"Titanic: Minute by Minute" by Jonathan Mayo & "Titanic Lives" by Richard Davenport-Hines

[Seumas]

Would anyone like to cast an opinion on these two (fairly recent) Titanic books ?

Are they i) nothing new and full of errors or ii) a refreshing new take and pretty accurate ?

They caught my eye and I was considering buying them but I thought I would take the opportunity get the opinion of the experts first

 

[gabrielfsd]

Hello everybody. I was reading the book "Titanic: Minute to Minute" by Jonathan Mayo when I came across a brief mention of a Brazilian little boy handing a piece of the iceberg to another passenger. The book doesn't say his name. As I'm Brazilian, I was also curious to know if there really were any of us on board. I looked at the passenger list but there is no Brazilian, only one passenger who was headed to Sao Paulo, Brazil but he was born in Portugal. So is the book wrong? It wouldn't be the first mistake since the first page shows a photo of the Titanic dated April 19, 1912. Or does this book have some parts that are fiction? Thanks.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

I'm Brazilian, I was also curious to know if there really were any of us on board

I checked and it does not look like there was any bona fide Brazilian passenger or crew member on board the Titanic.

I too have a copy of Titanic: Minute by Minute. It is interestingly written but is rather lightweight in terms of new information or even conjecture. It is a conglomeration of material from other sources edited in a rough chronological manner.

 

[Thomas Krom]

José Joaquim de Brito : Titanic Victim

Biography of José Joaquim de Brito : Titanic Victim

www.encyclopedia-titanica.org

The man in question was Mr. José Joaquim de Brito (1871-1912), he was a Portugese second class passenger who sadly died one day before his 41st birthday.

​

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Very interesting. His ET bio says that Mr de Brito was born in Portugal but had lived and worked in Sao Paulo before his ill-fated Titanic voyage. Also, he had family in that city. Would that make him part-Brazilian?

 

[gabrielfsd]

When I looked in the passenger list I indeed saw this Mr. Jose Joaquim de Brito. But he is an adult and the book mentions a Brazilian LITTLE boy. I guess it was a book mistake then.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

After returning to the UK, I read this book again and while it is well written with an interesting perspective, the author has simply collated bits of information from various other Titanic works, some of which have been re-evaluated (for lack of a better word) over time. For example, Mayo mentions "Chief Night Baker" Walter Belford and his 'rolling rolls' but it is now known that Walter Lord was fooled into beieving by Belford that the latter was a genuine Titanic survivor. Also, Mayo takes quite a few liberties with the Titanic's Officers' movements and activities, some of which goes against available evidence.

At best it is a readable little book but certaily not a reserach tool by any stretch of imagination.