Spignesi, Stephen J. The Complete Titanic from the Ship’s Earliest Blueprints to the Epic Film. 1st printing. Secaucus: Birch Lane. 1998. hardcover. isbn: 1559724838. scarcity: common.

In a word, The Complete Titanic isn’t! Complete that is, but then no single book less than 750,000 pages could be. This book is more a potpourri of Titanic data culled from fact and fiction. The author has put together an eclectic selection; including such items as Titanic’s original official papers, like the ships Certificate for Clearance, a Who’s Who of notable people involved with the story, and an entire chapter of assorted 1912 writings about the event.

Later chapters cover such diverse topics as modern day dives to the wreck, both scientific and salvage; another entire chapter covers the making of James Cameron’s film. Also included are the complete transcripts of all 70 marconigrams from the night of the sinking, several less common first hand accounts such as wireless operator Harold Bride’s short piece, and newspaper articles by Dr. & Mrs. Washington Dodge, and even Molly Brown’s insurance claim. He also has, for the first time, listed Titanic’s cargo manifest alphabetically, a useful touch. Finally, this book has one of the most extensive Titanic bibliographies I have ever seen.