Customer Reviews

Titanic - The Ship Magnificent Vol I

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I have previously raved about Volume II in this series (which came out before Volume 1) and I will do so again here. This is meticulously researched and photo/illustration rich. This volume covers the building and hardware fitting out of the TItanic. Most of the illustrations come from her sister ship Olympic, but there are also many rare photos and illustrations here directly from the Titanic as well. From bulkheads to Marconi machinery, it is all here. Note that this does NOT include any of the "Titanic Story" -- this is pure, factual, blue-print type material about the ship itself, not it's sinking, its passengers, nor its crossing. I have been pouring over both of these volumes now for weeks, and just love them.

Among Titanic buffs, a "rivet counter" is a person whose primary interests in the Titanic lie in the direction of the physical details of the great ship rather than with her passengers or the drama of her last voyage.

"Titanic: The Ship Magnificent" is an unmatched resource about the physical ship. Printed on glossy stock with hundreds of diagrams and photographs (some from Titanic herself, others from her sister ship, Olympic, and other vessels of the era) the two massive volumes (Volume One deals with design and construction, Volume Two with interior decoration) cover virtually every imaginable aspect, from fabrication techniques used in constructing the hull to the various designs of First Class water closets (and china patterns).

I have a goodly number of "Titanic" books and have never seen anything that could remotely rival this set for portraying the physical reality of the ship. Obviously, this is not a work for the general or casual reader, or even a good overall account of the ship's fatal voyage, but any rivetcounter (or anyone with just a touch of that disease) would find these books endlessly fascinating.

Oh, and how many rivets? About three million were used to construct the Titanic's hull and superstructure.

If, like me, you like to know every thing about the Titanic. If you are fascinated about this great ship, you have to own these two really magnificiant books. Many pictures, I hadn`t seen before.. Although I already have many books about that great ship, I have learned many new things about her. I do not regret that I add these two wonderful books to my Titanic books`collection and I recommand that you buy them if you are a truly fan of the Titanc ; More than ordinary books, these books are pieces of collection.

When you first lift, or attempt to lift this book, you know right off you got your money's worth!

This is now my prize Titanic book, the only one close to it is "Anatomy of the Titanic" by Tom McCluskie. But this book blows that one out of the water, and the sheer amount of construction pictures and diagrams are outright insanity. My favorite aspect of Titanic and her sisters is the construction of the ships, and this book caters to people like me in a grand way!

The most interesting Titanic book I've gotten in a LONG time. Lit up my facsination all over again. Get it. NOW!

The drama of the Titanic sinking is so great that the fact that the Titanic itself was a key character is usually forgotten. For years, I've waited for a definitive technical study of the ship and it's construction, and while McCluskie's "Anatomy of the Titanic" was decent, it only temporarily satiated me.

Well, I can safely say that this is the most comprehensive study of the Titanic as a ship ever published. Starting with the preparation of plans and drawings, through the construction of key structural components and the installation of decks and fittings, the first third of this book provides a detailed primer on early 20th century British naval architecture. The next 250 or so pages cover the ship's machinery - the reciprocating engines, boilers, and steam turbine, the ballast and bilge systems, electrical equipment and fittings, the refrigerating plant, and the ventilation and heating systems. Rounding it out are three detailed chapters on navigational equipment, lifeboats and safety appliances, and the Marconi gear.

Backing it all up are more than 1,000 period photographs, technical drawings, and advertisements, including many rare photographs of "Titanic" and her sisters under construction. The real treat, though, are the dozens of reconstructed plans by Bruce Beveridge, including parts of the original shell plating and deck structure drawings, and plans of each watertight bulkhead. Original technical drawings range from wiring schematics of the Marconi apparatus, to sectional views of the main condenser's sluice valve.

This is the kind of book that a serious Titanic enthusiast can get wrapped up in for hours, and STILL only skim the surface of what's inside. The chapter on lifeboats itself is so detailed could have been published as a seperate monograph. Don't get turned off by the fact that it's "another Titanic book." This is one of the best and most accessible books on modern shipbuilding I've ever read.

Of course, a reader will expect a two-volume set to be packed with information. This expectation is admirably, astonishingly fulfilled by the authors of TITANIC.

What is unexpected though is the clarity of the presentation. Very often Too Much Detail is simply too much and the reader is overwhelmed. No so with these volumes and their specific section by section, deck by deck discussion. You can read for a while, finish a section (or deck), put the book down, and resume later. Your brain is nourished but safe from melt-down.

