The Discovery of the Titanic (Paperback)

by Robert D. Ballard (Author) "Not for the first time, I reflected on the enormity of our mission: to locate a wreck two and half miles down in the middle..." (more)
Key Phrases: Woods Hole, Boat Deck, Grand Staircase (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
As Woods Hole oceanographer Robert Ballard demonstrates in his absorbing, profusely illustrated book about his years-long hunt for the wreck of the Titanic, science isn't all that different from Hollywood. Just as a Hollywood type--say, the director whose quest to make the world's most expensive film is chronicled in Paula Parisi's Titanic and the Making of James Cameron--must use the cachet of his studio connections to raise cash, a Woods Hole scientist must use that eminent institution's reputation to win financing for his or her projects. Like the movie that sprang from the finding of the wreck, Ballard's scientific exploration is a tale of triumph against long odds. He's also got some good historical data on the drama of the sinking. Here are a few ear-witness accounts of the moment of the iceberg's impact on the Titanic: "A disquieting ripping sound like a piece of cloth"; "A thousand marbles"; "As though somebody had drawn a giant finger along the side of the ship." Ballard quotes the most precise description of the fatal instant, given by colorful Second Officer Lightoller: "Not that it was by any means a violent concussion, but just a distinct and unpleasant break in the monotony of her motion." Ballard's book helps you get the feeling of climbing aboard and being there for that distinctly unpleasant moment. --Tim Appelo

Product Description
A firsthand account of the author's twelve-year quest to find the sunken luxury liner is illustrated with dozens of photographs and includes moment-by-moment accounts of the tragedy and the successful discovery expedition. Reprint."

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Updated edition (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446671746
• ISBN-13: 978-0446671743
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #412,406 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, January 7, 2007

By	Y2bjs Reviews (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews

This is a sensational book.I have read this one quite a bit.
I love the bit where they find the boiler on the bottom of the ocean.
It talks about the trials they went through trying to find the elusive Titanic.Nobody had seen that ship since it sunk in 1912.
I have always loved reading about that ship,something about the whole story has fascinated me.
I think the era it all happened in,as well as the beauty of the ship itself.It certainly had a mystique of its own.
To look at the pictures of the ship how it has deteriorated over time is very ghostly.To see objects such as dolls heads and boots realy shows you the tragedy that once happened on a very cold night.
The stupidity to push the ship full speed through an iceberg field maked the mind boggle.Playing dice with all those lives,and to top it all off the lack of life boats on board.
Dr.Robert D. Ballard became a legend himself after the discovery of the most famous ship to ever hit the waves.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A most outstanding book., September 21, 2004

By	Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Dr Robert Ballard will forever remain the man who found the Titanic. In so doing, he became the world's most famous ocean explorer who found the world's most famous ship.

It is not for me to inform readers of the story of the Titanic. Almost everyone grew up knowing something about that ship - even if the finer points of information they thought they knew were inaccurate.

Having then achieved the outstanding feat of finding this elusive shipwreck, Bob Ballard has put together the most complete - and yet again "outstanding," tale of search, discovery and finally success, coupled with an accurate portrayal of the life and death of the ship itself. All the facts and historic photographs are there - and, speaking as a professional shipwreck historian, he really has done the most thorough job of work here.

Finally, he has put together the most (and I deliberately use that word again) "outstanding" collection of artwork created by Ken Marschall. I may be wrong, but it seems to me nobody had heard of this artist until the first editions of this book appeared - now he is a household name amongst those in the know.

From thousands of photographic images taken far below the surface, Bob Ballard created montage after montage of the various sections and profiles of the wreck (i.e. big photographs made up of thousands of little photographs) so that Mr Marschall was able to provide us with paintings which look like single colour photographs of this and that section which go together to make up the entire wreck.

I congratulate Dr Ballard on an excellent and professional job of work. Altogether, the most outstanding book for which 5 stars are not enough.

NM

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best Titanic book there is!, March 10, 2001

By	"weirdo_87" (Rancho Cucamonga, CA USA) - See all my reviews

In September 1985, after a long, greuling expedition, Dr. Robert Ballard discovered the wreck of the legendary ocean liner R.M.S Titanic. He returned a year later and showed the ship in even greater detail. This book is not just about the Titanic and the search for the wreck but is also about how Robert Ballard build his career at Woods Hole before he started searching for Titanic. It's just a shame that recent expeditions to the wreck haven't treated it like Ballard thought they would.