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John Protasio.
Protasio, John. On a Cold April Night: A Tale of the Titanic Disaster. 1st printing. Creative Solutions, TKreations. April, 2003. wraps. fiction. isbn: 1930693974. scarcity: never published. This book is apparently historical fiction. Originally it was due out in April, 2003, but that has been canceled. The publisher has gone out of business so unless the author finds another publisher, this book may never see the light of day.

Protasio, John. To the Bottom of the Sea: True Accounts of Major Ship Disasters. 1st printing. Secaucus, NJ: Lyle Stuart, Carol Publishing. October, 1990. hardcover. isbn: 0818405309. scarcity: common.

This book is an anthology of ship disasters beginning with the loss of the steamship Arctic in 1854 up to the car ferry Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in 1987. In all, 20 major maritime mishaps are covered, including the Atlantic, the Maine, the Republic, Empress of Ireland, the Lusitania, the Britannic, the Andrea Doria and the Edmund Fitzgerald to name a few. There is a chapter, 27 pages, on Titanic as well.

I was very impressed with this book. Unlike a lot of anthologies of this nature, which cover the basics, but allow a lot of inaccuracies to creep into the text, Protasio really did his research. His accounts are all careful and accurate recreations of the various incidents. The author’s analysis of events remains thoughtful and considered through-out.

The only real gaff worth noting is that in the photo plate section, the photo used to show the Titanic is actually of her sister ship, the Olympic - a very common mistake that pops up over and over again. It is likely that the author was not the one to pick what photos were used anyway as the inclusion of images is often the publisher’s doing, not the author’s.

This is a very good book that introduces the reader to a wide variety of maritime tragedies, and I heartily recommend it to people interested in this fascinating topic.

First British edition in 1991, London: Robson Publishers, isbn# 0860517381.


Protasio, John. The World’s Worst Disasters at Sea: True Accounts of Major Ship Catastrophes. 1st softcover printing. New York: SPI Books. February, 1990. wraps. isbn: 1561711969. scarcity: hard to find.

This appears to be a softcover version of the previous book, with a new title.
Reprinted in 1993, same title, publisher, format, isbn number, etc.