Even more impressive is the way deck plans are presented. Most liner books don't even include plans (this should certainly be illegal). If the plans are included, they are so small as to be unintelligible. In the TITANIC volumes, the plans are offered in two distinct formats. First, each deck has its own chapter. The overall plan for that deck is shown, giving a general idea of how things were laid out. The second format is deeply and enormously appreciated. The author's enlarged sections of each deck relevant to the adjacent text, and they also re-dew the plans to offer additional clarity and consistency. Wow! For the very first time the great ship is understandable! And what a labyrinth! It's astonishing!

So, I wish to thank the authors for the vast amount of detail. I am even happier they did so without my head reeling!

Have you ever wondered what the "Titanic" may have looked like from within? Have you wondered what lay beyond the riveted steel plates of the "Ship of Dreams?" Perhaps you've wondered what it looked like as one dined in any of the three classes? If you've pondered any of these questions, then "Titanic: The Ship Magnificent" is most definitely the book for you!

This two volume series covering the ship goes into ornate detail about every aspect of the ship. Volume one covers the construction of the "Titanic" and includes chapters that cover everything from the double-bottom to the funnels, masts, and riggings. Volume two covers the fitting out of the behemoth liner. One learns what they would have seen, had they been on the "Titanic's" doomed maiden voyage. If one purchased this encyclopedic volume, they learn how different classes' cabins looked and what might have been available for purchase in the ship's barber shops.

If you are a "Titanic" buff, if you are interested in cruise ships, or if you would just like to learn more about the great "Titanic," then "Titanic: The Ship Magnificent" is definitely the book for you!

I have been interested in Titanic for a very long time now, ever since the release of James Cameron's Titanic. The movie was a huge blockbuster, nontheless, but I didn't fall in love with the movie - rather I fell in love with the history of the ship! Titanic - The Ship Magnificent Volumes 1 & 2 have been on my Christmas list for several years, but finally, this year, someone gave them to me as a present. These two volumes are on my top list of best Titanic books, along with all the 20+ books that I've collected. I was amazed at how thick and big these books were - Trust me, it's not the size of a typical novel book that you might imagine from the cover, but rather the size of a big textbook. The books detail the construction and all the details of the ship to date. It is filled with rare illustrations and photographs, some never seen before (authors collection). Note that theese are not the typical Titanic books that tell you the story of the Titanic, its voyage, and sinking like many redundant books out there. The volumes give you detailed explanations of the thought process of building the liner, conception, inception, and construction. The authors give you their years of research and evidence (a lot from Titanic's sister ship Olympic) to tell you the building process of Titanic. If you are looking for the ultimate shipbuilding detail history of the Titanic, these two volumes is a must have for Titanic buffs alike. You will not be disappointed on the purchase. If you are looking for the history of Titanic's voyage, sinking, wreck, etc. - look somewhere else. Titanic - The Ship Magnificent Volumes 1 & 2 is an engineering work and an amazing research!

This book is well written with all of the construction detail and photograhps I was looking for. This is a great reference book and will help those interested in understanding the cause and the events of April 14,1912.

I have been interested in Titanic for several years. With the advent of the blockbuster film and the general public "craze" there were several books put out on Titanic. One book which tooted as being the "Anatomy of Titanic" was bought with great enthusiasm by myself, thinking, rather naively that I was getting a detailed book on Titanic's interior design and decoration. I was sorely disappointed at the lack of detail. But I digress! This book, written in exquisite detail, is simply a must have for any serious Titanic enthusiast, and general ship lovers. The wealth of information is staggering, and it will send your head reeling, but in a good way. This first book details the "design and construction" of Titanic. We, the readers, are taken through 24 lovely chapters detailing everything about how she was conceived and came into being. With a wealth of historical photos (1000 plus) and diagrams, plans, rigging diagram, general arrangement plans, shell plating diagrams, you name it, Titanic comes alive in your mind! I would venture to say that the price is far too modest for the wealth of information you are going to get in this book. The authors come highly regarded and have written several other renowned books on Titanic that you should also check out. For anyone interested in knowing more please check out the Titanic Research and Modeling Association (TRMA), and for this book and its companion in particular, check out this site...[...]

You WILL NOT regret your money spent on this!