Casemate Publishers

The Other Side of the Night. The Carpathia, the Californian, and the Night the Titanic Was Lost.

by  Daniel Allen Butler

Reviewed By  Luke R. Bucci, IPMS# 33459

Pages: Listed as 272, but I counted 258 (including cover pages) in the review softbound copy - hopefully the hardbound final copy will have some pictures or diagrams. MSRP: $29.95 ISBN: 978-1-935149-02-6 Website: www.casematepublishing.com Thanks to Tara Lichterman, Publicity Director, Casemate Publishers, for the advance review copy Just what we needed - another book on the sinking of the Titanic, right? Well, this one's different and kept my attention cover to cover. Yes, we have all seen several movies and probably read Walter Lord's original A Night to Remember, and some of us have probably built the ship itself. So what more is there to know (or care) about the Titanic? Plenty. Daniel Allan Butler, who was inspired as a boy by Walter Lord's books on the Titanic, has himself written Unsinkable - The Full Story of the RMS Titanic in 1998, and other books on liners. Yet he delivers here the unseen and shadowy portion of the tragedy that is just as riveting and spellbinding as the sinking itself. Daniel Butler has thoroughly researched his topic - the aftermath of the sinking. His work is thorough, even to the point of inquiring professional opinions from seven psychologists, independently, on the mental health status of one of the principals, something nobody else has done. By so doing, he has answered lingering questions and busted myths. The book is 9x6 inch size from Casemate Publishers, with easy to read font. The book describes the careers of the captains of the two ships nearest to Titanic that fateful night - Arthur Roston of the Carpathia and Stanley Lord (no relation to Walter Lord) of the Californian. What Mr. Butler does is put the times and personae into understandable perspective. He re-enacts the events of that night from the viewpoints of the Carpathia, Californian and the Titanic, with little time spent on the already familiar Titanic. His research is impeccable, his conclusions inescapable, and Mr. Butler points out why people acted the way they did (which is hard to imagine nowadays but was perfectly normal then). The rest of the book details in a relatively brief manner the Inquiries after the sinking - one in the United States, and the other in Great Britain. These major events, which shaped maritime safety to this very day, are seldom seen or heard of, but Mr. Butler skillfully picks out the pertinent highlights of these tedious events. Without revealing too much, it is made convincingly clear why Roston of the Carpathia was the hero of the day, and why Stanley Lord of the Californian was sacked and demoted to bird guano tramp steamers the rest of his career (which was probably too good for what he did, or rather, did not do that night). This book and its impeccable, even-handed research should lay to rest any revisionist hypotheses about the "Californian Incident." Yes, the Californian was closest but ignored the Titanic's distress calls and Lord covered up their dereliction afterwards. But would it have mattered if the Californian had responded as well as the Carpathia had? Mr. Butler again re-enacts what would likely have happened if the Californian had made it to the Titanic. You'll have to get the book to find out what might have been. Although I was not looking forward to yet another book about the Titanic, Daniel Allan Butler's exceptionally well-researched book and clear explanations kept my attention riveted until I finished the book. It reads fast and easy, and does not descend into nautical jargon. This is a book anyone (even landlubbers) can read, comprehend and learn from. I heartily recommend this book even if you think you know all about the tragedy. You will enjoy (or bemoan) the real-world antics of the aftermaths of tragedies - something still relevant to this day.