which sold out quite quickly. The buzz on the boards was very positive about this title; it is definitely one of the best Titanic books to be published last year.
According to the publisher, Wolfhound Press, copies of the second printing are almost completed, and should be ready to order starting about this time next week. Here is the link to The Irish Aboard Titanic on Wolfhound's website. The price of the book is IR£17.99, which works out roughly to $19.97 American. According to the publisher, there will eventually be copies available in the American market, but probably not till the fall. Nor do I have any word yet about which sites might carry it here in the states.
April 1, 2001.
Two new titles for children have recently been released.
Titanic: A Survivor's Tale by Caryn Jenner.
The title on the cover reads Survivors, The Night the Titanic Sank, and that is how this book is being listed on the new book sites. The story involves a family's experiences on the Titanic. It is written for the 4-8 age group, and is available in both hard and softcover versions. It is illustrated with full color photographs and attractive illustrations.
Here is the link to the hardcover edition of Titanic: A Survivor's Tale on Amazon.com. The price of the book is $10.36.
Heroine of the Titanic: The Real Unsinkable Molly Brown by Elaine Landau.
Another children's book, this one written for the 9 to 12 age group. Altough Brown is best remembered because of her Titanic connection, few realize that she was also an outspoken champion not only of womans' rights, but of miners' rights as well. She was also one of the first women to run for the U.S. Congress. The book is illustrated with some of Brown's letters, archival photographs, and excerpts from newspaper accounts of the time.
The book is in hardback. Here is the link to Heroine of the Titanic on Amazon.com. The price of the book is $13.60.
March 29, 2001.
Titanic - Eine Katastrophe zwischen Kitsch, Kult und Legende by Susanne Störmer.
According to the author this book deals with the story of the Titanic since 1912. Legends are compared to eye-witness accounts, another chapter covers the changing way the world has viewed the story over the years, yet another takes a look at Cameron's movie and offers a differing point of view. The book is illustrated with photos of modern memorabilia.
For now, the book is only available in German, but the author promises she is hard at work on an English edition. Unfortunately, the author's website is no longer on-line, and the link to the site which carried her book, Libre.de, is also not available. The price is DM 24.80, roughly $11.33 in U.S. dollars. If you are interested in this book, contact me directly and I will pass the request on to the author.
I will post another notice if/when the English edition becomes available.
March 19, 2001.
Captain's Karma by Diana E. Bristow.
The author of two interesting alternate theory books about the Titanic tries her hand at historical fiction about the disaster. The book is softcover, and is currently available on the usual new book sites like Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com. The price of the book is $15.54. Here is the link to Captain's Karma on Amazon.com.
With special thanks to Fiona Nitschke for alerting me about this new title.
March 13, 2001.
Titanic Victim Charles Melville Hays: The Man Who Built Ottawa's Chateau Laurier Hotel by Gavin Murphy.
Listed on the museum website merely as Titanic Booklet, this 20 page softcover work is a brief biography of Titanic victim Charles Melville Hays, and his building of the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa. Hays was actually travelling home to officially open the hotel when he lost his life in the disaster.
This oversized, slender booklet is photo illustrated, apparently with many never before seen photographs. It is being sold by the Nepean Museum, Ottawa, as a fundraiser for the museum. The price with shipping to the U.S. is just $6.00. Autographed copies are also available at no extra cost. Here is the link to the page on the museum's website that shows Gavin Murphy's Titanic Booklet. You'll have to scroll down a bit to see the book description.
With special thanks to Jason Tiller for mentioning this book on ET.
February 27, 2001.
I'll See You in New York. Titanic, the Courage of a Survivor. by David Haisman.
A biography of Titanic survivor Edith Haisman by her youngest son. The author is well suited to tell a survivor's story, as he himself served as a lookout on many of the White Star Liners over the years. He also lived in Southampton, and got to know many of the relatives of the other survivors personally.
Mr. Haisman has set up a website where his book can be ordered. He lives in Australia, so there is also information available on the cost of shipping fees to most parts of the world. The book itself is $7.95 U.S. Here is the link to his website for I'll See You in New York.
With special thanks to Fiona Nitschke for alerting the Titanic community about this new book.
January 23, 2001.
From Mt. Lebanon to the 'Sea of Darkness' by John G. Moses.
The tragic story of the 174 Lebanese passengers who travelled on Titanic, as reported in the influental Arabic newspaper Al-Hoda. Barely a quarter survived.
My store, The Book Corner currently has a supply of copies signed by the author. The price is $12.50 + shipping. If you would like to order one, please give the store a call at 1-800-781-6060 within the U.S., or 813-684-1133 from anywhere else. If you are out of the country (or simply don't want to use the phone), you can also email the store at [email protected]
With special thanks to Phil Hind for mentioning this book on his site, Encyclopedia Titanica.
January 19, 2001.
Titanic: The Great Lakes Connections by Cris Kohl.
The stories of the many people, over 300, bound for the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. The book covers not only the Titanic passengers, but also how the Great Lakes newspapers reported the tragedy, as well as the effects the sinking had on Great Lakes shipping.
This book can be ordered directly from the publisher, Seawolf Communications at (630) 293-8996. It is available in a softcover edition for $16.95 and a special limited hardcover edition for $35.00.
January 12, 2001.
Nothing Can Separate Us: The Story of Nan Harper by Tracy M. Leininger.
A very charming work of religious fiction written for youngsters. It is based on the experiences of real life Titanic passengers Pastor John Harper and his daughter, Nina, whose nickname was Nan. Nan was saved, but her father was lost in the disaster. She was six years old when she traveled on Titanic. The story is told by an adult Nan recounting the tale to her own son. It relates her experiences on that fateful voyage, and of her father’s heroic actions during the sinking.
The author’s Gospel message is interwoven naturally into the story, and is not at all overbearing as some Christian fiction can be. All in all, it is a captivating book, and an attractive addition to Titanic literature.
The book appears to be available exclusively through a company called Vision Forum. Here is the link to the page on their website for Nothing Can Separate Us. The cost for the book is $14.00.
December 22, 2000.
A Facsimile Reprint of the Original 1911 Shipbuilder Publication, The White Star Triple-Screw Atlantic Liners Olympic and Titanic.
In celebration of the 90th anniversary of the launching of Titanic's sister ship Olympic, the Titanic Historical Society is printing a special facsimile reprint of the original Shipbuilder publication from 1911. This softcover edition is not the Ocean Liners of the Past reprint that has seen several printings since the 1970s. This is an exact replica of the original 1911 Shipbuilder Special Edition, and for the first time includes all the original editorial pages and advertisements. There is also a new foreword by THS Vice President Paul Louden-Brown.
The book is available exclusively from the Titanic Historical Society for $59.95. It should be available in January, 2001. Update: As of the Spring of 2002 THS has informed me that, unfortunately, this project has been canceled.