t was ten minutes past midnight, April 15, 1912. The giant new luxury liner TITANIC lay dead in the water. Half an hour earlier, her watch officer had spotted a growler in her track and taken evasive action. TITANIC had struck a glancing blow on her starboard bow---a collision that should not have been fatal. Many ships had limped into port after such a collision with ice. But TITANIC's life depended upon one transverse, watertight bulkhead, and it had been damaged by a fire in an adjacent coal bunker. Her designer, aboard to check her maiden voyage performance inspected that bulkhead. His prediction was grim, as he projected it to last a mere hour, if that. On the bridge of a nearby ship the master stared through his night glasses at faint white, flashes on the horizon. His wireless operator had caught the White Star Liner's call for help only minutes earlier. The master had given orders to prepare to aid the British ship. But what aid might she need? She had sent no internationally recognized distress signal, by wireless or by rocket. He ordered his wireless operator to contact TITANIC and ask again what help was needed. In moments, the operator arrived breathless on the bridge. "He says we are fools." D.E. Bristow's book plunges the reader back into 1912 to discover how a massive cover-up at the TITANIC inquiries hid the truth about the accident from the public. Conclusions, which originated with the natural necessity to protect TITANIC's owners from financial loss, have been perpetuated without regard for the facts by those who know nothing of the sea or ships. The real scandal of TITANIC lies not with the original cover-up, but with the perpetuation of it in the decades of misguided theorizing when the facts were known in 1912.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
It was 10 minutes past midnight, 15 April, 1912. The giant new liner Titanic lay dead in the water. Half an hour her watch officer had spotted a growler in her path, and took evasive action. Titanic had struck a glancing blow on her starboard bow. A blow that should not have been fatal. Titanic's life depended upon one transverse watertight bulkhead, and it had been damaged by a fire in an adjacent coal bunker. Her designer, Thomas Andrews, on board to check her maiden voyage performance, inspected the bulkhead and predicted that it could last but one hour more, if that. On the bridge of a nearby ship, the Captain stared through his night glasses at faint white flashes near the horizon. His wireless operator had caught the White Star Liner's call for help only minutes earlier. The master had given orders to prepare to aid the British ship. But, what help might she need? She had sent no internationally recognized distress signal, by wireless or by rocket. He ordered his wireless operator to contact Titanic again, and ask what help was needed. In moments the wireless operator arrived breathless on the bridge: "He says we are fools!" Aboard the White Star Liner passengers were clambering into boats. There were not enough boats, and this was a moot point because the damaged bulkhead had finally collapsed. Titanic was rapidly sinking by the head. Also within sight of the Titanic lay another ship. whose master studied the white rockets and wondered what they might mean. However, he refused to risk his own passengers' lives to investigate. Titanic now flooded rapidly, her stern rising out of the water, putting tremendous strain on her longitiduinals. Her still bouyant stern tried valiantly to refloat her waterlogged bow....for that is how ships are built....they want to float, not sink.....to live....not to die. The strain became too much, and as the bow sank deeper beneath the water's surface the metal twisted, groaned and split apart. For a few moments, the stern righted itself, with hundreds of deseperate people aboard it, praying for a miracle that would not happen. Suddenly, the stern too upended, and slid beneath the waves. Fifteen hundred people struggled in the water, their screams blending into one long hellish, never to be forgotten moan of death.
Far over the horizon, another British ship, with which Titanic's wireless operator would communicate with, pounded toward the struggling survivors. She was too little, too late. We will now plunge back into 1912 to discover how a massive cover-up at the Titanic inquiries hid the truth about the accident from the public. Conclusions which originated with the natural necessity to protect Titanic's owners from financial loss have been perpetuated without regard for facts by those who know nothing of ships or the sea. The real scandal of Titanic lies not with the original cover-up, but with the perpetuation of it in decades of misguided theorizing when the facts were known in 1912.
About the Author
Ohio native D.E. Bristow is a retired Eastern Airlines flight attendant who currently resides in Florida. Bristow is a member of the British Titanic Society, Titanic International, Steamship Historical Society, the Antique Wireless Association, Pyrotechnics Guild International, The National Maritime Historical Society, and Mensa. Bristow's Titanic book is the result of 15 years of hard research on the subject, as well as an intense study of turn-of-the century pre-war politics, pyrotechnics, navigation, metallurgy, and more.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most intelligent explanation for the disaster,
By A Customer
This review is from: Titanic: Sinking the Myths (Paperback)
Throw away all your other Titanic theory books. TITANIC: SINKING THE MYTHS is the only book I have ever read on the subject that actually explains why people behaved the way they did before and during the TITANIC disaster. Sorry, there are no 'conspiracies' here; Ms. Bristow, an ex-stewardess and friend of many sea captains, enumerates the instances of arrogance, stupidity, and shortsightedness that led to the unnecessary loss of 1522 lives. For the fact is, everyone on the ship could have been saved. By looking at the people's behaviour IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR TIME Ms. Brisow explains what seem (to a 1990's reader) inexplicable actions. A long-forgotten shipwreck (to us, but not to the particpants in the TITANIC drama) influenced the behaviour of the radio men and probably of the ship's owner, Bruce Ismay, during the disaster. The famous Mystery Ships (two of them) were never a mystery at all; their names come straight from the records of the British Inquiry into the disaster and have been 'hid in plain sight' for 85 years. Ms. Bristow's analysis of company policy for steamships of that era and of the skulduggery behind the formation of the Marconi Company (one of the VILLAINS of the piece!) make fascinating reading. Her arguments are extremely convincing. The author's weaknesses include a tendency to repeat herself, and a noticeable resentment toward the "Titanic Establishment", whatever that is; they apparently don't countenance her arguments in any way. Still, they make sense, which is more than some other TITANIC-theory books do. The causes of the disaster are firmly rooted in the customs and historical trends of the time. Sadly, these influences are not unique to that period and the reader of this book will certainly be able to recognize more modern examples of petrified bureauocracy and inefficient planning. They say that generals are always preparing for the last war. TITANIC: SINKING THE MYTHS proves that you cannot plan for the last shipwreck.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must have for people interested in the Titanic.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Titanic: Sinking the Myths (Paperback)
This is not your run of the mill book about the Titanic. It offers new insights as to why the ship sank so quickly and why ships close by did not go to the the aid of the sinking Titanic. Excellent research and documentation. Every Titanic buff must get this book. I have read over 14 books on the Titanic and this is one of the top two or three.
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