Titanic Centennial

It has been 100 years since the “the ship that God himself couldn’t sink” was lost on its maiden voyage yet people still seem drawn to it like few other disasters. To honor the centennial, much has recently been published and several interesting new titles are now available for check out.

One of the earliest books written about the Titanic’s sinking, was the meticulously researched “A Night to Remember” by Walter Lord published in 1953. It is a minute-by-minute accounting of the last hours of the great ship and its passengers and crew. It became an instant bestseller and was followed by a movie of the same title. The 2012 re-release is on order and includes audio commentary by Titanic historians, a 60 minute documentary and an archival interview with survivor Eva Hart.

During the 1970’s, Robert Ballard was determined to find the wreck of the ship. Diving equipment and sonar imaging had to be developed to find it 2-1/2 miles below the surface. Although it was assumed the location was known, it took another decade and numerous failed expeditions before the ship’s remains were found in September, 1985. Ballard published the exciting and frustrating search, as well as the ensuing problems of finding it in international waters, in “Titanic: The Tragedy That Shook the World One Century Later”. More recently he published updates to the story in “Return to Titanic: A New Look at the World’s Most Famous Lost Ship”.

Other interesting titles added to the collection include “The Rough Guide to The Titanic: The Legend, The Controversies, The Awful Truth” and “Lost Voices from the Titanic”. Look for these and other titles on the nonfiction display as well as novels written about the ship and its passengers on display at the Reader’s Advisory desk.