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What Really Sank the Titanic: New Forensic Discoveries [Hardcover]

Jennifer Hooper McCarty , Tim Foecke
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)


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Book Description

February 26, 2008
On the starry night of April 14, 1912, at the dawn of a century charged with human ingenuity and hope, the largest and most advanced passenger ship in the world struck an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the frigid North Atlantic. In the decades that followed, despite numerous official inquiries and the eventual discovery of the wreck itself, key questions have gone unanswered: Why did the double-bottomed, 46,000-ton RMS Titanic, built above and beyond the most exacting specifications, sink in less than three hours? Was the iceberg alone responsible for the tragedy? Or did other factors contribute to the collision's deadly toll? A conclusive explanation has not been given--until now.

With the same methodology used by forensic scientists in crime-scene investigations, researchers Jennifer Hooper McCarty and Tim Foecke applied new tools to the century-old mystery. By analyzing step by step how the ship was designed and constructed, what vulnerabilities were overlooked, and how this marvel of modern engineering may have been a disaster waiting to happen, they build a compelling new scenario.

We are vividly taken into a bygone era, when luxury ocean travel and ruthless business competition fueled ever mightier ship construction projects built by Belfast shipyard workers, some mere children, laboring in unsafe, exhausting conditions. With Britain, the shipbuilders, and an entire industry caught up in a mad dash to build the greatest vessel ever, shocking lapses went unnoticed. Using modern microscopic techniques, the authors reveal those failures and show how they doomed the lives of at least 1,500 of the Titanic's passengers and crew.

Grippingly written, What Really Sank the Titanic is illustrated with fascinating period photographs and modern scientific evidence. It includes little-known Titanic facts and lore, colorful portraits of the ship's designers, builders, and crew, eyewitness accounts, and a dramatic timeline of the ship's last hours. In an age when forensics can catch killers, this book does what no other book has before: fingers the culprit in one of the greatest tragedies ever.



Product Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Citadel; 1 edition (February 26, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0806528958
  • ISBN-13: 978-0806528953
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #436,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

I found the book very entertaining. Lee W. Morgan  |  8 reviewers made a similar statement
I agree with what the author says about why the ship sank, but none of this is really new. J. J. Sacher  |  1 reviewer made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 42 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Based on hard facts and scientific analysis March 12, 2008
Format:Hardcover
Far too often, books dealing with the sinking of RMS Titanic contain little more than old information covered with groundless speculation. "What Really Sank the Titanic: New Forensic Discoveries" is entirely different. Both McCarty and Foecke have doctorates in Materials Science, and both have long been engaged with testing metal samples recovered in the past two decades from the Titanic wreck site. Although in passing they examine various previously discussed facts and theories (such as the speed of the vessel on the fatal night, a fire in a coal bunker, and the variability of witness testimony), the heart of their book revolves around the testing and analysis of rivets used to hold together the ship's steel hull plates. I suppose that the ideal audience for this book is a Titanic buff with a technical background (I qualify on both grounds), and although I found myself reflecting back to my single college metallury course, I think it written lucidly enough for any intelligent reader. The authors present a convincing case that many of the rivets used in the Titanic's construction were of inferior material and many probably not optimally installed. The result was that, under stress from the glancing blow against the iceberg, too many rivets failed and allowed the seams between some of the hull plates to open, admitting water and causing the ship to sink before any help could arrive. Along the way, McCarty and Foecke refute the formerly popular theory that the hull plate material itself was overly brittle and failed during the collision.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Forensic Ananlysis April 19, 2008
Format:Hardcover
The authors did a superb job on assessing the quality and workmanship issues regarding the steel and rivets used in the construction of the Titanic and her sister ships. I especially liked the way they explained some of the complexities of steel making and the riveting process in the early part of the 20th century. All the explanations of technical matters were written so that someone without a technical background is able to appreciate and understand them. I especially liked the many analogies that are used throughout the book, and some of the sidebar issues that were brought up. The authors did an excellent job in assessing the claims of others, and in presenting their own assessment of the various issues involved and work that they did in the search for answers. They fully supported their conclusions, and made a very clear and logical case for what contributed to the sinking of this great ship.
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Facet of Titanic History March 11, 2008
Format:Hardcover
I have a few minor nits here and there (including a too brief and too simplistic overview of rusticle biology); but not even all of them put together are of such magnitude as to preclude a five-star rating. Even the sidebars (or long foot notes) are not only must reading on this subject, but fascinating reading as well. New data are presented requiring, among other things, a re-examination of questions surrounding the coal bunker fire, and whether or not the steel was sufficiently damaged at a critical bulkbead to make any difference in the rate of the ship's sinking - or even to determine whether or not she floated through the crisis altogether.

Just when you thought there was nothing really new or interesting (or sane) to be written about the Titanic, Hooper and Foecke come along.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Iinformative Book
This book will appeal to a wide audience. Whether your interest is history or metallurgy, this book has it covered. I really enjoyed it.
Published 6 days ago by PA H2OFowl
5.0 out of 5 stars Another view?
This book really got me hooked as I always felt deep down there were more aspects to be considered of the sinking than just blaming the iceberg and the crew..... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jeremy David Tatchell
4.0 out of 5 stars Good things and bad
It is really hard to know how many stars to give this. When it is good, it is very, very good indeed, but when it is bad.... Read more
Published 14 months ago by W. D ONEIL
1.0 out of 5 stars Faux research
If you know nothing about early 20th century shipbuilding, Harland & Wolff, the Olympic class liners, or the Titanic disaster (beyond the mediocrity of James Cameron's movie), then... Read more
Published 18 months ago by M. Pellegrini
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm *GLAD* that I bought this Kindle book!
What Really Sank the Titanic: New Forensic Discoveries

I do not claim to be any kind of "authority" or "expert", I am more of a serious Titanic aficionado, or buff,... Read more
Published on October 28, 2010 by Roland Belanger
3.0 out of 5 stars interesting...but!
Why anybody has to write a book whose essential deduction is that the central 3/5th of Titanic , being hydraulically riveted , were inherently more solidly built?Is a wonder ! Read more
Published on October 3, 2010 by Jean Pierre Burel
5.0 out of 5 stars The great wonderful day.
A 1000 books, a thousand results, and yet I'm still waiting for the book that has the contents of "Titanic: an Illustrated History", "Titanic's Last Secrets" & "Titanic Scandal". Read more
Published on August 3, 2010 by Jose Antonio
4.0 out of 5 stars TITANIC Sinks - Again...
Both authors have provided an excellent study into what really caused the White Star Liner to sink after colliding with an iceberg on her Maiden Voyage. Read more
Published on February 22, 2010 by M. V. Ralph
4.0 out of 5 stars Titanic Fanatic
Very interesting. I went to UM Rolla so I was particularly interested in the work done there. It was a little technical and not for someone wanting a sensationalized description... Read more
Published on January 21, 2010 by Marvin R. Doering
3.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete Solution to this Mystery
The analysis and conclusions in this book are interesting, important and very likely contributed to the rapid sinking of the Titanic. Read more
Published on January 22, 2009 by Dan
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Rod Serling, creator of the original Twilight Zone tv series, felt the...
The U.S. did not have to be brought into anything by the Titanic because the White Star Shipping Line was owned by International Merchant Marine. IMM was an American holding company whose chief shareholder was J. Pierpont Morgan. The Cunard Line was subsidized by the British Government, with the... Read more
Oct 3, 2008 by A citizen of the world |  See all 2 posts
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