by Terri Bey
A couple of weeks ago, I finished reading Report Into the Loss of the S.S. Titanic: A Centennial Reappraisal by Samuel Halpern, Cathy Akers-Jordan, et. al. This book analyzes the Titanic disaster 100 years after that tragic April night. Samuel Halpern, Cathy Akers-Jordan, along with other Titanic experts, such as George Behe, Steve Hall, and others discuss aspects of the disaster learned since the two inquiries and the 1985 discovery of the wreck by Dr. Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel. In this blog, I will be giving my review of the book.
This book is a well-written and detailed analysis of the disaster. What I really liked about this book was the authors' in-depth examination of the Titanic itself, as well as the disaster. For example, Bruce Beveridge and Steve Hall show the reader Titanic's inner workings, such as the decks and what was on each deck. Bill Wormstedt and Tad Fitch do a wonderful job examining the evacuation. Finally, Samuel Halpern does an excellent job throughout the book in clearing up the myth that the Mount Temple was the "mystery ship. Halpern also explains the "Californian Incident," and judges the performance of Captain Stanley Lord, the Californian's captain, as well as examines other aspects of the disaster.
This is a must-have for any Titanic enthusiast. I also would recommend this for anyone wanting to learn about the Titanic disaster. The way the book is set up also helps the reader. If the reader wants to read about a certain item, they can look at the table of contents and go right to that item. This works especially well with the Kindle version which I own. If I wanted to read about the allegation that the Third Class were held back by the gates, all I have to do is go to Chapter 8: "Too Few Boats, Too Many Hindrances" and click on "A Question of Locked Gates" by Cathy Akers-Jordan and George Behe, and click on it. A reader with a hardcover version would just go to the page that it's on.
Even though the book can get a little technical at times, I highly recommend this book.
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