Biographies Autobiographies & good books

I agree with you Tarn, would that Pitman, Boxhall & Lowe had all put thier stories down on paper. the good news is that there seems to be quite a bit of material out there, it just has not been collected yet. and of course, Inger is working on that Lowe biography, which I am very much looking forward to. we'll be seeing that book published any day now, right Inger? :-)

Ian, back to some specific recommendations. I would heartily second Fiona's suggestion of Eva Hart's bio. quite comprehensive about a remarkable woman.

Patrick Stenson's bio of Lightoller is a favorite of mine. it has had several slighly different titles depending on which edition. the latest version is called Titanic Voyager. The Odyssey of C.H. Lightoller. as Tarn suggested, Ligholler's autobiography ends pretty much with his service in WW1. Stenson's bio fills in the rest of this amazing man's life and career.

if you are interested in Bruce Ismay, there is no better book than William Oldham's The Ismay Line. The White Star Line, and the Ismay Family Story. an excellent biography not only of Bruce but of his equally famous father Thomas. unfortunately this book is out of print, and it tends to be very expensive when it is offered for sale. tis a shame a modern reprint has never been done.

David Haisman's biography of his mother, Edith was a fun read. again, this one covers much more than just her Titanic experience. this was another woman who had some interesting life experiences long after Titanic was behind her. it is called I’ll See You in New York. Titanic, The Courage of a Survivor. The Edith Haisman Story, by Her Son. David posts here on ET quite frequently, and you can order the book directly from him.

there is a short bio of Captain Smith by Gary Cooper. it is called The Man Who Sank the Titanic? The Life and Times of Captain Edward J. Smith. considering how little is known about the Captain Smith, I thought this was very well done. Cooper does a good job of filling in Smith's early life and career.

finally, I have to say how much I enjoyed Susanne Störmer's biography of William Murdoch, called William McMaster Murdoch, A Career at Sea. The Complete and Documented Version. the author has some radical opinions about the night Titanic sank and though I don't agree with her conclusions, it doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for this book as she has really unearthed a remarkable volume of research on a man who history has tended to marginalize. well worth your time.

hope these suggestions help.
Michael (TheManInBlack) T
 
Ian, I picked up a book that I had to order from England. It is called Titanic: Belfast's Own by Stephen Cameron. It does go into the ship's history, but there are biography's on Thomas Andrews and some of the ship's crew that were from Belfast. This might not be comprehensive enough for your needs, but I found it a very interesting read.
happy.gif
 
Lol! Yah...erm...any minute now, Mike...um...

It is just about at the 'respectable MS that is ready for its first few outings' stage, though. Fi sighted the actual object back in December and can confirm that it exists, although it has pulled itself together more now and is more ready to show its face for a bit of peer review over the next couple of months (am letting Kez have a slash'n'burn fest with it first, though - pointing out what needs paring and what needs enhancing). Have a top group of people we're going to inflict it on, assembled from the ranks of mariners, journalists, authors, researchers and editors who have voluntarily submitted to it. They should knock a bit of the stuffing out of it - and me! Am trying for a 6 month deadline to wrap things up.

You're quite right, Susan, that 'Belfast's Own' is one of the great collections of brief bios out there. Cameron's book seems to get overlooked quite a lot, but I'm very partial to it - it's an excellent example of the fresh material that exists outside America and England.
 
The Cameron book is one of my favorites, too. Not only does it focus on a frequently overlooked or downplayed aspect of the story---Titanic's Belfast connections---it's very well written and extraordinarily well documented in terms of citations to the sources which the author drew on.

Cameron was said to be working on a Thomas Andrews biography a while ago, but I haven't read anything about the status of that project in quite a long time. Does anyone have any current information as to where, if at all, that stands?
 
Mark,
I have not heard of any work from Cameron on the Andrews biography. As it was I had to go out of the country just to get this 'rare find'. I really enjoyed how Mr Cameron put together so brief a biography and still say so much, like he did. If he does do a Thomas Andrews Biography I would buy it in a heartbeat!
 
Inger, you are gracious to put up with my teasing you about the Lowe biography. I am geniunely very excited about the project, and it is wonderful to hear that the initial manuscript is almost ready for the peer review stage. in reality, I know all too well, the painstaking process involved in writing a book, and the even slower lumbering process to get it published (just ask Mark Chirnside!).

all the best, Michael (TheManInBlack) T
 
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